As part of the “VERDE PERTO (Green Nearby)” initiative, the Municipality of Matosinhos hosted the national conference “Carbon Neutrality Within Everyone’s Reach – The Case of Housing” on 27 June 2025. The event brought together stakeholders from multiple sectors to examine how housing policies and practices can support a more inclusive and sustainable pathway toward carbon neutrality.
Our team contributed to the conference through the panel discussion “Energy Transition and Participatory Involvement in Municipal Housing.” Professor Fernanda Rodrigues (Department of Civil Engineering, University of Aveiro) presented “Energy Transition and Municipal Housing,” emphasizing the role of participatory processes, technical innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration in developing sustainable housing strategies. Professor Paulo Silva (Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro) presented “Energy Transition on an Urban Scale: Contributions of the CO2PED Project to Fair Energy Transformation.” His presentation examined the methodological and policy contributions of the CO2PED project, highlighting how spatial planning and multi-level governance frameworks can support socially just and territorially responsive energy transitions in urban housing contexts.
The session collectively underscored a key insight: the transition to carbon neutrality must be rooted in everyday living environments and shaped by inclusive, locally embedded, and knowledge-informed approaches.
