Fostering and maintaining the social fabric for the green transition in neighbourhoods

To make the green transition happen, social fairness needs to be at its heart. Inhabitants have to have the opportunity to influence the green transition and feel ownership of the measures to reach climate neutrality and circularity^[1], zero pollution and restore biodiversity. It is also important to better anticipate and manage climate-related risks across society, and to interact with inhabitants to build new concepts. All of this requires a closer understanding of people and how they experience their everyday lives. A recent Eurobarometer demonstrates that 88% of EU citizens think that the green transition should be fair and leave no one behind. Yet only 46% of Europeans are confident that by 2050 sustainable^[1] energy, products and services will be affordable for everyone, including poorer people^[3].

Vulnerable and marginalised groups are often more exposed to climate risks and pollution and affected by adverse impacts (e.g. health, energy poverty), while being least responsible and having lower capacity to adapt. The inclusion^[1] of different types of ownership (e.g. private, social, retirement, student housing, etc.) as well as various building typologies (e.g. high-rise buildings, slab blocks, villa blocks, terraced houses, etc.) in the planning of new neighbourhoods^[1] or the transformation of existing ones can also facilitate a quicker integration of marginalized and vulnerable groups - particularly younger generations, which should have equal opportunities and conditions for education regardless of their background - and fosters higher social intelligence among privileged groups.

In Work Programme 2025, this Destination contributes to the following expected impacts set out on the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027:

• 8. Realising the full potential of cultural heritage, arts, and cultural and creative sectors
• 10. Boosting inclusive growth and reducing vulnerabilities effectively
• 31. Sustainably developing rural, urban and coastal areas.
• 32. Developing innovative governance models and tools enabling sustainability and resilience.

This Destination seeks to reinforce ownership and a sense of belonging through more active, engaged and inclusive communities^[1] in neighbourhoods for the sustainable, inclusive, and beautiful^[1] transformation of neighbourhoods along the values^[8] and principles^[9] of the New European Bauhaus. This Destination will pay particular attention to the inclusion of different sociodemographic groups – such as families, women, children, youth, and older adults as well as vulnerable groups, including LGBTIQA+, people with physical and psychological functional variations, homeless, migrants and refugees, minorities, etc. – in design, creation and decision-making processes that affect them and the built environment^[1] they live in.

Cultural participation, cultural heritage, cultural and linguistic diversity, and the inclusion of indigenous^[1] and marginalised forms of knowledge can help enable this by offering a broader menu of interpretations and therefore different ways of making sense and assigning meaning to surroundings. The Destination will also foster social and ecological co-benefits to enable environmentally friendly, healthy and inclusive behaviours, and beautiful and environmentally friendly, healthy, inclusive environments.

More specifically, this Destination aims to:

• Understand how individual and collective mind-sets, habits and behaviours can change into more sustainable and inclusive ones in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas and how to promote interconnections between these diverse realities, turning the limitations and constraints stemming from the green and digital transitions into economic, cultural and social opportunities.
• Further explore the transformative potential of participatory practices and governance models (at local, national and regional levels), notably how culture, the arts and creative industry as well as the socio-cultural work sector can enhance transformation processes for the green transition, help address vulnerability and social equity concerns, and contribute to social inclusion, democracy, and sense of belonging in communities.

[1] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[2] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[3] Fairness perceptions of the green transition - October 2022 - - Eurobarometer survey (europa.eu)

[4] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[5] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[6] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[7] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[8] See the definitions of ’beautiful’, 'inclusive‘ and ’sustainable‘ in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[9] See the definitions of ‘multi-level engagnement‘, ‘participatory process‘ and ‘transdisciplinary approaches‘ in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[10] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

[11] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.

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