THE PROTOTYPES OF CHANGE: A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH
Innovations for the
housing-energy
nexus
Prototypes of Change are defined as local initiatives of social, political and economic innovation targeting affordable housing renovation for vulnerable households and communities.
The project will use a bottom-up approach to thoroughly determine the potential for up-scaling of these prototypes. This approach lays the groundwork for co-creating learning communities through participatory research, facilitating interaction between researchers, residents, and policy makers. This process promotes knowledge transfer and creates opportunities for scaling up initiatives.
Consortium partners are conducting qualitative and ethnographic research to understand the factors driving each prototype and their impact on addressing housing and energy inequalities. By thoroughly documenting and analysing the specific legal, financial, institutional, social, and cultural elements that either support or hinder the development of these prototypes, the project will gain a holistic understanding of 16 different prototypes across Europe.
WG Ketelhuis
Established in 2018, KetelhuisWG in Amsterdam is a community-driven energy initiative that aims to transition a central neighbourhood heating source from gas to heating from nearby canals. Heat is stored underground and distributed via heat pumps to provide heating all year round.
The project emphasises common ownership and democratic decision-making, fostering social cohesion and empowering residents to take control of their energy needs.
Mustamäe
Mustamäe is Tallinn’s first neighbourhood-based renovation project, showcasing inclusive and integrated energy retrofitting activities across multiple buildings.
The project links housing renovation, energy transition, and social inclusion, introducing policy and governance innovations to make retrofitting more inclusive, coordinated, and climate-resilient.
Reviu Digital Platform
Launched in Barcelona in 2024, Reviu is an online platform created by IDRA to address the lack of equity and transparency in Spain’s rental market by incorporating tenants’ perspectives. It facilitates the exchange of reviews from tenants about the quality of rental flats, landlords, and real estate agents, thereby functioning as both a technological innovation and a communal practice.
By combining transparency, shared experiences, and accessible information, Reviu has the potential to foster a collaborative tenant community while promoting accountability in the rental sector.
Refugee squats and self-housing
A substantial body of research examines the living conditions within state-run refugee camps. However, little is known about refugee access to adequate energy and affordable housing outside of these camps.
PREFIGURE analyses institutional and collective actions and solidarity initiatives that address the energy poverty and substandard housing conditions experienced by refugees in both state-run reception centres and in self-housing or squats in Greece.
EXPLORE ALL
PREFIGURE’s ‘Prototypes of Change‘ showcase 16 innovative, real-life responses to energy-housing precarity in the form of social, political, and economic solutions across eight countries: Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.
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From 20 April to 22 April 2026, the mobile laboratory corner