NEWS

Bridging Planning and Practice: WeGenerate at SSPCR 2025

WeGenerate and the POSEIDON project jointly co-organised a workshop at the Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions (SSPCR) 2025 conference, held on 9 December 2025 at NOI Techpark in Bolzano, Italy. The session addressed a key challenge in sustainable urban development: bridging the gap between planning and execution for sustainable neighbourhoods.

Titled “Bridging the Gap Between Planning and Execution for Sustainable Neighbourhoods”, the two-hour workshop brought together researchers, municipal practitioners, and project partners to discuss how ambitious energy concepts—such as Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) and Energy Communities (ECs)—can be translated into real-world implementation.

The workshop responded to a widely recognised challenge highlighted by the conference organisers: while cities are increasingly moving away from centralised and polluting energy models towards decentralised, resilient, and flexible systems, a persistent gap remains between innovation and implementation. This gap is often driven by difficulties in developing actionable roadmaps, navigating complex multi-stakeholder governance structures, establishing viable financing mechanisms, and overcoming regulatory barriers.

Using the World Café methodology, participants rotated across three themed discussion tables to share experiences and practical insights. Discussions focused on identifying barriers to implementation, examining successful policy instruments and strategies from across Europe, analysing recurrent challenges related to governance, finance, regulation, and planning roadmaps, and exploring adaptable models suitable for diverse urban contexts.

The interactive format fostered open dialogue and peer learning, with a strong emphasis on turning visionary energy designs into concrete action. The workshop also served as a valuable example of cross-project collaboration, reinforcing the importance of joint reflection and knowledge exchange in advancing sustainable neighbourhoods across European cities.