Smart city projects are increasingly important for the energy transition in Europe, but there are concerns about its fairness and how to include the most vulnerable sections of society. Their inclusion is also vital to increasing social acceptance of new energy practices and infrastructures. There are challenges in the energy vulnerability of the targeted population at every step of the process of the smart city design. The conception of energy vulnerability challenges the narrow notion of energy poverty increasingly taken into consideration in policymaking and research. This notion is overly focused on the triad of the causes (income, efficiency and energy prices) of the phenomenon (Longhurst & Hargreaves, 2019). Conversely, a broader conception of energy poverty encompasses wider issues in the population in terms of energy vulnerability and justice, such as needs, flexibility and practices (Bouzaroski & Petrova, 2016). Under this perspective, the lived experience concept has been proven fruitful in energy poverty literature but, to our knowledge, has not been used yet in the context of smart city projects. This presentation introduces the rationale, theoretical frameworks, and the preliminary findings of an ongoing study that uses the lived experience concept in the context of a smart city project. It investigates citizens' points of view and their involvement within a project realised in Bolzano (Italy), targeting four social housing building complexes. The study is also informed by literature on energy vulnerability, justice, and social psychology, including people-place relations. These concepts and the lived experience framework allow us to take the participants' perspectives within their cultural and material circumstances. At the same time, it critically and holistically captures their needs and priorities. As such, it allows to explore citizens' vulnerability in their daily lives and within the design and implementation of the projects and will enable understanding whether their priorities are reflected in the project. Bouzarovski, S., & Petrova, S. (2015). A global perspective on domestic energy deprivation: Overcoming the energy poverty–fuel poverty binary. Energy Research & Social Science, 10, 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.06.007 Longhurst, N., & Hargreaves, T. (2019). Emotions and fuel poverty: The lived experience of social housing tenants in the United Kingdom. Energy Research & Social Science, 56, 101207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.05.017

The Strategic Energy Transition (SET) Plan from JPI Urban Europe proposes the creation of 100 Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) in Europe by 2025 with a stated goal of urban decarbonization. These are highly energy efficient residential urban areas that are powered entirely through renewables. PED creation is meant to be guided by principles of quality of life, sustainability, and inclusiveness (specifically focusing on affordability and energy poverty prevention). But do stakeholders consider these principles or are PEDs largely unaffordable and excluding those most in need? Using energy vulnerability factors and an energy justice framework, this article sheds light on how the topic of energy poverty mitigation is experienced and picked up by PED stakeholders. Stakeholders from PEDs in a number of European countries were interviewed in order to determine how and to what extent they approached the topic of inclusivity, with a focus on energy poverty reduction. This included the themes of gentrification, financing for retrofitting, the use of community energy initiatives and energy advice, all themes which were identified as significant factors to consider in an EU Horizon2020 project. The contribution of this talk to academic research is towards the framing of energy poverty in European urban areas, focusing on the perceptions of key stakeholders. It also continues debate on how PEDs may differ from other forms of technologically innovative living spaces which do not explicitly include social aspects. Furthermore, this offers a potential contribution for informing policymaking in PED replication with a focus on the synergistic aims of both decarbonization and energy poverty mitigation.

The energy supply sector is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Within that figure, households account for 29% of the consumption. On top of that, the average building wastes 30% of the energy because of inefficiencies. We consider that the main challenge is to increase our energy efficiency, make energy sources renewable, and obtain a higher degree of self-sufficiency. We can divide challenges into two types. From the production side, there are solutions such as solar panels, storage, and microgrid technologies. From the consumption side, building renovation strategies, electric vehicles, and smart technologies. In the project “Flattening the curve” our aim is to analyze the energy consumption and energy production data to propose active and passive strategies that can bring a new and more sustainable energy model. By understanding how existing energy consumption and potential solar energy production time patterns, it is possible to redefine the way we see our buildings from static, emitting, and consuming infrastructure to performative, self-sufficient, and interconnected nodes in a new distributed network of communication for the exchange of data, energy, and resources, tackling pressing urban issues, such as energy prices and environmental emergencies. The final outcome of the research includes urban analytics, the design of a strategic plan, and the creation of an interactive urban simulator. in the case study of the Poblenou district in Barcelona city. However, the analysis and methodology applied could be implemented in new locations around the world as well.