Clean energy and energy efficiency

The testing of a new low temperature district heating model at REDO Milano, has a unique feature: it is the first plant of this type in Italy that is also used for summer cooling and it is an ideal solution for efficient clean energy production in our urban areas. In this case, lowering the heat distribution temperature greatly increases the potentials for the integration of renewable energies and waste heat recovery (from industrial processes and/or waste disposal) and, at the same, time it decreases the energy losses in the distribution network. The air conditioning and ventilation of selected environments will be realized through “Freescoo”, an innovative system mainly fed by the district heating network. The system will benefit from minimum power consumption compared to traditional air conditioning systems therefore gaining substantial savings on energy costs. ICT tools for the control of thermal and electrical consumption of individual dwellings will be tested at REDO Milano, allowing the tenants to monitor their behaviours in real time, ensuring autonomy in the management of comfort in indoor spaces and creating the conditions for a sensible energy consumption. Lastly, an advanced logic for the control of the heating system will be tested in order to minimize the energy consumption keeping the same level of comfort.

Sustainable mobility

District-level mobility at REDO Milano, is proposed as sustainable and innovative. A home-school/work planning will be developed based on the analysis of supply and demand as well as by implementing strategies that optimize the efficient transport of people and goods, starting from the social and environmental values shared with the community, and promoting the positive changes in the user’s behaviour. Overall, all these activities foresee the integration of new partnerships and a set of support tools encouraging the change from private transport habits towards a more sustainable mobility. The main solutions may concern the cycle-pedestrian and shared mobility (such as the condominium car-sharing or the cargo-bike sharing as well as the implementation of the Pedibus for children) that will be co-designed with the community. Then, efficient connections with the main local public transport hubs by means of service, will be promoted as focal points of sustainable mobility.

Circular economy

Circular economy’s principles will be promoted among the REDO Milano residents aiming to adopt a new model of consumption within the community, where products, spaces, services and objects can be shared and continually renewed throughout their life cycle. The reduction of GHG emissions, energy consumption and waste production will have a positive impact on the environment which will also benefit from it.
Different innovative and circular solutions will be proposed to the community. Participating in purchasing groups for buying furniture and household appliances, for daily shopping or for energy supply, will allow the REDO Milano residents to save money and get used to purchase in a more responsible way. Cultivating a shared vegetable garden will be an opportunity to socialize, reducing the carbon footprint, the environmental impact and increasing biodiversity. Spaces and moments will then be set up to leading the community towards good practices of repairing, re-using and sharing objects. Finally, the residents of REDO Milano will be educated and informed on the correct way to manage waste, from the prevention of waste production to their disposal.

Engagement

Merezzate+ project has been thought as an innovative Living Lab to co-develop, test and implement an inclusive and participative district concept based on circular and low-carbon economy as means towards the achievement of the Paris Agreement objectives.
The philosophy and the background of the Merezzate+ project implies involving public and private stakeholders in a new integrated and multidisciplinary perspective to reach the goals of the projects in relation to the themes of mobility, energy saving and the circular economy. The relationships that have been created up to now, and that will be created within the project among project partners, other actors and stakeholders and the local community in the district and in the area of the city, then, become strategic. The ideas and suggestions deriving from the involvement, listening and interpretation of needs and proposals expressed by the stakeholders must become well-designed and well-structured actions in such a way their contribution is strongly linked and useful for the project goals achievement. The stakeholder’s participation and support to the project meetings and workshops will be essential to obtain the biggest results defined in the project and to help REDO Milano’s citizens community both during all the long process and after their settlement.
More in detail, the main engagement actions will be:
The Local Stakeholder Coordination Committee Ensure coordination and collaboration among the many stakeholders involved in Merezzate+ project implementation is a critical component to the success of the project itself: that is the reason why a permanent panel of stakeholders of the district, the so called “Local Stakeholder Coordination Committee – LSCC” has been established since the beginning of Merezzate+ activities, involving all key stakeholders that have influence or power over Merezzate+ project, that are affected by the project work or have an “interest” in its successful or unsuccessful conclusion.
The LSCC aims to ensure the harmonization and effective integration of the activities conducted in the district by the local actors and the measures implemented by the partners in the framework of the Merezzate+ project and at creating positive relationships with stakeholders through the appropriate management of their expectations and agreed objectives.

Community engagement activities in Merezzate+

The residents and local community’ people engagement activities to be developed in Merezzate+ project have been planned and defined starting from the given opportunity of the Fondazione Housing Sociale “Starting up Community” process for collaborative housing and social innovation, enriching, customizing and strengthening the REDO Milano community process co-design activities and tools in the light of Merezzate+ main environmental and sustainability pillars, circular economy, mobility and energy. Moreover, as Merezzate+ project will introduce some new services at a wider territorial scale, some of the participative and co-design activities will be opened to the whole area and to adjacent ones (e.g. Santa Giulia district). Finally, it is important to underline also that a community involvement process always entails elements of unpredictability related to the contribution that people involved will bring in the process itself; Merezzate+ partners and participative process experts will watch over all the ongoing activities, and be ready to intercept the community engagement process occasions suitable for adding the Merezzate+ project sustainability focus and plus. The engagement activities in Merezzate district will be introduced since the tenants’ selection phase (starting in June 2019) and will go on until September 2021, according with the FHS Final Meeting set up.

The FHS Starting up Community process – as is. Source: FHS

Merezzate+ project will propose awareness raising and training initiatives and local neighbourhood discussions capable of involving residents’ community in the uptake of the green approach of project: such activities, focused in the fields of energy efficiency, available mobility services, circular economy and waste management will help to promote a correct use of the new co-designed services and to adopt sustainable behaviours. Merezzate+ project will activate workshops and training sessions on the project pillars themes and on the activities and services provided by the residents themselves, in close connection with the different steps in the start-up community process. The training activities (training modules, events, workshop and laboratories) will take place at the beginning of the community involvement activities (i.e. in support of the Buying Groups to propose green procurement criteria and “how to manage an eco-apartment” suggestions), while some will be delivered after the co-design phase, to disseminate results and present the energy-mobility-circular economy activities that will be implemented to a wider audience.

Community engagement and behavioural change through ICT gamification tools

An important role among the community engagement tools available at REDO Milano district will be played by the community App – Planet App, a socially rich e-environment designed with multiple purpose and functions: together with tools to optimize the organization and management of the community shared spaces and services within the social housing complex and to collect and interpret data to manage and remotely control the home comfort, the App is designed to fulfil a social connection function and provides a preliminary gamification framework to nudge final users towards a more virtuous and sustainable behaviour.
Thanks to Merezzate+ project, the gamification and competition mechanism amongst neighbours will be triggered through the App by:

– enabling users to compare their environmental performance during time and versus other REDO Milano’s inhabitants, starting from the data collected on consumption of water, energy for space heating and sanitary hot water, and electricity consumption.
– offering rewards and incentives as a mean of positive reinforcement, to increase fun, social reputation and engagement.