Guide on sustainable regeneration of apartment block neighbourhoods

The transition of cities to net-zero is imminent and the need for a human-oriented approach to delivering sustainable development is pressing. The neighbourhood scale provides a good test-bed for innovation and allows for tangible results to be achieved faster. The old collective housing neighbourhoods of Europe call for immediate action to remain attractive places to live and reach the energy efficiency desideratum, but they also provide unique opportunities to advance sustainability, particularly through their intrinsic collective nature.

This document starts from the premise that the pressing issues of these neighbourhoods, which call for immediate action, coupled with intrinsic sustainable features and generous investment opportunities, represent an opportunity for change and a vehicle for the transition to carbon neutrality. All in all, it is a critical time to rethink the aging collective housing neighbourhood, for these to remain viable housing options and unlock their intrinsic potential, related to both quality of life and sustainability.

This transformation of these neighbourhoods is a call for a shift towards a "static" form of growth, and by no means a break on development, but a shift towards taking advantage of the existing urban resources, as a more sustainable alternative to endless sprawl.