The H4.0E lead partner Flemish Brabant will convene Flemish Stakeholders to discuss bottlenecks and opportunities in policy and regulations this April 2019. The H4.0E Regional Stakeholder Group for Flanders consists of regional and local public authorities, including: builders, installers and technicians, (social) housing companies, national and local policy makers.
The meeting be conducted in the form of a focus group. Flemish Brabant will organise group discussions on one specific topic. The discussion is led by a moderator and is recorded and analysed later. The goal of the event is to have the interaction between the participants lead to enriching insights.
Sessions to be held at the RSG meeting in Leuven are outlined below.
Session 1: Policy
- Housing Policies: What are the housing laws, regulations or policies that prohibit/inhibit the realisation of the pilot houses in Flanders? Which economic policies or financial schemes could prohibit/inhibit the realisation of the 6 dwellings in Flanders?
- Renewable energy policy: What energy transition policies are positively or negatively affecting the implementation of the H4.0E project in Flanders?
- Construction regulations: What are the current technical building regulations in Flanders prohibiting/inhibiting the realisation of the dwellings? How are general building regulations, such as aesthetics, accessibility or usability affecting the implementation of the 6 houses? With a focus on energy saving standards, what are the specific technical demands affecting the successful implementation of these houses (insulation, ventilation)? Which quality control processes could prohibit/inhibit the realisation of the dwellings?
- Land use regulations: What are the planning or land use policies or laws that would hinder or facilitate the replication of the Flemish case.
Session 2: The pilot’s upscaling within social housing sector
- Considering the change in sector, what are the additional barriers or inhibitors that could be faced when upscaling the pilot in the social housing sector?
- Are there opportunities as well? How do housing laws, regulations or policies, energy transition policies and technical building regulations differ regionally in Belgium? How do planning or land use policies differ regionally in Belgium?
Session 3: General upscaling within Flanders through the digital platform
- What are the additional barriers or inhibitors that might be faced if the tenure type, target/income group, housing sector and ownership type changed?
- What are the additional barriers or inhibitors that might be faced in the up scaling of the project through the digital platform?
- What are the cultural and social values, habits, beliefs, and norms that would prohibit/inhibit the up scaling of affordable, small, zero-energy housing through digitization in Belgium? How important is the preservation of the environment or zero-energy housing? How open are people to living small and circular? Which specific group is in need of this type of housing?
