What is innovative about this project?

  • Social: Promoting co-creation and co-design of the “housing neighbourhoods of tomorrow”, combining social, ecological and economic purpose.
  • Technical: Digitising social housing service provision in an affordable, adaptable and purpose driven manner.

A block of apartments suffered deep renovation works, including insulation of the façade, the installation of photovoltaic panels and the removal of asbestos. Smart energy meters were installed in each flat, so tenants could track and reduce their energy consumption. Social integration and cohesion through a dedicated accompanying scheme was also part of the project.

Local Partnership

  • Company: local architectural firm
  • Municipality: Municipality of Kaposvár
  • Housing provider: –
  • Other: Kaposvár Development Center non-profit Ltd., human resources department of the city, local job center, schools, SME, Roma community organisation.

The responsible for the planning of the project was the Kaposvár Development Center Non-Profit Ltd., whose task was to manage and coordinate urban rehabilitation projects in Kaposvár. Tenants were consulted throughout (meetings and focus groups) coordinated by the social department of the city. Local schools participated in the implementation of the social accompanying programme. The creation of a green area was carried out jointly with the tenants and volunteers from the Roma community.

Key Facts

  • Year of construction: not available
  • Renovation period: 2016 planning, physical renovation June 2017- November 2018
  • Area of intervention (m²): total area 5000 m2, total area of dwellings 6002
  • Number of dwellings (before/after): 23 before/16 after
  • Housing typology: multi-apartment buildings
  • Housing tenure:  public-rental housing
  • Number of residents: 47-50
  • Shared facilities: Bike shed and storage space

Financial information

  • Funding sources: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF)
  • Total cost of renovation (€): 200 million Ft (€512 000) in total, €479 000 for the renovation of buildings, and the rest for architectural planning
  • Subsidies received (€): 100% subsidies. Plus, a parallel project: €205 000 (80 million Ft) funded by ESF for accompanying measures.
  • Rent before and after renovation (€/month): for a family, before renovation: 34€/month, after 35-40€/month
  • Energy bill (€/month): not available

Context

The city has a significant proportion of Roma population with limited access to education. Two settlements in the Cseri suburb were characterized by inadequate conditions and economic under-development. The project aimed to boost educational and employment opportunities, particularly for families with children, many of whom were not attending school.

Goals

  • Set out an institutional restructuring.
  • Improve the living conditions of tenants in social housing.
  • Create a liveable community.
  • Improve trust and social skills of local residents, in a way that they are able to take advantage of local job opportunities.
  • Improve social inclusion, including segregated segments in the Cseri suburb.

Interventions

  • Major renovation of the buildings.
  • Asbestos removal.
  • Improvement of façade energy insulation.
  • Renovation and improved insulation of the roof.
  • Modernization of individual gas heating systems, exchange of internal conduit systems (water, drainage, gas).
  • Floor plan rearrangement of flats to enhance comfort (floor space expansion, interior wall dismantling, tiling, etc.)
  • Installation of 96 solar panels (roofs).
  • Installation of smart meters in the dwellings, and agreement with the energy and gas provider to monitor consumption. Tenants, which were also trained on how to read the data, can now check their consumption and be notified when their monthly target is approaching. This has prevented tenants to run into debt situations.
  • Implementation of accompanying measures for improved social integration. These encompassed psychological support, job inclusion, debt management with the help of social managers (up to 4 available onsite), doctors, dentists, psychologist, lawyers, etc. The measure had a duration of six months (3 months before moving and 3 months after).
  • Establishment of a community garden altogether with a communal composting site,
  • Establishment of accessible parking space and to the buildings.

Impact

  • Improved living conditions and an enhanced environment in the two districts.
  • The aims were 95 % achieved (a few people did not want to collaborate).
  • The smart meter has had an effect on the reduction of indebtedness levels for energy consumption.
  • Improved health in the elderly community as a result of the accompanying measures.
  • 3 individuals were able to secure employment afterwards,

Advice to future “Lighthouse Districts”

  • Look for good practices from other cities that share a similar local context and learn from their experience.
  • Do not limit a renovation only to technical interventions. A holistic approach should be adopted by putting the people at the centre of the strategy.
  • Pursue a collaborative environment between stakeholders and tenants by properly communicating the renovation strategy to the inhabitants.
  • If possible, an objective-oriented planning than a task-oriented one is recommended, as in the planning phase it is difficult to anticipate all problems to be carried out. This recommendation is related to the obstacles placed by ERDF and the ESF funding rules. Specifically, public procurement obligations related to European Funds were an obstacle to tackle challenges and the need for change during implementation (e.g., there were unforeseen technical difficulties when new problems were found at a building). This places a constraint on the need to adapt the plan to evolving circumstances.
  • Take into consideration the administrative burden when managing European-funded projects. This is particularly true regarding Hungary, where the combination of ERDF and ESF is still problematic, as the administrative burden mostly falls on the beneficiary’s side.