EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - The HQE²R approach for managing a neighbourhood regeneration project towards sustainability (and for urban planning)

The HQE²R approach for managing a neighbourhood regeneration project towards sustainability (and for urban planning)

Introduction

A methodological approach and its toolkit, with tools for each phase of a neighbourhood regeneration project.

Description

The HQE²R approach is an integrated approach with adapted methods and tools easy to use by local authorities and their partners (social owners, public agencies, planners, landlords, banks, citizens…) managing neighbourhood regeneration projects towards sustainability.

Background information

The research aimed at working out an overall approach as well as operational tools for the various phases of a neighbourhood regeneration project in order to help all the actors involved or concerned by the project to go towards sustainability. Technical solutions are not at all enabled to solve all the problems of the European neighbourhoods and practitioners needed a new integrated approach for going towards sustainability with new specific adapted tools. So the research team worked upon 14 neighbourhoods in order to answer the real questions and to work out the needed tools.

Methodology

A methodological framework with SD principles, 5 main SD objectives, 21 targets, 51 key issues and 61 indicators has been defined for structuring the approach as well as the main tools of the toolkit. Specific tools have been worked out for each of the 4 phases of a neighbourhood project:

the HQDIL method for setting up a shared SD diagnosis;
the HQE²R participation scale and recommendations for improving; participation;
a neighbourhood evaluation tool for ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of neighbourhoods as well as of projects: the INDI model (INDicators Impact) (worked out by La Calade with the help of all the partners);
an environmental impact model for neighbourhoods and urban projects (answering the European directive 2001/42/CE), the ENVI model, available only for France (worked out by La Calade);
a global cost model for buildings, the Ascot model, available only for Denmark (worked out by Cenergia);
Recommendations for buildings’ and non built elements’ specifications and for taking SD into account in urban planning documents.

At the end a European non profit association, the Sustainable Urban Development European Network (SUDEN) has been created for gathering all the actors involved or concerned by urban management and urban planning in order to go further in research, training, awareness.

Conclusions

2 main results are available:

the overall HQE²R approach with its toolkit, ready to be used by all the European actors involved in neighbourhood regeneration projects or urban planning (or management) projects (as a whole or only by choosing some tools);
the Sustainable Urban Development European Network, SUDEN, for gathering all the actors concerned by urban management or urban development in order to aware and train, share experience, work out in various partnerships new adapted tools, close the gap between knowledge and practice.

Contact info

SUDEN
France
Phone: +33 493402930
http://www.suden.org
Catherine Charlot-Valdieu, tel. +33 627203496

Publication date

01/01/2004

Researcher

Catherine Charlot-Valdieu (Coordination)

Links

HQE²R

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Keywords

Support for local groups