Cities4ZERO Approach to Foresight for Fostering Smart Energy Transition on Municipal Level
27 Jul 2020This new SmartEnCity scientific publication by Merit Tartar (Institute of Baltic Studies), Tarmo Kalvet and Marek Tiits (both Institute of Baltic Studies and Tallinn University of Technology) is dealing with smart energy transition at municipal level, which is increasingly gaining importance but challenges are remaining regarding the tools, involvement of stakeholders and on the development of policies.
The focus of the research is on the use of participatory foresight for fostering smart energy transition on a municipal level, the key benefits and success factors that participatory foresight brings, and the replicability of this approach. Within the novel Cities4ZERO framework, an overarching methodology for a smart urban decarbonisation transition, guiding cities through the process of developing the most appropriate strategies, plans, projects, as well as looking for the commitment of key local stakeholders for an effective transition–foresight framework, was developed and tested in five pilot cities. Foresight as applied within the Cities4ZERO framework creates a participatory process which brings stakeholders together to achieve unified scenarios, and a common vision for future urban decarbonisation strategies. The methodology is replicable and increases the quality of strategic energy planning by fostering long-term system thinking.
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