If we want to heat homes in a sustainable way, we need to renovate them in terms of energy and disconnect them from fossil energy. What if entire neighbourhoods or districts join forces to achieve that? In Ter Elst - a garden district with particular heritage value - the city will actively work with residents towards this goal.
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Who takes part?
Who are all the partners in the project?
Role of Leuven 2030?
In this breakthrough project we assume the following role(s):
Place in the Roadmap?
This breakthrough project is part of the following programmes of the Roadmap:
How does it work?
In the Ter Elst neighbourhood, between Sint-Jansbergsesteenweg and Keibergstraat, the city plans to combine a collective renovation approach of some 200 homes to improvements in the public domain. To begin with, the residents will receive support and guidance from the city's Klimaathuis to energetically renovate their own homes. In addition, in consultation with residents, the city is looking to see if some of the works - for example, the installation of a heat pump or rainwater infiltration in the front yard - can be combined with interventions to make public property greener and more biodiverse.
A collective approach to renovations such as in Ter Elst can also help overcome administrative and financial obstacles, such as fragmented ownership. For example, a neighbourhood cooperative could draw up a neighbourhood renovation plan, organize group purchases for insulation, rainwater tanks or solar panels, or facilitate car sharing. Or a neighbourhood architect could be appointed to coordinate projects. Who takes on which role is decided in consultation with residents. The solutions that work best, can be used later to address similar neighbourhoods.
Project go-live
Exploratory talks with residents
Community week with residents
Neighbourhood action teams get to work
First (collective) realisations on the ground
Roll out structured actions based on financial model
Project go-live
Exploratory talks with residents
Community week with residents
Neighbourhood action teams get to work
First (collective) realisations on the ground
Roll out structured actions based on financial model
Why is this project important?
Heating entirely on renewable energy is not possible until our buildings are fit for it. For that to happen, our homes and buildings will need a veritable insulation and renovation wave. To meet our climate goals, more than 1,500 residential and 500 non-residential properties in Leuven need to undergo deep renovation every year. To accelerate this process, we will require a collective approach. That means: working together with the entire building, the entire street or even the entire neighbourhood, which also calls for new, innovative forms of financing.
Fewer emissions (estimation):
-834 tonnes of CO2 per year
This breakthrough project relies on the expertise of a project team appointed through the concept subsidy Stedenbeleid Vlaanderen, this being Endeavour, in cooperation with Studio Thomas Willemse, Orientes, Trividend, Domus Mundi, Minderismeer and Dialoog vzw.
The path of the past couple of months