Societies are facing a drastic decline in natural resources, growing population and climate change, which is forcing them towards a wiser use of resources. As a consequence, recycling‐based economies, energy efficiency and cooperation between companies to save materials are becoming more common also in European cities. Furthermore, wiser use of natural resources is becoming an increasingly important asset in international competition.
The historic, UNESCO designated city of Santiago de Compostela has several urban and climatic features that can be considered positive for energy efficiency. However, the topic has not been a high priority issue for neither the society nor the municipal authorities, and thus local urban plans do not recognize the matter explicitly. In addition, due to some characteristics such as a mild climate, extensive green areas and a compact urban area, the citizens of Santiago de Compostela generally have poor awareness of energy efficiency and climate change issues.
Many Estonians live in energy inefficient, poorly constructed Soviet era apartment buildings. As a consequence, the average annual heating energy used in the buildings is higher than in other industrial nations with a similar climate. With rising energy costs, household energy consumption is no small matter in a nation where heating is required for a major part of the year. However, there is reluctance to invest in the energy efficiency of older inefficient buildings, and practical information regarding both the risks and benefits is sorely needed to convince owners to take measures.
Decentralization of energy supply enables new settlement structures in all kinds of populated areas. For example, different forms of individual heat pumps can be applied in sparsely populated areas, whereas cluster solutions with a decentralized, low‐energy heating grid can take advantage of energy efficient housing, and still organize around a bigger entity to ensure energy security in a more urban context.
In the 1990s, the cycling levels in Stoke-on-Trent were similar to the national average with cycling accounting for less than 2% of all trips. However, public interest and the fact that more bycycles than cars were sold each year showed that there was undoubtedly enormous potential to increase the number of trips made by bicycle across the city. The Stoke-on-Trent city government decided to seize this opportunity and began a long-term strategy work in 1996. The aim was to promote cycling together with a wide range of interested organizations, groups and individuals.
The BEEM-UP building site in the Netherlands is located in the north-west of Delft, approximately 2.5 km from the city centre. The group of buildings is called Complex 5 and consists of 108 dwellings distributed over 3 types in 8 blocks constructed in 1958. The area has a specific identity as the surrounding buildings share the typical Dutch brick facade, a remarkable architectural quality.
The Swedish demo site of the BEEM-UP project is located in Alingsås and known as Brogarden. The area consists of multi-dwelling buildings built in the period 1971 to 1973, comprising a total of 300 apartments, divided into 16 houses with 2 to 4 floors each. All apartments have a balcony or patio.
The French demonstration site of the BEEM-UP project is located in the centre of Paris. The demonstration building is surrounded by buildings of similar height and is composed of 87 dwellings built around 1950. In 1993, the building was renovated (outer insulation, double-glazed windows, boilers), but it needed a major upgrade to become a pilot and an example for bringing the rest of the housing park to the low energy standard for renovated buildings, with a consumption target of less than 104 kWh/m²/yr for HVAC, hot water and lighting.
The Voiron demonstration site of E2REBUILD project is a multi-storey building in the department of Isère. The building was made of concrete with no insulation, it had natural ventilation and the windows were first-generation PVC double-glazing 4-6-4. All dwellings had an individual gas boiler for domestic hot water production, but each dwelling had its own different heat production – either electric heaters (ca. 29 dwellings with an energy demand of 529 kWh/m² year) or fossil fuel boilers (c. 43 dwellings with an energy demand of 202 kWh/m² year).
*The London demonstration site was not completed within the E2ReBuild timeframe and therefore data is not available.
