Equitable Territorial Sequencing for Adaptive Urban Energy Transition

DUT Call 2026 | Adaptive Reuse + Positive Energy Districts

I am seeking municipalities, local authorities, research institutions, urban-planning organisations and technical partners to apply, test and develop an existing territorial sequencing methodology for equitable urban energy transition.

The proposition

The methodology addresses a practical question at the heart of urban transition:

Where should a city intervene first, which interventions are appropriate, for whom, and under what implementation conditions?

It connects:

• socioeconomic vulnerability

• affordability and potentially suppressed energy demand

• building performance and characteristics

• energy and urban infrastructure

• intervention suitability

• territorial prioritisation and sequencing

• governance, financing and delivery conditions

• monitoring, evaluation and replication

The methodology was developed through the Madrid urban climate and clean-heat transition context and is now being developed as a broader framework that can be applied and tested across contrasting European urban contexts.

DUT application

I am particularly interested in the Adaptive Reuse of Existing Urban Structures and Spaces topic under the Positive Energy Districts (PED) pathway.

The opportunity is to move beyond treating adaptive reuse, building renovation or energy infrastructure as isolated interventions. The project could develop and test a territorial decision and sequencing framework that helps cities connect existing urban structures with equitable energy-transition pathways.

Potential research and implementation questions include:

• How can cities identify neighbourhoods where intervention can generate the greatest combined climate, energy and social benefit?

• How can low observed energy consumption be distinguished from suppressed demand caused by affordability constraints?

• How can building and infrastructure conditions be matched to appropriate intervention pathways?

• How can adaptive reuse and energy transition be pursued while protecting affordability and social inclusion?

• How can cities move from spatial diagnosis to a transparent sequence of implementable interventions?

• How can governance, financing, procurement and delivery conditions be incorporated into intervention prioritisation?

• How can outcomes be measured and the approach replicated across different urban contexts?

Potential project structure

The methodology could provide a territorial sequencing and decision-support layer within a wider consortium.

Potential workstreams include:

1. Territorial diagnosis
Integrating vulnerability, affordability, energy demand, building and infrastructure data.

2. Intervention matching
Connecting territorial conditions to adaptive reuse, retrofit, PED and other transition pathways.

3. Equitable sequencing
Developing criteria and decision processes for prioritising neighbourhoods, buildings and households.

4. Governance and implementation
Connecting spatial priorities with planning, ownership, financing, procurement and delivery conditions.

5. Demonstration and validation
Applying the framework in real urban contexts with municipalities and stakeholders.

6. MRV, learning and replication
Measuring climate, energy, social and implementation outcomes and developing a transferable approach for other cities.

Partners sought

I am particularly interested in:

• Municipalities and local authorities with real-world urban transition contexts and interest in testing the approach.

• Research institutions interested in comparative validation and methodological development.

• Urban planning and regeneration organisations with adaptive reuse and neighbourhood-scale expertise.

• Building and energy specialists able to connect territorial priorities with technical intervention pathways and PED solutions.

• Housing and energy-poverty partners able to strengthen the equity and affordability dimension.

• MEL/MRV and impact specialists interested in measuring outcomes, learning and replication.

The aim is to apply and test the methodology through real urban cases and develop an evidence-based, replicable approach for equitable urban transition.

I am participating as an independent practitioner and can contribute the methodology, territorial analysis, systems integration and intervention-sequencing perspective, while remaining open to developing the appropriate role and consortium structure with partners.

If your organisation is interested in exploring a potential DUT 2026 proposal around this approach, I would be very interested in connecting.