PRISE
Positive eneRgy dIstrict Step ahEad
- Category
- Project
- Call
- DUT Call 2024
- Duration
- –
- Project coordinator
- The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland
PRISE tackles the overarching challenge of enabling cities to achieve climate neutrality by embedding Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) into urban transition strategies. While PEDs are recognized as key to sustainable development, cities face fragmented governance, weak integration of energy and urban planning, and a lack of tools to align community needs with systemic strategies. PRISE responds to this gap by developing an interdisciplinary, spatially grounded framework that bridges technical, socio-economic, and governance dimensions.
The project specifically investigates how to identify, design, and implement PEDs in diverse urban contexts and ensure their scalability across Europe. It focuses on integrating geo-spatial and energy data, applying participatory methods to match typologies with PED pathways, and co-creating governance frameworks that balance bottom-up needs with top-down goals. By delivering a scenario-based Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS), PRISE equips public authorities with robust tools to plan, optimize, and validate PEDs as socially embedded, resilient, and replicable solutions for the energy transition.
PRISE will develop a scalable, interdisciplinary framework to integrate PEDs into urban planning, combining geo-spatial, technical, socio-economic, and governance data. After mapping European best practices, a Europe-wide PED readiness assessment will be conducted using multi-scale indicators and machine learning to match urban typologies with suitable PED pathways. Co-creation with local stakeholders ensures that solutions address both systemic urban strategies and community needs.
The work will take place in pilot sites in Ostend (BE) and Sion (CH), with support from follower cities in Çankaya (TR) and Reggio Emilia (IT). In these locations, PRISE will co-design PED scenarios addressing renewable energy, mobility, heating and cooling, and business models. A Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) will be tested in the pilot districts, guiding planning decisions and validating scalability. This approach equips public authorities with practical tools and replicable methods to embed PEDs into broader climate and urban strategies across Europe.
PRISE will deliver an adaptable methodology and decision-support tool that enable cities to plan, implement, and scale Positive Energy Districts as part of their climate and urban strategies. The project will generate validated PED scenarios in diverse contexts, demonstrating how technical solutions, governance models, and community engagement can be combined into effective pathways toward climate neutrality.
The benefits include stronger public-sector capacity to lead energy transitions, practical tools for scenario-based planning, and inclusive processes that ensure PEDs are socially embedded and resilient. By supporting investment decisions and aligning local action with European sustainability goals, PRISE will accelerate the adoption of PEDs, making them technically feasible, economically viable, and replicable across different urban realities.
Belgium
Denmark
Italy
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Switzerland
Türkiye
Aalborg Universitet, Beauvent cv, Centro de Estudos Sociais, Politecnico di Milano, Smart Innovation Norway AS, Stad Oostende, Universidad de Córdoba, Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek, Woonsprong BV
Çankaya Belediyesi, CimArk SA, Comune di Reggio Emilia
Contact
Jakob Rager
jakob.rager@hevs.ch