Topics
Business models & tools Circular economy Culture & values Energy in urban planning   Energy markets Governance & policy Integrated energy systems Public space & proximity Sustainable mobility Technology & infrastructure Transport of goods Urban greening Urban metabolism Urban regeneration 

LIGHT

LIGHT - Looking for Integrated Solutions for Healthy PEDs

Selected for funding
Project
Category
Project
Call
DUT Call 2024
Duration
–
Project coordinator
Gdańsk University of Technology

Contemporary cities face the need for a profound energy transition towards climate neutrality. However, this process encounters numerous spatial, environmental, and social challenges, particularly in densely built-up urban areas:


•    Conflicting objectives of urban densification: The pursuit of compact urban development often conflicts with the need to ensure residents’ quality of life, including adequate access to daylight and solar radiation. 
•    Environmental challenges in urban districts: Increasing building density intensifies phenomena such as the urban heat island (UHI) effect, excessive noise, and deteriorating air quality. 
•    System integration: A key challenge is to effectively and synergistically integrate modern energy systems with blue-green infrastructure (BGI) and sustainable mobility. 
•    Socio-economic trade-offs: Comprehensive energy renovation of existing urban districts requires consideration of residents’ financial capacities and ensuring inclusiveness, so that the transition is both socially just and economically viable. 
•    Lack of integrated planning tools: Traditional approaches rarely link energy performance indicators directly with the physical and mental health and well-being of residents within a single coherent planning system. 
 

The LIGHT project proposes an innovative approach in which the health and well-being of residents become a key component of integrated spatial planning strategies and the transition towards Positive Energy Districts (PEDs).

The main pillars of the proposed solution are:

  1. Three Urban Living Labs (ULLs) in different European contexts:
    1. Kartuzy (Poland): Focus on the energy renovation of the existing urban fabric, integration of blue-green infrastructure (BGI), and analysis of economic feasibility and environmental sustainability.
    2. Lund (Sweden): Testing urban densification processes combined with innovative energy generation methods and zero-emission solutions.
    3. Innsbruck (Austria) – Virtual Living Lab (vULL): Development and implementation of multi-criteria scenario analyses for urban densification using parametric design. The vULL will enable assessment of the impact of densification on residents’ health in relation to noise, air quality, and access to daylight.
  2. Development and enhancement of digital tools (Integrated Urban Modelling):
    1. Enhancement and further development of existing open-source simulation tools: CitySim (extended to include indoor daylight parameters and indoor and outdoor thermal comfort) and DALEC (extended to include shading and daylight analyses in densely built neighbourhoods).
  3. Participatory Scenario Modelling:
    1. Engagement of local communities, municipal authorities, experts, and non-governmental organisations in co-creation processes using methods, ensuring social acceptance and inclusiveness of the proposed solutions.
  4. Regenerative Finance (ReFi) Framework:
    1. Analysis of economic aspects with a focus on generating social, environmental, and financial benefits simultaneously. 

LIGHT aims to establish a new standard for healthy, efficient, and inclusive Positive Energy Districts. The key expected results include:

  • Strategic Transformation Framework: Development of a universal model enabling the replication of the solutions developed in other European cities.
  • LIGHT Guidelines: Publication of publicly accessible, practical guidelines for conducting integrated urban planning processes.
  • Interactive Decision-Making Support Toolkit: Open-source software based on extensions of CitySim and DALEC, enabling investors, planners, and local authorities to quantitatively assess the long-term environmental, energy, and health impacts of planned urban transformations.
  • Improved quality of life and the environment: Implementation of solutions that reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while simultaneously improving the microclimate, biodiversity (through BGI), access to daylight, noise levels, and air quality.
  • Socio-economic benefits: Strengthening social cohesion, reducing healthcare costs, and increasing residents’ productivity through improved living conditions. 

Participating countries

Austria

Poland

Sweden

Switzerland

Funded project partners

Fondation de l'Institut de Recherche Idiap, Gdanska Fundacja Innowacji Spolecznej, Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny, Gmina Kartuzy, Lunds universitet, Universität Innsbruck, Uniwersytet Gdański

Other project partners

Foton OZE Sp. z o.o., Innsbrucker Immobilien GmbH & CoKG, Lunds kommun

Contact

  • Institution: Gdańsk University of Technology (GdanskTECH)
  • Project Coordinator: Prof. Justyna Martyniuk-Pęczek, PhD, DSc, Eng., Arch.
  • E-mail: juspecze@pg.edu.pl
  • Address: ul. Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland 
all projects