NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-02 | Digital twin enabled Transferable Development Rights for scalable neighbourhood renovation

1.     Project Vision

European neighbourhood transformation aligned with the New European Bauhaus (beautiful, sustainable, inclusive) faces a structural investment bottleneck.

·       Individual property owners lack access to capital and regulatory efficiency to renovate or rebuild.

·       Institutional investors require scale, predictability, and risk transparency.

·       Small-scale NEB projects remain fragmented and difficult to finance.

We propose a research and innovation project that makes distributed neighbourhood renovation and rebuilding investable at scale, without requiring speculative land consolidation.

Core Concept: Structuring Distributed Renovation into Bankable Investment Flows. Instead of relying on developers to acquire and assemble properties before transformation can begin, the project explores mechanisms that activate redevelopment potential directly at the level of individual property owners while maintaining neighbourhood coherence. For example, under agreed planning parameters, a homeowner may:

·       Extend or rebuild using standardised low-carbon designs

·       Create additional residential units

·       Occupy one unit and rent others under defined sustainability and inclusion criteria

This generates:

·       Immediate energy renovation and densification

·       New rental supply aligned with NEB principles

·       Predictable income streams

·       Asset-backed lending opportunities

When structured and aggregated, such distributed redevelopment can form investable neighbourhood portfolios suitable for institutional capital.

2.     Flexible Regulatory Activation Models

Recognising legal diversity across Member States, the project will test alternative but complementary pathways:

2.1 Neighbourhood-Level Development Envelopes

Where feasible, participatory “Neighbourhood Agreements” define pre-approved redevelopment parameters that reduce permitting risk and increase investor predictability.

2.2. AI-Assisted Individual Permitting

Where bulk pre-approval is not legally viable, an AI-supported agent assists homeowners in preparing compliant extension or rebuild applications using:

·       Neighbourhood-aware constraints

·       Standardised modular templates

·       Automated regulatory validation

This reduces transaction costs, design costs, and approval time, improving the bankability of small-scale assets.

Both pathways aim to transform fragmented micro-projects into structured, financeable investment flows.

3.     Capital Market Dynamics & Financial Innovation

In direct response to NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-02, the project will:

·       Analyse demand and supply barriers affecting investment in NEB neighbourhood projects

·       Examine risk perception and regulatory constraints across Member States

·       Identify suitable capital sources (impact funds, pension funds, insurers, real estate investors, philanthropic capital)

·       Develop hybrid and blended finance structures to aggregate distributed redevelopment projects

·       Design methods for assessing multi-dimensional returns (economic, environmental, social, cultural)

A digital twin platform will provide impact visibility and risk modelling, enhancing investor confidence and alignment with NEB Investment Guidelines.

4.     Validation

The model will be tested in at least three EU Member States representing different regulatory and capital-market contexts, ensuring transferability and scalability.

5.     Our Roles

Kolabb CVOA (commercially represented as www.foxandfriends.agency)
Open start-up studio (Redev track)
– Innovation structuring & business model design
– Investment framework development (together with finance/impact fund)
– Private sector & capital market engagement ((together with finance/impact fund)

Vrije Universiteit Brussel – House of Sustainable Transitions
– Capital market dynamics research
– Governance & legal framework analysis
– Participatory methodology design
– Impact assessment framework

6.     Partners Sought

·       Pilot municipalities / regional authorities (≥2 additional countries)

·       Institutional investors & impact funds

·       Property & planning law scholars

·       AI / digital twin partners

·       Social inclusion and participatory governance researchers