Place based retrofit: A National Retrofit Hub project

1 A survey and a story
2 Why place?
3 About the project
4 Place Based Retrofit: The story so far
5 What is the broader impact of this work?
6 What do we hope to understand?
7 How to get involved
8 Cross-cutting themes
9 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] A survey and a story

Place-based approaches are rewriting the delivery of retrofit by moving beyond approaches which are blind to context; connecting national strategy with local needs. But the story is still unfolding.

See below to find out about our survey, and how you can help build a shared understanding of Place Based Approaches to Retrofit!

[edit] Why place?

Some approaches to retrofit have tended to create “an uncoordinated supply chain, focused on installing single measures” (UKGBC), often missing the dynamics between and within communities that should contribute to decision-making and retrofit uptake. Local needs are not fully identified and met through existing schemes, and opportunities to strengthen local supply chains are missed. This is one of the key issues that has led to low citizen engagement, demand, and capacity in retrofit.

Place-Based approaches have emerged as a method to build citizen engagement, accelerate delivery and create impact based on local needs.

[edit] About the project

The National Retrofit Hub is collaborating with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) and Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC) to uncover and investigate effective place-based approaches to retrofit. Supported by The MCS Foundation, the project aims to build a replicable, scalable framework that engages and empowers actors at all scales, from national government to community groups and citizens.

Effective place-based approaches require action across scales, from national government to community organisations. This project will support decision-makers to understand what enabling infrastructure they need to provide to empower and support more bottom-up initiatives.

While shared understandings of what these approaches entail in relation to retrofit are still in their early days, expressions of what they might look like are already emerging from grass roots initiatives, local authorities, and NGOs. These include excellent examples of existing work which takes a place-based lens. Building upon the work of programmes and organisations already embodying place-based principles, the project asks;

“How can we work effectively across scales, such as neighbourhood, local authority, and national government to deliver retrofit?”

[edit] Place Based Retrofit: The story so far

The project’s review of existing approaches to place-based thinking, policy, and practice shows that retrofit is shaped by a ‘more-than-local’ web of relationships that extend beyond sector-specific silos and immediate local areas.

When applied to retrofit, a place-based perspective means looking beyond technical fixes to recognise the wider consequences of retrofit supply chains, the ways it interacts with structural energy inequalities and vulnerabilities, and its connections to broader policy goals such as health and climate resilience. It also emphasises a more participatory and collaborative approach, embedding practices of co-design and governance across scales and between sectors.

“What if our national retrofit strategy was developed from the ground-up: as a creative, collective, and courageous model rooted in deep reskilling, emergent hyper-local roles, and the civic infrastructure to enable this?” (Retrofit Reimagined)

[edit] What is the broader impact of this work?

Place-based approaches engage with complex systems and require careful coordination, but the result is stronger impact, and benefits that extend far beyond energy savings. They may take longer and require additional resources, but we know that top-down approaches are not delivering the scale and quality of outcomes needed.

The project will consider existing frameworks that can help ensure place-based approaches deeply consider local needs alongside broader social and environmental justice transformations. These may include:

The Six Shifts proposed by Civic Square as part of Retrofit Reimagined

Doughnut Economics, including methods to ‘unroll the doughnut’ and create portraits of neighbourhoods, communities, and cities to more accurately reflect the ‘shape’ of a place. And in turn, facilitate the design of more place-sensitive approaches to retrofit.

[edit] What do we hope to understand?

This project is about learning from existing practice, collectively imagining what effective place-based approaches entail, and supporting their wider implementation. We will ask questions such as:

How is ‘place’ understood, and what principles should guide the approach?

How do we recognise the needs of local communities, while simultaneously being attentive to our responsibilities within broader geographical contexts?

Who should hold roles, responsibilities, and agency within a place-based approach?
What is needed at each scale to enable effective action?
What elements of place-based approaches are replicable, and how can we enable this?
What existing case studies exemplify components of place-based approaches, and what can we learn from them?
How can we support the effective evaluation of place-based strategies?

Answering these questions will help us to build a scalable framework that engages and empowers actors at all scales, from national government to community groups and citizens.

[edit] How to get involved

Whether you’re directly involved in retrofit, or simply care about place-based approaches, we would love to have your input. Your insights will help us to map out the current landscape of 'place-based approaches' and how they are understood. This will shape the scope and direction of a shared understanding and guide how this project sets its priorities.

Fill out our survey and share your thoughts on place-based approaches. Responses will close on the 10th of October.

If you are unsure that your experiences and thoughts are relevant, please feel encouraged to share, as 'place-based' entails a diverse set of practices, many of which may not be overtly understood as such. You are welcome to reflect upon how your work and experiences resonate with place-based approaches.

We also welcome responses from organisations involved in place-based approaches but may be working in other fields such as the built environment, communities, governance, neighbourhood regeneration, and public health.

[edit] Cross-cutting themes

Our Place-Based project is one of six new ‘Cross-Cutting Themes’, identified by our advisory panel and through engagement with you, our network. These themes respond to the systemic nature of retrofit and the need for joined-up action. Other Cross-Cutting theme groups include: