Prefigure
European societies face an intertwined housing and energy crisis, exacerbating social disparities. Limited affordable housing, coupled with soaring energy costs, deepen energy poverty and housing inequalities.While renovating existing housing is proposed as a solution, concerns persist that it may worsen inequalities.
With this in mind, the EU-funded PREFIGURE (Prototypes for addressing the housing-energy-nexus) spotlights innovative policies, markets, and social initiatives addressing the housing-energy efficiency nexus. It aims to understand how innovations can disrupt housing disparities and energy poverty, identify effective housing policies, and mobilise knowledge for sustainable transitions.
Through transformative research methods, PREFIGURE seeks evidence-based solutions to guide the green transition, fostering equitable pathways for all.
Combining transformative qualitative and quantitative methods with technological and real-laboratory research PREFIGURE aims to:
analyse how the unequal access to financial incentives for energy-efficient building technology renovations by different types of owners and tenants, contributes to furthering housing and income and wealth inequalities
identify analyse and network active bottom up ‘household energy prototypes’, that go beyond market-based practices and address the housing/energy poverty nexus
mobilise the knowledge from the prototypes to up-scale innovative practices and co-create evidence-based alternative policy solutions that can undercut the existing norms for green transitions through marketized incentives.
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