Imagine living in a building that once leaked heat in the winter and baked in the summer, now retrofitted to be a haven of comfort and efficiency.

From homeless, anonymous guy to TV star, at least for one day. Alexandre has appeared on French media , sitting on a bridge in Lyon, while inviting passers-by to give him money by scanning a QR Code with their smartphone .

Imagine visiting a hi-tech museum and being guided by an AI robot. No, you are not experiencing a remake of the “2001.

It’s all about connection. This is the key to making a city “smart”, say the smart people working on the subject. And by “connection”, they mean not only the technological kind but especially the human one.

Each year over 3.5 million tourists from all over the world visit Pompeii to admire the ruins left by the eruption of the Vesuvius that, in 79 AD, engulfed it together with the nearby city of Herculaneum.

The ongoing energy crisis, which started in summer 2021 due to low natural gas supply and which further deteriorated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has highlighted the urgent need for a more independent European energy policy .

In the city, the famous Cabanyal district which had been home to a local fishing community for a long time, has recently been transformed into a testing ground for numerous energy efficiency techniques.

In the mid-90s, when he was 9 to 12 years old, Tommy DeVoss broke into the computer systems of global fast-food and pharmaceutical companies. He also hacked into organisations such as the US government, the US military, and NASA .

Maguy Soldevila is a former art teacher. Some years ago, she quit the frenzy and the pollution of the French city of Lyon to move into a typical house of the 1960s, in the small village of Sail-sous-Couzan.

Transforming districts into near-zero energy consumption urban areas could be a reality in the next few decades.

The quest towards low energy consumption in city districts requires many changes not only at building level, but also at district level.

Energy consumption in the non-residential sector, such as public and industrial buildings, is typically about 40% higher than in the residential sector.

There is much need to develop energy efficient solutions for residential buildings in Europe. The EU-funded project, MeeFS , due to be completed by the end of 2015, is developing an innovative multifunctional and energy efficient façade system to retrofit residential buildings.

CARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute, called the CARTIF Technology Centre, based in Valladolid, Spain. This building is singular.

Innovative solutions are required to improve the energy efficiency of the existing residential building stock in Europe. But combining such innovation with better management and new business models creates unique retrofitting opportunities .

Cities substantially contribute to European air pollution as they are the source of about 36% of the total CO 2 emissions. Modern cities therefore raise sustainability concerns.

Imagine a city could halve its energy consumption, costs and greenhouse gas emissions. This would get closer to levels that would ensure sustainability of resources.

Those who live in low-energy buildings are not experts. But energy professionals have been aware of the importance of meeting their needs, right from conception stage.

Tackling energy loss from buildings is one of the key objectives to reach greater sustainability, when it comes to energy consumption.

Buildings are responsible for 40% of Europe’s total primary energy consumption. Residential buildings represent about 80% of the total building stock.