How to employ energy-efficient urban regeneration? A FosterREG response

Urban regeneration is not an easy task, but when sustainable energy is involved, it becomes more complicated. FosterREG shows how to overcome difficulties, says Paweł Nowakowski.

FosterREG is supported by the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme | Photo Credit: Fotolia

By Pawel Nowakowski

03 May 2017


I am sure that most readers have heard of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme the largest EU programme of its kind. Horizon 2020 supports innovating and promising initiatives that are realised as research projects addressing important challenges.

One such projects is FosterREG (Fostering public capacity to plan, finance and manage integrated urban regeneration for sustainable energy uptake). In FosterREG research professionals meet political authorities, thus creating a good climate for fostering urban regeneration and development in Europe.

The project’s main ambition is to deliver know-how to key public stakeholders across different levels of government in order to enhance the creation of a reasonable and integrated framework for employing energy-efficient solutions when planning and conducting urban regeneration.


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The main challenges are insufficient coordination and the lack of a broad and integrated perspective necessary for introducing reasonable and efficient policies; More so when it comes to energy efficiency, for example in terms of renovating buildings.

Therefore, FosterREG has trained local, regional and national authorities in carrying out the whole process, including regulations, planning, financing and managing urban regeneration oriented particularly towards employing sustainable energy policies.

To achieve its goals, different participatory activities at national and European level were performed to enhance public capacity, such as workshops, meetings and conferences, where barriers, opportunities and best practices were presented and collaboratively analysed.

The FosterREG consortium prepared integrated reports on existing regulations, management practices and financing, with special reference to urban regeneration in Spain, Croatia and the Netherlands – representing the project member countries.

The results of the project will be presented in detail on 11 May 2017 during the final project conference in Zagreb, Croatia, as a part of Zagreb Energy Week. Experience from project member countries as well as the EU-wide impact of FosterREG will be discussed, and analytical and training materials will be disseminated to an audience.

Speakers will include representatives of national clusters, Croatian public authorities and European bodies, such as EASME, DG Regio and the Energy Cities initiative. Participation is free and details such as the venue, agenda and registration can be found on the project website.

For those who cannot attend in person, the conference will be broadcast through live web streaming which will also be available on the project website, where further details, including the opportunity to log on to a special chat, will be also provided.

FosterREG started in June 2015 and will finish in May 2017. It has been realised by a consortium of 10 partner organisations from four countries: Croatia, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, and represents research entities and public bodies.

The coordinator is a Spanish private research and technology organisation Fundación Tecnalia Research and Innovation.