Energy, resource circularity and retrofitting in Positive Energy Districts

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to prove the positive contribution of transformative interventions on existing neighbourhoods and districts in the transition to sustainable cities. According to the goals of climate adaptation and mitigation and of reduction of climate-altering emissions of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, cities are responsible for about 70% of CO2 emissions, so urban settlements are the main field where changes can be experimented. Today, the number of conversions of existing neighbourhoods into PEDs is increasing, pointing out a growing interest in this direction. Three different cases of study are analysed. The reason behind the choice of the three PEDs comes from their similar environmental context and comparable characteristics on themes of energy, resource circularity and retrofitting. In fact, all the cases studied fall within the climatic range of the mediterranean area performing their climatic characteristics - and therefore also housing - in different ways. The result consists in a description of the strategies used in the three ecodistricts that has been integrated through a comparative analysis: from the energetical point of view different sources are analysed in relation to the context where the site is placed; the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy is analysed in relation to the environment and the site’s history; from the retrofitting point of view the actions on the built environment are analysed in order to promote passive behaviour of the buildings. The benefits generated from the ecodistricts are analysed also to the zones nearby, in order to contribute to decrease carbon emissions and to the wellbeing all over the urban ecosystem. The conclusion is that small transformative interventions at district scale become a driving force improving sustainability actions and CO2 emissions reduction and could contribute to trigger the change into the whole urban ecosystem they belong to.