Digitally enabled social district renovation processes for age-friendly environments driving social innovation and local economic development

Housing policy in Europe is characterised by diversity; there is no single concept of ‘social housing’. In Spain, in the industrial development of the XX century, an extensive workers' housing policy was developed, and many social housing options appeared. The renovation of these districts and the refurbishment of this building typology (post-war privately-owned multifamily) requires heavy investment to alleviate situations of constructive pathologies, lack of energy efficiency and accessibility, and to adapt them to modern standards and the new requirements of their current users (often older people).The core ambition of the project is the development of an integrated renovation methodology aiming to transform social housing districts into inclusive smart neighbourhoods. It will guide constructive, energy and digital updates of neighbourhoods to improve urban space, accessibility and quality of life for all resident, and to guarantee connectivity of these neighbourhoods in physical, social and digital areas.The two drivers around which this project is structured are social innovation and local economic development both sharing the integration of innovative technologies as a guiding thread but with a human-centred approach and fit for purpose. The project will also explore the growth creation potential of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in these processes of social neighbourhood renewal while strengthening social cohesionBased on an understanding of users’ needs, it will be validated through a use case in one social housing neighbourhood in Ermua (Spain). This process will be enriched by a peer learning method: Ermua will iterate with Elva (Estonia) as digitally advanced, and Matera (Italy), with their experience around the CCIs having been European Culture Capital 2019. This will also guarantee its replicability reinforced by Housing Europe, with the capacity to widely disseminate the IRM among its members as well as to foster and support its application