Rising energy prices across Europe have increased concerns over energy poverty. Despite significant scholarly focus on financial relief measures instituted by national governments, locally tailored crisis measures have remained overlooked. This study delves into the Dutch context, where part of the government's response to the energy crisis was decentralised, allowing municipalities considerable discretion in experimenting with energy poverty interventions. It compares two strategies: ‘energy coaching’ services – offering advice on sustainable energy practices – and shallow retrofitting by ‘fix teams’ – installing minor energy-saving measures in homes. The impact of these interventions on residential comfort, sustainable behaviour adoption, and (financial concerns regarding) energy bills is assessed through an extensive survey involving treatment and control groups coupled with detailed administrative data on households and dwellings. Results indicate that, on an aggregate level, local interventions significantly enhanced perceived comfort and reduced energy bills among the treatment groups. Comparing individual interventions, notably, more extensive ones such as fix teams and comprehensive energy coaching were significantly more impactful than those involving a single visit, highlighting the importance of continuous engagement. Additionally, we found that energy poverty status significantly amplified the effectiveness of these interventions, thereby stressing the importance of focusing efforts on vulnerable households.@en

China has recently shown great enthusiasm for developing neighborhood renewal, and good cooperation within resident groups is the key to successful implementation. Residents’ cooperative behavior is easily influenced by social relationships among residents, which are referred to as resident-level social capital. Further, resident-level social capital is influenced by the neighborhood effects, known as neighborhood-level social capital. However, few studies examined the impact of social capital on residents’ behavior from the perspective of both resident-level and neighborhood-level. This paper aims to examine the multilevel social capital that influence residents’ cooperative behavior in China. Using social capital theory and the theory of planned behavior, this study collects questionnaire survey data from 1039 residents in 98 neighborhood renewal projects in China. The results from multilevel structural equation modeling suggest that residents’ social capital can directly influence residents’ cooperative behavioral intention. The variability of neighborhood-level social capital and the impact of multidimensional social capital were examined. The findings of this study have strengthened the explanatory power of the theory of planned behavior and expanded the application scope of social capital theory. The results provide a more cultural and historical perspective, that is, resident relationships, for promoting cooperation among residents in neighborhood renewal.@en

It is recommended to integrate specific management competencies in academic education to support the transition towards environmentally sustainable practices, particularly in the construction and real estate sector. This paper explores how architectural management education can integrate environmental sustainability within its current university programmes. In recent years TU Delft explored and experimented with various education initiatives to bring forward environmental sustainability knowledge and to connect with policy, societal and industry practices. This paper describes what we learned from both bottom-up and top-down initiatives implementing environmental sustainability in construction and real estate management education. Bottom-up educational initiatives show that knowledge about transition policies, stakeholder experiences, business models and management practices from a European perspective can help students across the globe to apply knowledge into their local context, reflecting on the overarching management principals across stakeholders, institutions, academic disciplines and cultures. Top-down initiatives show that the university has a vision on integrating sustainability in its curriculum, but that integrating environmental sustainability in construction and real estate management education is still challenging. Adapting the academic curriculum to integrate building and portfolio responses to environmental challenges might be a way forward and the experiences from numerous elective courses and educational initiatives can be a basis to identify the development of a future standard curriculum.@en

Residential energy retrofitting projects in the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) zone of China face various risks related to project activities, which incur transaction costs (TCs), such as search, negotiation, and monitoring costs. As the leader in project implementation, the Chinese government is responsible for project planning, organisation, and coordination. However, TCs impede the government’s ability to execute risk-related project activities effectively, subsequently increasing the probability of the occurrence of risk. Drawing on transaction cost economics (TCE), this study proposes a theoretical framework to understand the barriers—such as asset specificity, uncertainty, and frequency—that prevent the government from performing project activities and mitigating risks effectively. An artificial neural network (ANN) is applied to verify the hypotheses. The results underscore experience and operational maturity in project activities, cost and time constraints, and the immature retrofitting market as significant impediments to the government’s execution of risk-related activities. Considering the varying roles of the government in reducing different risks, this study concludes by offering policy recommendations to alleviate these activity barriers and mitigate risks. By employing a TCs perspective, this study not only identifies key barriers but also deepens our understanding of risk mitigation mechanisms, providing robust policy insights tailored to the specific regional context of China, thereby enhancing both the execution and the framework of government-led retrofitting projects.@en

Urban sustainability is a pressing challenge that intertwines energy efficiency, social equity, technological innovation, and community involvement. With the growing global emphasis on reducing carbon footprints and addressing climate change, the need for sustainable urban housing and communities has become increasingly critical. This Research Topic, “Sustainable Transition for Urban Housing and Community,” brings together a Research Topic of research that examines the multifaceted issues surrounding sustainable development in urban contexts. By analyzing the interplay of energy consumption, governance, technological innovation, and digital transformation, the articles in this Research Topic present a holistic view of how urban sustainability can be achieved. [...]@en

In the context of increasing focus on social sustainability, neighborhood rehabilitation has emerged as a crucial component of global urban renewal initiatives. Distinct from most renewal paradigms that are usually one-offs, neighborhood rehabilitation is a long-term endeavor that requires ongoing resident participation to effectively address diverse needs, investment shortages, and governance challenges. Extant research predominantly focuses on residents' initial engagement, leaving the dynamics of continued participation and its influencing factors largely unexamined. Employing the Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM), this study explores how residents' initial participation experiences influence their intentions to continue participation. Analyzing questionnaire responses from 367 experienced residents in Wuhan, China, the study finds that a mere 38.2 % of residents exhibit re-engage intention. Path analysis shows that initial participation experience influences residents' re-engage intention indirectly through participation satisfaction and perceived usefulness. Residents' re-engage intention is most influenced by level of influence residents hold in decision-making, followed by type of activities they engage in, and stage of their initial involvement. As an exploratory study into the realm of continued participation, this research uncovers several potential pathways and policy recommendations, aiming to ease residents' transition from initial acceptance to sustained engagement in future neighborhood development efforts.@en

Shopping centres hold significant energy retrofit potential in the retail sector. However, their complex multi-stakeholder governance structure complicates decision-making for Energy Efficiency Retrofits (EER). Although literature identifies some barriers linked to EER, they are often scattered and not identified within a process perspective that considers their contextual complexities. This study addressed this gap by examining stakeholders’ behaviours, barriers, and relations during EER decision-making processes, to detect stakeholders’ needs to catalyse the energy transition. Qualitative research was conducted on three representative Dutch shopping centres case studies. The cross-case analysis uncovered the decision-making process for EER and new barriers attributed to this building typology. Amongst other, detected barriers can be attributed to limitations with governmental and internal regulations, lifecycle conflicts, proposed interventions being out of scope, and existing technical challenges. The study also revealed causal relationships among stakeholders, showcasing varying interpretations of barriers and highlighting the roles of owners, property managers, and public authorities in overcoming them. Furthermore, the findings indicate the key role that different contextual variables play in the EER decision-making process, such as ownership type, governance structure, and leasing structure. This study offers insights and recommendations for shopping centre owners, property managers, and policymakers, to support them in navigating the energy transition of the retail building stock. Key recommendations include decentralizing decision-making, optimizing governance structure, streamlining sustainability advisors, and acknowledging the collaborative roles of property managers and policymakers in providing effective and holistic solutions.@en

This paper systematically analyzes the effect of energy efficiency on transacted rental and capital values of Dutch retail property assets from 2015–2021. Prior research on Energy Performance Certification (EPC) and energy premiums consistently showed a pricing effect, but recent investigations reveal inconclusive results, particularly when considering non-residential properties. Leveraging a unique dataset of 1015 lease transactions and 478 sale transactions, this study provides one of the first estimates of how EPC labels impact retail value. We utilize ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, considering characteristic retail determinants such as footfall, catchment area type, and retail type, among others. This study finds a premium of 11 percent for rental transactions with Label C or higher on a price per square meter basis. Capital premiums for energy-efficient transactions are more marginal and complex, particularly when accounting for data limitations such as geographic distribution. The nexus between sustainability and financial benefits incentivizes investors and policymakers to embrace energy-efficient measures. Pioneering spatial analyses of EPCs in the retail sector, this paper offers insights for informed policy-making amid geographic variations. In the era of transparency, this research provides empirical evidence to drive responsible investments in energy-efficient retail, shifting from risk management to stakeholder benefits and improved capital efficiency.@en

Buildings in the EU consume around 40 % of energy and are responsible for 36 % of greenhouse gas emissions. This necessitates building energy renovations as a coping strategy for energy reduction. Residential buildings consume about 27 % of the energy use in Europe. Multifamily residential buildings, known as condominiums, feature individually owned apartments and are managed by Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs). HOAs constitute a considerable percentage of the owners of the residential sector in Europe. However, the deep energy renovation rate is still low due to the complex process and the barriers faced by HOAs. There is a lack of understanding of the main barriers to undertaking deep energy renovation projects by HOAs and their potential solutions. Therefore, this paper investigates barriers, incentives, and possible solutions that motivate HOAs to undertake deep energy renovation projects. This study employs a combination of qualitative methods, including archival research, the gathering of information through observations at meetings organized by the EU, four interviews, and a workshop with eleven experts. This exploration was conducted from the perspective of three actors: home renovation providers, public authorities, and policymakers in the Netherlands and Flanders. The barriers are grouped under four categories, namely: financial, legal, social, and technical. The findings indicate that communication, cost, and legal structure are the most significant barriers. The incentives play a vital role only in the early phases of the renovation. The findings can inform policymakers, energy practitioners, and researchers in developing targeted strategies for successfully implementing deep renovation projects for HOAs.@en

High household end-user services demand of high-income families results in higher energy consumption compared with low-income families, indicating high-income families may save more energy from similar building energy retrofitting (BER) strategies. Therefore, current BER subsidy policies, which consider technique indicators and ignore families' income, will make high-income families' recovery costs faster, and can't maximize the incentive for residents’ BER awareness. To formulate a equitable and efficient subsidy policies considering families’ income, this study selected Chongqing as the study case and employed propensity scores matching method to evaluate BER's actual energy savings performance for families with different incomes. Meanwhile, the BER subsidies are reallocated based on the dynamic cost payback period. The results indicated that, following BER, the energy savings of high-income families (7.36 kWh/m²) were higher than the mid- (3.96 kWh/m²) and low-income (3.25 kWh/m²) families. Notably, under current subsidy policies, the cost payback period of low-income families is nearly 2.55 and 3.14 times of the mid-income (6.61 years) and high-income (5.37 years) groups, respectively. This study suggests a subsidy of 32.57 yuan/m², 20.27 yuan/m², and 15.38 yuan/m² for low-income, mid-income, and high-income families, respectively. These results provide novel insights into the actual energy-saving performance of residential buildings and help policymakers to formulate fair subsidy policies.

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Resident participation is essential for neighborhood rehabilitation. It requires the active involvement of residents and efficient management by organizers. To improve the effectiveness of resident participation, it is necessary to understand the critical success factors (CSFs) underlying it. However, previous research has examined the critical factors from a single-stakeholder perspective, overlooking potential differences in perceptions among stakeholders with diverse roles and rehabilitation experiences. Based on 30 interviews and 255 questionnaires from six stakeholder groups in Wuhan, China, this study explores how the perception of critical factors for effective resident participation varies among local government, community-based organization, designer, contractor, consulting party, and resident. Thirty-seven factors were identified and compared among the stakeholders. Financial Incentive (for participation organizers) was identified as the most critical factor for effective resident participation, followed by Information Disclosure and Transparency, and Trust. Results from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) show that the six groups differed significantly in the importance of most factors (25/37), especially in Participant Education and Prejudice against the Working Group. Interview results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic and rehabilitation experience changed stakeholders’ perceived importance of some factors. Specifically, in future RP initiatives, extra emphasis could be placed on Trait and Capacity (of the working group) and Participation-assistance Technologies. Stakeholders regarded these two factors as more critical as their rehabilitation experience accumulated. By understanding stakeholders' conflicting and changing perceptions of effective resident participation, suggestions were proposed to each stakeholder group to fulfill their distinct participation objectives and improve the overall effectiveness of participation practices.@en

The implementation of prefabricated housing (PH) has become prevalent in China recently due to its advantages in enhancing production and energy-saving efficiency within the construction system. However, stakeholders may not always fully realize the benefits of adopting PH due to the emergence of transaction costs (TCs) in the development process of such projects. This study investigated the strategies for developers to make rational choices for minimizing the TCs of the PH project considering their own attributes and external constraints. A Bayesian Belief Network model was applied as the analytical method, based on surveys conducted in China. A single sensitivity analysis indicated that developers influence the TCs of PH through the following three most impactful factors: prefabrication rate, PH experience, and contract payment method. Integrated strategies are recommended for developers in various situations based on a multiple sensitivity analysis. Developers facing challenges due to high prefabrication rates are advised to reduce the risks by procuring highly qualified general contractors and adopting unit-price contracts. For developers with limited PH experience, adopting the Engineering–Procurement–Construction procurement method is the most efficient way to reduce their TCs in the context of China’s PH market. This study contributes to the current body of knowledge concerning the effect of traders’ attributes and choices on TCs, expanding the application of TC theory and fulfilling the study on the determinants of TCs in construction management.@en

Socially sustainable urban renewal hinges on active public participation, necessitating effective information sharing. Combining Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Ecological Network Analysis (ENA), this study longitudinally investigates how stakeholder information sharing evolves over the project lifecycle of neighborhood rehabilitation and its impacts on resident participation. A representative neighborhood rehabilitation project in Wuhan, China, serves as the study case, with data from 10 interviews, 35 questionnaires, and 3 focus groups. The study suggests that SNA and ENA are complementary and competent in identifying key stakeholders, as well as uncovering undesirable behaviors of manipulation and monopolization, and unhealthy relationships like exploitation and competition. Implementation unit and neighborhood committee emerged as principal information holders, while local media and tenant were least informed. SNA results underscore the central position of neighborhood committee in collecting and disseminating information, demonstrating significant autonomy and control throughout project lifecycle. Conversely, homeowner showed marked dependence and lacked control, particularly in the planning and design phase. ENA findings reveal neighborhood committee’s ongoing struggle with information exploitation, eroding its willingness and capacity to share information during the later phases of rehabilitation process. The information exploitation led to a fragile network that further marginalized local media, undermined by dwindling trust and autonomy. Notably, homeowners amplified their discourse power as project progressed, shifting from passive recipients to active decision-makers. Yet, well-informed homeowners monopolized information sharing, deliberately excluding others with conflicting interests, intensifying issues of inequity and opacity. Policy recommendations are provided to counter unhealthy stakeholder dynamics and promote equitable and inclusive public participation in urban renewal initiatives.@en

Highlights
• The aging systems, and the house's condition, are important factors that motivate occupants to consider energy retrofitting.
• Educating occupants on regular monitoring can enhance the durability and performance of energy-efficient technologies.
• Policymakers need to implement region-specific strategies, to promote energy retrofitting initiatives.@en

Across the European Union (EU), approximately 46% of the population resides in apartment buildings. A majority of these buildings are in need of energy renovation and are managed by Homeowner associations (HOAs). HOAs face distinct challenges in renovating their buildings. Integrated home renovation services (IHRS) have emerged as a potential solution to accelerate highly energy-efficient renovations for HOAs. The question arises: How do current integrated home renovation service providers facilitate energy renovations for homeowner associations, overcoming the prevailing barriers to uptake? This paper explores the current state of IHRS providers operating in four European regions with a focus on the Netherlands and Flanders. The study offers insights into the dynamics of their business models, strategies, and ways forward. The methods employed involve a combination of qualitative approaches. Fourteen business models of IHRS providers in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Austria were analysed, to define their strategies within the regional context. The results reveal that while public entities prioritize broad societal challenges, private models focus on operational efficiency and financial sustainability. Public-private partnerships offer a hybrid approach, blending strengths but requiring precise governance to align diverse interests and achieve comprehensive, sustainable outcomes. The findings can inform policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in developing effective and targeted IHRS initiatives in the EU.@en

In the original publication of the article, the first affiliation “School of Public Administration, Hunan University, Changsha, China” was incorrectly repeated as fourth affiliation. The fourth affiliation should be “Building and Real Estate Dept. Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR”. The original article has been corrected.

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Energy efficiency renovation (EER) of the existing residential housing stock is crucial to achieving further decarbonization to be climate neutral by 2050. This transition is particularly challenging for affordable rental housing providers as they have to make intensive investment decisions while balancing rental affordability for their low- and middle income tenants. The affordable housing market is designed to provide affordable and accessible accommodation for individuals or families who may have difficulties finding suitable housing in the private rental market due to low income, disabilities, senior age or other vulnerable characteristics. Although the affordable rental housing providers design, invest, coordinate and perform energy-efficiency measures to improve the energy label of the existing housing stock, in many cases they need the approval of the tenants to finally execute the EER. Depending on the national governance, arrangements and regulations, as well as the event of a well-structured arrangement, tenants may exert a degree of influence on the decision-making process. We propose that it is necessary to understand the attitudes, strategies and perceptions of people occupying affordable housing, to be able to include them efficiently in the whole EER-decision-making process. This study aims to compile all behavioural factors analysed in literature and cluster them to reveal behavioural barriers and involvement preferences. We will offer a holistic profile of influencing factors unravelling tenants behavioural characteristics and lay a solid foundation for the design of potential policy and behavioural interventions to accelerate the EER in the affordable housing sector.@en

Neighborhood regeneration has become essential component of environmental improvement, and promoting resident participation is a key aspect of effective environmental management. However, in China, the legacy of the former housing allocation system and specific cultural contexts have led to residents' psychological inertia towards participating in neighborhood regeneration. Although there has been extensive research on encouraging resident participation, most studies fail to recognize that cultivating active participation behavior among residents usually requires overcoming their existing reluctance or psychological inertia first. Grounded on the innovative notion of psychological inertia, this paper puts forth the perspective that to foster resident participation, it is imperative to initially disrupt their current participation inertia and subsequently facilitate the reconfiguration of their participation behavior. Specifically, it addresses two key research questions: (i) which factors are conducive to stimulating residents to overcome inherent psychological inertia and stimulate their positive participation attitudes? (ii) How do these stimuli shape and reconstruct residents' participation behavior? Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory and structural equation modeling (SEM), this paper unveils the mask of intrinsic mechanism for overcoming psychological inertia and reshaping residents' participation behavior. The empirical results show that three stimulating factors (information acquisition, social norms, and perceived grassroots government support) directly impact residents' participating attitudes; these stimuli reconstruct participation behavior by triggering individual psychological changes and then inducing behavioral changes. With the new insight of “overcoming psychological inertia” and the incorporation of behavioral psychology in restructuring resident participation behavior, this paper presents implementation strategies for promoting resident participation in neighborhood regeneration.

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In the built environment, improving the energy efficiency of existing building stock through retrofitting is the top pillar to mitigate climate change. Despite the efforts made by local authorities to provide technical and financial supports, the home energy retrofit rate remains low. This study aims to improve the understanding of how homeowners make their energy retrofit plans in a social environment, thereby informing behavioural policy (re)design. Using a sample of inexperienced retrofitters among Dutch homeowners (N = 556), we investigate the relationship between perceived social norms and energy retrofit plans. The results show that homeowners who perceive a positive injunctive norm have an 11.8 percentage point higher probability of making a home energy retrofit plan compared to those with a non-positive perception. Perceived injunctive norms are also significantly associated with the number of planned retrofit measures and aligned with multiple direct barriers and motivations for retrofitting. However, perceived descriptive norms are only associated with the number of planned retrofit measures, and are even correlated with stronger perceived barriers. We conclude by discussing different social influence pathways of descriptive and injunctive norms, as well as the potential of leveraging social norms as a behavioural policy intervention to promote home energy retrofit.

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The need for energy efficient buildings has become increasingly important in the context of climate change mitigation. Across the European Union (EU), 41,2% of the population resides in multiple ownership apartment buildings with figures rising in some countries as high as 65%. A majority of these buildings are in need of energy renovation. Integrated home renovation services (IHRS) have emerged as a potential solution to accelerate highly energy-efficient renovations for Home-Owner Associations (HOAs). The question arises: How do the business models of current integrated home renovation services address highly energy-efficient renovations by HOAs? This paper explores the current state of IHRS from the viewpoint of the Low Countries and France. The methods used are desk research and interviews. Four business models of service providers in the Netherlands, Flanders, and France were analyzed, to define their strategies within the regional context. The analysis categorizes and compares IHRS business model (BM) typologies to increase knowledge about IHRS functioning and capacity to bring innovation to home renovation processes. The results show that the BMs of these providers share some similarities and differ in other aspects. Regarding the similarities, all four providers share the value of offering customized energy renovation packages, also in terms of customer segments, by addressing the specific needs of HOAs. They slightly differ in terms of the channels used, customer relationships, key resources, key activities and key partners. They differ in revenue streams and cost structure, owing to context-specific aspects of the type of organization. The outcome of this study can help inform the development of effective and targeted IHRS initiatives in the EU.@en