Key takeaways from the discussions included: 🌍 The viability of PEDs requires structural and systemic change. 🗣️ We need a compelling narrative that speaks to policymakers and citizens alike. 🤝 Citizen-driven and context-based approaches are essential for PEDs to make sense in people’s everyday lives.
Although PED-ACT officially concludes this month, our partnership and collaboration continue — carrying forward the project’s spirit through initiatives like the PED Manifesto (you can read our version on https://ped-act.com/pedmanifesto/), first launched by our partner Wonderland and later expanded by the wider PED community.
Together, we keep working toward a shared European vision of climate-neutral cities, advancing digital PED references, data-driven insights, and socially inclusive approaches to sustainable urban transformation.
The final consortium meeting of the PED-ACT project — Auto Characterization of PEDs for Digital References Towards Iterative Process Optimisation — took place on May 26–27, 2025, hosted by Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) in collaboration with Karşıyaka Municipality.
Partners from across Europe came together to review project results, share experiences from the demo sites in Schönbühel-Aggsbach (Austria), Borlänge (Sweden), and Karşıyaka (Türkiye), and discuss the future of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) beyond the project’s completion.
The two-day meeting included in-depth discussions on data architecture, energy modelling, governance, strategy, and replication, followed by visits to IZTECH’s Green Hydrogen Lab and Karşıyaka’s solar energy projects.
The second day featured a public event and exhibition at Zübeyde Hanım Nikah Sarayı, with opening remarks by Prof. Dr. Xingxing Zhang (Dalarna University, PED-ACT Project Coordinator), Meltem Korkmaz (Karşıyaka Municipality, Director of Climate and Zero Waste), and representatives from İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.
The workshop session, moderated by Bahanur Nasya (Wonderland Platform for Architecture), encouraged reflections on PED-ACT’s outcomes and the pathways to climate-neutral urban districts.
PED-ACT extends its sincere thanks to all partners for their collaboration and commitment:
Dalarna University, Borlänge Municipality, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Umeå University, Umeå Energi, Middle East Technical University (METU), Demir Energy, Wonderland Platform for Architecture, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Umeå Municipality, AB Stora Tunabyggen, Die Energie-& Umweltagentur des Landes NÖ, Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH), and Karşıyaka Municipality.
The project, funded under the JPI Urban Europe framework, received support from Viable Cities (Vinnova, Swedish Energy Agency, and Formas), TÜBİTAK (Türkiye), and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action (BMK), and recognized within Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) partnerships.
We are excited to share that the Positive Energy District (PED) Manifesto is now available in English, German, and Turkish.
The PED Manifesto outlines key principles, shared values, and action pathways to support the transition toward energy-positive and climate-neutral cities. It is the result of collaborative work across European PED initiatives, aiming to inspire policymakers, urban planners, researchers, and citizens.
📝 Originally developed in English and German by the brilliant Wonderland team — Batuhan Akkaya, Bahanur Nasya, and Danny Nedkova —
🌍 Now also available in Turkish thanks to the collaborative efforts of Oya Tabanoğlu (Demir Energy), Hasan Burak Çavka & Eylem Keskin (IZTECH), and Yasemin Şentürk (Karşıyaka Municipality).
The International Conference on Building and Simulation (BAS) will be hosted by SERC at our partner Dalarna University’s campus in Borlänge, Sweden, from 2–4 July 2025.
This conference provides a unique platform for the discussion of pressing building and energy issues and fostering collaborations among researchers, architects, environmental scientists, facility managers, and policymakers.The specific conference topics are:
▪️ Urban Energy Systems
▪️ Sustainable Building Design
▪️ Urban Climate and Smart City Simulations
▪️ Community Engagement
🔗 Scroll down on the Home page of the conference website for further details –https://bas2025.org/
📅 The Call for Abstracts is open until 14 Feb 2025 and submissions should be made via the conference website (via ‘Submission’ tab).
PED-ACT’s Austrian partner Wonderland’s Communications Manager, our team member Bahanur Nasya was invited to give a speech at the European Creative Economy Conference in Helsingborg, Sweden on June 13th, 2024. The European Conference on Creative Economy and Culture (#ECEC), is a localized collaborative event with the aim to discuss problems in the field of territorial creative ecosystems and connect researchers, creative professionals, and public administration to the European CCI frameworks.
Her speech about “Feeding Local Ecosystems” was highlighted in the Local Ecosystems Partnerships for Creative Placemaking, ECEC24.
We are thrilled to see Bahanur Nasya represent PED-ACT at the ECEC24 event!
