There are several different recommendations in the FosterREG integrated urban regeneration booklet| Photo credit: FosterREG

You may have already read about the FosterREG project in previous articles on this website – on the project as such and its main activities.

But you may not be familiar with the pith of FosterREG, that is, “Integrated urban regeneration booklet. How to plan, ­finance and implement the projects on the city district level” yet.

It is one of the crucial outcomes of the project and something that should be exploited by public bodies already engaged in or considering carrying out urban regeneration at the city district level with an emphasis on sustainable energy aspects.

You need to know that it is not a result of some narrow analysis or wishful thinking. On the contrary, the booklet was developed within collaborative analyses conducted by the FosterREG consortium and the key national, regional and local stakeholders which should assure the booklet’s credibility.

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Best practices and recommendations in the field of urban regeneration were identified and discussed at workshops in Croatia, the Netherlands and Spain – the countries involved in the project. Finally, conclusions from those studies were redefined and synthetised at a European-wide workshop in Brussels.

The booklet contains much useful information based on experience from FosterREG as well as from other research projects. Among the topics considered one can find subjects related to awareness and capacity building, finding schemes and financial instruments, and preparing appropriate regulations.

Also, particular steps of renovation are discussed, i.e. planning, financing and implementing. Another part of the “Integrated urban regeneration booklet” is devoted to improving integration and coordination which is the idea underlying the whole project.

There are many different recommendations in the booklet. One of the best strategies is one of the easiest: just to start urban development projects where energy efficiency is also addressed, and to create appropriate incentives for potential stakeholders – public, private and civic – to engage.

A good strategy is also to make use of RESCos (Renovation Energy Service Companies) which help in the whole undertaking. What is more, you should always try to take advantage of local or regional opportunities – apply energy-efficient solutions when possible during carrying out different kinds of urban renovations.

When it comes to improving integration and coordination, the key issues are transparency and dialogue – there is a need for a more transparent and deliberative outline of an urban regeneration process. If every party involved in the project can familiarise themselves with all aspects of the project and its current stage, then they can reasonably decide when to intensify its own activities.

One of possible strategies here is to prepare such local or regional plans for urban regeneration which necessarily require integration and coordination of actions between different levels of public authorities and different stakeholders.