What if a municipality could test the impact of a new neighbourhood, a mobility measure or a climate adaptation strategy before it is built? What if planning scenarios could be visualised, compared and discussed in a shared digital environment? The Interreg North-West Europe project Twin4Resilience (T4R) explores these questions by supporting municipalities of different sizes in working with so‑called Local Digital Twins (LDTs). With the municipality of Schuttrange as one of eight pilot partners, Luxembourg is directly involved in examining what this approach can mean in everyday planning practice.

Digital Twins as decision-support tools

Local Digital Twins are digital 2D or 3D models of real places – such as a city or region – that bring together different types of spatial data in one shared environment. They make it possible to visualise a territory, explore how it functions and test planning options before decisions are taken. Instead of replacing formal planning instruments, LDTs support them by making connections more transparent – for example between land use, traffic patterns, energy use or environmental impacts.

Across Europe, local and regional authorities face increasingly interconnected challenges: climate adaptation, housing pressure, mobility transitions, land-use conflicts and resource efficiency. These issues are data-intensive and often cut across administrative silos. While digital twin technologies are becoming more accessible, their practical use remains uneven. Many municipalities are still clarifying what an LDT can realistically deliver, how it should be governed and maintained, and how it can be integrated into democratic decision-making processes.

Twin4Resilience addresses this gap. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of local and regional authorities to use Local Digital Twins in a resilient, inclusive and responsible way. Instead of developing new software, the project focuses on institutional capacity, governance questions and skills – for example clarifying roles and responsibilities for data management, defining standards for transparency and ethics, and training municipal staff to use and interpret digital twin outputs in daily planning practice.

A transnational framework for learning

Interreg North-West Europe, one of the EU’s transnational cooperation programmes. Interreg supports regions in working together across borders on shared territorial challenges. Within Twin4Resilience, 14 partners from six countries collaborate on advancing the use of LDTs in public planning.

Project summary (source: Interreg North-West Europe – T4R: https://www.schuttrange.lu/media/0f5d762a-1a2a-4a37-8cce-64e64aa73667/poster-interreg-t4r.pdf)

The project is structured around four interconnected frameworks: technical design; governance; ethics, inclusion and democracy; and training and education. These frameworks guide joint reflection and implementation. The objectives are to improve understanding of the benefits and limits of LDTs, support their democratic and affordable integration into decision-making, and bridge the gap between cities already experimenting with digital twins and those at an earlier stage.

These objectives are implemented through eight pilot actions implemented by cities, regions and intermunicipal bodies across North-West Europe – including Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rennes Métropole, Dublin City Council, Brussels, Leiedal, the Flemish Environment Agency and Schuttrange. Each pilot develops and tests a concrete local use case under real planning conditions. The lessons learned feed into a Joint Strategy and Action Plan and into a collective training programme targeting around 300 participants, linking experimentation with structured capacity building.

Schuttrange: testing the approach in a small municipality

Schuttrange, located on the outskirts of Luxembourg City, has around 4,427 residents representing 91 nationalities and fewer than 50 municipal employees. The commune comprises five localities – Schuttrange, Munsbach, Uebersyren, Schrassig and Neuhaeusgen – and combines a village-like character with strong road and rail connections. Like many municipalities in Luxembourg, it faces pressures related to growth, infrastructure, mobility and resource management.

Within Twin4Resilience, Schuttrange pilots a Local Digital Twin that brings together data from multiple existing sources into a common database. Data is collected via different interfaces and connected to systems already in use, such as the municipal energy monitoring system and a 3D model of the territory. The commune deliberately develops small, interoperable programmes that can connect to commonly used systems (such as KNX, Smarty energy counters or LoRaWAN), keeping costs and complexity manageable and making the approach potentially transferable to other municipalities.

Discussion on the Open Digital Twin (source: Interreg NWE project T4R, blog post “Towards a Digital Twin Governance Approach”: https://t4r.nweurope.eu/blog/blog-posts-71/towards-a-digital-twin-governance-approach-1341?anim)

The pilot focuses on better understanding the territory and the municipal building stock by combining data that is currently stored in separate systems. The aim is to automate certain processes and enable more data-based decisions. Expected benefits include more efficient municipal operations and improved monitoring of issues related to climate, infrastructure and resource use, ultimately contributing to energy and water savings.

The project also places emphasis on digital literacy, cybersecurity and stakeholder engagement. This was visible during the consortium meeting hosted in Schuttrange in December 2025, when partners from across North-West Europe met to exchange experiences and review ongoing pilot work. Local stakeholders presented initial use cases of the Digital Twin, and workshops addressed stakeholder needs and training approaches. The meeting illustrated how the Schuttrange pilot is embedded in continuous peer exchange and joint learning rather than developed in isolation.

Outlook

For Luxembourg, Twin4Resilience adds a concrete municipal perspective to ongoing debates on digital planning instruments. The work in Schuttrange shows how transnational cooperation under an EU programme can support smaller municipalities in testing and embedding Local Digital Twins within everyday administrative practice and governance structures.

As the project progresses through its pilots, joint strategy development and training activities, it will become clearer how these experiences translate into longer-term planning routines and inter-municipal exchange. The insights gained in Schuttrange – on data organisation, governance responsibilities and capacity needs – may inform broader discussions on how digital tools can be integrated more systematically into territorial planning in Luxembourg.

These experiences will also be shared at the upcoming CIPU Online Colloque in February and March 2026, where a representative from Schuttrange contributed to the second session (02. March) and a delegate from the Province of Leiedal will present the regional perspective in the final session (26.March).

Contact & further information

Project website: https://t4r.nweurope.eu/

Muncipality of Schuttrange: https://www.schuttrange.lu/developpement-durable/twin4resilience

Project blog on activities: https://t4r.nweurope.eu/blog/blog-posts-71

“I’m Kaya,” says the local restaurant owner, jumping into the conversation and tapping the map with a finger. “If there’s no table outside, nobody even notices the place. If the street in front is loud, nobody stays longer than five minutes. And if a centre doesn’t pull people in, they won’t stop for a coffee, won’t meet anyone, won’t come back. Without people, a district centre simply fails.”

Across from her, Misch clears his throat. Primary school teacher. “That’s exactly why it has to work for families first. If everyday needs aren’t built in, families disappear. Children need protected spaces, parents need routines they can trust. Without that, there is no daily life here. And without daily life, nobody will be there to have a coffee.”

Jamie, 17 years old, apprentice, leans back on the chair. “I’m not here to spend any money. I just want somewhere close by where I can hang out with my friends after school and not be in the way.”

Group discussion in the public participation process about the culture and leisure district of Duffereschbourg 2045 (source: CIPU)

The map between them shows the culture and leisure district of Duffereschbourg – the 15-minute-city in Luxembourg 2045. The discussion circles around a shared perspective: how this neighbourhood should function in twenty years’ time, if everyday life is to happen close by. During the public participation process, similar discussions took place in parallel in other groups, aiming at surfacing different perspectives and feeding them into the design of the neighbourhood.

Phase 1: Walking the future

In the morning, the citizens of Duffereschbourg 2045 split into small groups – each group with a different assignment for the participation process: redesign a building complex, rethink a public square, invent a quartier hub, develop a tiers-lieu – an open, non-commercial space of everyday life. All aligned with the concept of the 15-minute-city.

Working phase 1 (source: CIPU)

They introduce themselves, read their assignment, then they go outside. They walk across five locations in the district. At every spot they stop – look – argue. Is this place right? Too loud? Too hidden? Perfect at noon, useless at night? How can you access it? Where could the next supermarket be located? What do I expect from the place? What will people living here in 20 years need?

Interruption from the future (source: CIPU)

And then the future interrupts. Elvan Malik, time traveller from Duffereschbourg 2045 appears. He speaks of public space as a “resonance room” – not controlled by cameras, but shaped by rhythm, behaviour, proximity. Not every place for everyone, but everyone entitled to a place. New questions emerge. Does our proposal still make sense like this? By the end of Phase 1, each group has chosen a location and worked out a concrete proposal: functions, users, atmosphere, conflicts included.

Phase 2: Putting it together

After lunch, the groups reshuffle. Now the restaurant owner sits with other local businesses, the teacher with street workers, planners with urbanists, decision-makers with public sector representatives. Each explains what their first group designed. Then comes the difficult part: comparison and compromise.

Same places chosen twice – for different purposes. Ideas that fit neatly together, like the concept of the tiers-lieu complementing the new district hub and mobility solutions that compete for the same parcel. Questions of access, noise, opening hours, care, control.

Comparison and compromise (source: CIPU)

Slowly, the district takes shape on four shared maps each showing a different but plausible way of approaching and implementing the same concept. The citizens of Duffereschbourg gather around the drafts, comparing sketches, pointing to routes, tracing overlaps and tensions. The district does not settle into one clear approach, but into a shared understanding of what matters – and what still needs to be negotiated.

Behind the scenes

In October, CIPU organised a full-day role play planning simulation (Planspiel) as part of its thematic year on the 15-minute city – urban proximity – everyday urbanity. The event was designed as a fictional public participation process. Participants were assigned detailed role profiles, including professions, socio-economic backgrounds and value orientations. After a joint introduction to the holistic concept of the 15-minute-city, they were invited to step into the year 2045 and take part in the planning of the Grevenlach district of the fictious city Duffereschbourg.

The process followed a clear structure. In Phase 1, participants worked in task-based groups on four concrete assignments: redesigning a building complex, transforming a public square, developing a quartier hub and conceiving a tiers-lieu. In Phase 2, these proposals were brought together in sector-based groups, discussed, compared and synthesised. The result was four distinct maps for Grevenlach, each representing a different approach to implementing the principles of the 15-minute-city for the culture and sport district.

Across the groups, similar observations emerged. Like re-thinking mobility and short-term, temporary or pop-up solutions were often identified as realistic entry points to try things out and get critical minds on board. At the same time, many participants noted how challenging it is to think unconventionally about their and next generations’ future needs while remaining anchored in everyday realities. The exercise made clear that urban proximity is less about fixed models and more about continuous negotiation.

An inspiring planning simulation  (source: CIPU)

The day made urban proximity tangible by letting participants slip into other people’s shoes and argue from unfamiliar perspectives. It highlighted the importance of participation in shaping proximity in neighbourhoods: understanding actual needs and arguments, making trade-offs visible and finding compromises between competing interests.

Building on the insights from the Planspiel and the other CIPU activities in 2025, such as the online colloque, workshop 1 and 2, a toolbox on the 15-minute-city was developed. It was presented at the CIPU annual conference, which has since taken place. A dedicated blog post reporting about the conference and introducing the toolbox will follow shortly.

Contact & further information

CIPU: https://cipu.lu/

CIPU contact: cipu@zeyenbaumann.lu

In every garden, there is a story that begins long before the first plant takes root. The Luxembourg Urban Garden (LUGA) is no exception. What visitors have now experienced over last months as a seamless part of the city is the result of more than a decade of planning, coordination and collaboration.

 In our previous blog post, “LUGA: Let’s go for a walk!”, we explored how the Luxembourg Urban Garden transforms parts of the city into living exhibitions – from raised beds of beans and onions to large-scale installations along the Alzette. This second article looks behind the scenes. It tells the story of how LUGA came to life: how a horticultural idea turned into a national open-air exhibition linking nature, culture and urban development.

---

Origins

The origins of LUGA go back to 2011, when Luxembourg’s horticultural association first proposed organising a national horticultural exhibition. At the time, the aim was to highlight the country’s strong horticultural and agricultural traditions, raise awareness of horticultural professions and strengthen public appreciation for local food production.

Gardens by the Luxembourg Horticultural Federation (source: Marion Dessard)

As described in an earlier CIPU article from 2021, this idea led to a series of feasibility studies and concept developments. Supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development and the City of Luxembourg, the concept evolved from a classic garden show into a broader, more urban exhibition. The ambition was to showcase how sustainability and biodiversity could become part of everyday life in cities – a theme that would later shape the LUGA’s entire concept.

From vision to reality

To turn the idea into practice, the non-profit association LUGA asbl was established in 2019. Its founding members – the Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development, the City of Luxembourg, the City of Ettelbrück and the Luxembourg Horticultural Federation – each hold equal shares. Other ministries, including Culture, Economy and Finance, joined as partners to support the cross-sectoral approach.

Originally planned for 2023, the exhibition was postponed to 2025 due to the pandemic and related material shortages. The delay allowed the organisers to refine the concept, expand the number of projects and strengthen cooperation with local and regional actors. With a total budget of around 22 million euros, co-financed equally by the state and the City of Luxembourg, the exhibition became a true national collaboration.

Designing an exhibition for the city

From the beginning, LUGA aimed to go far beyond traditional horticulture. Its motto, “Making the Invisible Visible”, reflects a broader view of the city as a living ecosystem – a place where water, food, biodiversity and culture are interconnected.

Racines du Futur (source: LUGA)

Fifteen thematic areas guided the exhibition, ranging from the environment and agriculture to social inclusion and technological innovation. Open calls and competitions invited young designers, artists and landscape architects from Luxembourg and abroad to contribute ideas. In parallel, workshops with citizens, schools and associations helped to shape specific projects and themes.

Coordination and challenges

Behind the many gardens and installations lies a small but highly coordinated team. Around 15 people work full time within the LUGA asbl, each responsible for a specific field – from project and event management to landscape design, communications, and administration. Led by general coordinator Ann Muller, the team includes professionals such as project designers, programme managers, and event producers who ensure that every element of the exhibition runs as planned.

Oversight comes from a board of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, the City of Luxembourg, the City of Ettelbrück, and other national ministries, including Culture, Economy and Finance. This structure reflects the collaborative nature of the exhibition, bringing together expertise from across sectors and governance levels.

Orchid greenhouse (source: Marion Dessard)

Over the six months of the exhibition, more than 1,000 events were coordinated – from conferences, guided tours, and readings to dance performances, school workshops and hands-on activities. While most of these were organised and implemented by partner institutions, the central LUGA team ensured overall coherence. Through careful programming, each event contributed to the exhibition’s themes of biodiversity, food, culture and sustainability.

Environmental standards were equally demanding. All materials had to be recyclable, reusable or rented; invasive species were prohibited; and no permanent modifications to the landscape were allowed. These requirements demanded creativity and close collaboration with environmental authorities. To help visitors navigate this diversity, LUGA developed a consistent visual identity across all sites – from signage and maps to digital communication. This ensured that despite the wide range of partners and projects, the exhibition was experienced as one connected event across Luxembourg.

LUGA and beyond?

As Luxembourg’s first national garden exhibition, LUGA has provided a framework to explore how landscape, culture and everyday urban life intersect. While most installations are temporary, some may remain beyond 2025, continuing to enrich public space and serve as references for future initiatives. The inclusion of Ettelbrück highlights the connection between urban and agricultural development, while partnerships with all the different actors like universities, enterprises, municipalities, artists and associations have strengthened collaboration between research, education and practice.

Ultimately, LUGA embodied its motto – ‘Making the Invisible Visible’ – by drawing attention to the often-overlooked relations between nature, people and the city, and to the places we pass by every day.

Contact and further information

LUGA: https://luga.lu/en/about/

LUGA contact: https://luga.lu/en/contact-us/

Imagine: You walk along your usual path on a late-summer Saturday, headphones in, enjoying the sun. A raised bed next to the path catches your attention. At first the planting looks unusual for this park: beans climbing poles, onions pushing through the soil, potatoes nestled alongside. A small sign explains the combination – together, these plants make up the ingredients for a bowl of Bouneschlupp, Luxembourg’s traditional bean soup. A few steps further, lettuce, tomatoes and grain mark out the components of a burger. What seems at first like a curious mix becomes a clear reminder that every meal is rooted in plants and land – a connection that is easy to lose sight of in an age of supermarket shelves and processed food. These raised beds are one of many installations created for the Luxembourg Urban Garden (LUGA).

This article takes you on a virtual version of a walk through several exhibition sites of the LUGA in Luxembourg City with additional context given by the general coordinator Ann Muller. It offers a glimpse of selected gardens and installations, not the full exhibition and programme of events, which can be found here. A second article will provide more background on how LUGA was planned and organised.

---

Our walk begins at the LUGA Science Hub in the Pétrusse valley. As an information point and orientation space, it introduces visitors to the exhibition’s themes and sets the tone for what lies ahead. Ann Muller, general coordinator of LUGA, explains that the aim is not to show ready-made solutions but to spark questions about how cities might look in the future.

The LUGA Science Hub (source: LUGA)

From here, we continue into the recently renaturalised river valley, where ten gardens created by young designers line the river. They were selected through international competitions and all had to follow strict ecological rules. Each garden addresses its theme in a different way. One of them uses mirrors to invite a second look at so-called weeds and reintroduces them as medicinal plants. Another, titled Blue Sky, translates a piece of music into a composition of plants and colours, demonstrating how sound and visual perception can be linked. Le Portail, presents a green arch that symbolises transition and sustainability. The material choices are deliberate: recyclable wood, rented components, and plants that can be replanted elsewhere after the exhibition.

Blue Sky by Jerome Goedseels (left; source: Marion Dessard) and Le Portail by Naile Arslan (right; source: LUGA)

Close by, a set of raised beds adds a though-provoking element. Each bed represents a meal, such as Bouneschlupp soup or a burger, and shows exactly which plants are needed to prepare it. The installation makes visible how much land is required to produce food and how urban farming could play a role in future diets. Each of these gardens and installations is accompanied by signs and information boards. They explain the ideas behind the projects in simple terms, making sure the messages are accessible. At the same time, the designs integrate well into the urban landscape. They do not feel like temporary additions but become part of the city’s everyday environment for the duration of the exhibition.

Un banquet dans une jardinière by IBLA, co-labor and natur&ëmwelt (left) and Totems by Laurent Le Deunff (right) on the art trail Animals of the Mind (source: LUGA)

All around the valley and other parts of the exhibition, an art trail curated by Boris Kremer complements the gardens with installations and performances under the title Animals of the Mind. These works deal with human–animal relationships and biodiversity loss, themes that resonate with the overall ambition of LUGA to make invisible connections in nature more tangible.

Herbularius by City of Luxembourg, LUGA and Niki Kirsch (source: LUGA)

At the end of the valley, we pass the Herbularius, a contemporary herb garden that recalls the apothecary gardens of earlier centuries. Medicinal and culinary herbs are carefully arranged in metal beds and box hedges, connecting biodiversity to everyday health practices.

 

Le Chant d’Alzette by Recine Carrée and Atelier Ty (left; source: Marion Dessard) and Les Périscopes by Atelier LJN (right; source: LUGA)

Entering the Alzette valley, the scale of the elements becomes larger. Le chant de l’Alzette interprets the sound of the river through colour. Following Isaac Newton’s historical link between the colour spectrum and musical notes, the garden arranges plants in rainbow hues to give form to the invisible song of the water. Right behind it, a wooden structure – Les Périscopes – with mirrors functions like a periscope. Inspired by the city’s military history, it shifts perspectives by creating new sightlines over the landscape.

 

Water Forum by LOLA Landscape Architects, 2001 and 51N4E (left, source: LUGA) and Racines du Futur by Atelier eem and Paysarchitectures (right; source: Marion Dessard)

Not far from here, the Water Forum demonstrates how plants can filter and clean water. The installation is supported by the University of Luxembourg, which uses it as a living laboratory to measure water quality and test purification techniques. The installation Racines du futur pushes another metaphor: large sculptural roots appear to grow out of the hillside and climbing plants colonise steel supports visualising the diversity of Luxembourgish society. Visitors step onto a balcony that projects into the valley from a different perspective.

Grow Together Grow Green at the LUGA Lab (source: LUGA)

Crossing into Pfaffenthal, the LUGA Lab acts as one of the central hubs of the exhibition. It is an open-air forum where workshops, community cafés, sports sessions and repair kiosks are organised. Here, social inclusion and ecological awareness are brought together, creating a place where different audiences can meet. At the same location, the installation Grow Together Grow Green shows rows of seedlings on a tiered platform. Visitors can adopt trees, linking their personal experience of LUGA to long-term reforestation and climate action.

La Roseraie Amélie by the City of Luxembourg (source: LUGA)

The panorama lift then takes us up to the Édouard André municipal park, a 30-hectare landscape that has been part of the city for over a century. In front of the Fondation Pescatore, horticultural enterprises present show gardens. They are more classical in character and demonstrate the skills and aesthetics of Luxembourg’s horticultural sector. The Bionic Pergola for example, a chestnut-wood structure inspired by natural forms that provides shade and a meeting point. Further down in the park lies the Roseraie Amélie, a rose garden dedicated to women and linked to Luxembourg’s strong rose tradition. Here, a new rose variety named Amalia Rose was introduced. Finally, the park also hosts the LUGA Culture Hub with its pop-up gastronomy Mikrokosmos. It hosts concerts, readings and a seasonal menu underline that LUGA is not only about gardens but also about culture and everyday life in the city. Ann Muller underlines that this mix of gardens, art, and gastronomy is intentional. It is about showing that urban development is not only about architecture or streets but also about how people use and perceive public space together. For her, the most telling feedback is when visitors believe a LUGA element has always been there.

Mikrokosmos at the LUGA Culture Hub (source: LUGA)

Looking back across the sites, the exhibition clearly positions itself as an experiment. LUGA is full of temporary examples that showcase ideas in real-life settings. By linking ecological design with cultural activities and everyday use, the exhibition turns the city itself into a laboratory for future urban development. This walk only covered a selection of LUGA elements in Luxembourg City. Many more gardens, installations and events are part of the programme, as are the sites on Kirchberg and in Ettelbrück, which we did not visit that day. A second article will look into the programme and behind the scenes. It will discover how the idea for LUGA emerged, how different partners made it possible, and how the exhibition connects to Luxembourg’s urban development.

Contact and further information

LUGA: https://luga.lu/en/about/

LUGA contact: https://luga.lu/en/contact-us/

A new neighbourhood can provide homes and streets. Elmen, located in the municipality Kehlen goes further: it has created a place designed for encounters, culture and everyday life. On 16 July 2025, the municipality officially inaugurated the Maison pour Tous in their “village in the village” – Elmen. The building sits on the village’s central square and offers spaces for associations, cultural events and everyday encounters. With its opening, one of Luxembourg’s largest affordable housing project now has a dedicated place for community life.

Elmen in 2020: Affordable housing and innovative planning

CIPU first reported on Elmen in November 2020 after a site visit, when the project was still in the initial construction phase and only the first houses had been completed. From the beginning on, the project Elmen was built on ambitious elements:

• 27-hectares in Elmen, adjacent to the municipality of Kehlen, being transformed into a model of affordable, sustainable living
• 750–800 units planned by the public housing company SNHBM, designed to accommodate around 2,000 residents, of which 10 are already fully developed
• innovative planning principles: centralised car parks to reduce street space, pedestrians-friendly streets, and construction mainly in wood

Building plan of Elmen in its construction phases (source: SNHBM)

The visit of a CIPU delegation in 2020 showed a project balancing density, affordability and sustainability, while also trying to foster a sense of village life in a newly built settlement. Back then, the Maison pour Tous was mentioned as part of the plans but had not yet taken shape.

2025: Inauguration of the Maison pour Tous

Five years later, much of the first development phase has taken shape. Several hundred housing units are already built and inhabited, the first centralised car parks are operational, and construction of the primary school and further infrastructure is underway. Amongst these milestones, the Maison pour Tous, completed in summer 2025, is a 1,300 m² multi-purpose building that gives Elmen its social and cultural centre.

Official inauguration of the Maison pour Tous (source: Médiathèque Commune de Kehlen – Max Staus via SNHBM)

The inauguration brought together residents, local associations and officials, including the Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning and the Mayor of Kehlen. The event underlined the relevance of the building: it is not just another construction, but the core of community life in Elmen.

A multifunctional building for community life

The Maison pour Tous is located at the place central  – one of the three larger spaces for leisure and community activities. It has been designed to respond to the diverse needs of Elmen’s residents and local associations:

• The Elmen Brasserie (163 m² with an additional 185 m² for the kitchen only), which opened its doors shortly after the inauguration, provides a convivial place for dining and informal meetings.
• Meeting rooms and association spaces are available for local clubs, courses, and cultural activities (200 m²).
• The “Salle Dadofonic”, a fully equipped performance and rehearsal hall, is used by the theatre group of the Ligue HMC and can also host concerts or sports activities (372 m²).
• The “Salle Quartier” can be rented by residents for private celebrations or neighbourhood gatherings (140 m²).
• Flexible partitions allow rooms to be adapted to different uses, while basement storage ensures efficient use of space.

 

Spaces of leisure and community in Elmen. The Maison pour Tous is located at the Place central (source: SNHBM)

This combination makes the building a true Begegnungsstätte – a place of encounter – where everyday life and special events come together. Architecturally, the Maison pour Tous is aligned with the sustainable ambitions of Elmen but keeps people at the centre:

• A ventilated facade in charred wood gives the building a natural and durable appearance.
• Full-height glazed surfaces provide light and openness towards the village square.
• Strong acoustic insulation ensures that activities inside do not disturb neighbouring homes.
• A hybrid construction of wood, prefabricated concrete and ventilated panels guarantees robustness and flexibility.

Maison pour Tous (source: Médiathèque Commune de Kehlen – Max Staus via SNHBM)

A village coming to life

Since CIPU’s visit in 2020, Elmen has moved from plans to visible reality: many apartments and a child day care centre have been completed, centralised parking structures are in place, and the first residents have settled in, while work on the school, green spaces and further infrastructure continues. With the Maison pour Tous now inaugurated, the district has gained not only housing and services but also a meeting place at its central square, enabling associations, residents and cultural initiatives to shape everyday life together.

Contact and further information

Elmen: https://elmen.snhbm.lu/

SNHBM: https://snhbm.lu/

What happens when a bold urban vision meets the realities of implementation? This question set the tone for the second CIPU workshop, held on 30 June 2025 in Luxembourg city. Participants returned to the fictional city of Duffereschbourg where they had envisioned living in 2045. But this time, the vision from Workshop 1 gave way to another challenge: how do we make these ideas work in real-world conditions – thinking of available space, cost, policy, and public opinion?

Designing neighbourhoods around everyday needs

Whether the focus of a district in Duffereschbourg was sport and leisure, culture and community, local services, or the link between living and working, participants kept circling back to a few common priorities: flexible and multifunctional spaces, creative reuse of existing buildings, walkable access to everyday services, and ways to involve residents early and meaningfully. Many concepts centred around adaptable and flexible infrastructure – from mobile kitchens and shared logistics hubs to green corridors that double as social spaces. The idea of layering uses onto what already exists came up repeatedly, along with the challenge of making public space not just accessible, but welcoming.

Each group worked on one neighbourhood, developing ideas that were specific to their theme but shaped by these overarching questions: What functions need to be within walking distance? How should public space be designed to support interaction? How do we handle existing structures? And how can participation be built into the process from the beginning – not just as a formality, but as a real source of input and ownership?

What elements make implementation work?

The second part of the workshop introduced a new layer of realism. Participants presented their neighbourhood concepts to fictionalised versions of municipal councils, based on the real dynamics of Luxembourg’s cities and towns. The reactions came quickly – and sounded familiar:

“This already exists.”

“That’s too expensive.”

“It won’t work in our context.”

“People won’t accept that.”

Instead of pushing back, the groups embraced the feedback. They explored how temporary uses and pilot phases could reduce entry barriers. They discussed alternative financing models ranging from cooperatives to project-based partnerships and reflected on how public administrations could establish supportive frameworks rather than automatically rejecting proposals. It became clear that implementing the concept of urban proximity in planning is as much about governance and collaboration as it is about design. It calls for practical creativity: working with existing tools, temporary solutions and testing phases, bridging local interests and finding new ways to activate the public.

A Process, Not a Product

The second workshop continued the step-by-step approach of the CIPU 2025 programme. After imagining a future city in the first Workshop in May, the June workshop focused on translating these ideas into practical neighbourhood concepts and their implementation. It was about exploring what happens when vision meets everyday planning realities by introducing real-world constraints.

The outcomes will now feed into the next stage of the CIPU process: a planning game in October 2025, where the results will be brought to life. A final conference in December will bring together all results, reflections and ideas – with the goal of developing a shared basis for municipalities and stakeholders to bring the 15-minute city concept closer to practice in Luxembourg.

Further documentation will be available soon at www.cipu.lu

Contact and further information

CIPU – Cellule Nationale d’Information pour la Politique Urbaine: cipu@zeyenbaumann.lu

Documentation of the results will be published soon on www.cipu.lu

What might the ideal 15-minute city in Luxembourg look like? On 19 May 2025, around 30 participants gathered in the Centre Sportif in Niederkorn for the first CIPU workshop of the year to creatively explore this question. Instead of working within today’s limitations, they took a leap into the future – into the fictional city of Duffereschbourg in the year 2045. With maps, markers, and a dose of imagination, they envisioned a city where all daily needs are close by, urban life is vibrant, and people live, work, and move in balance with each other and the environment.

This workshop depicted the second phase in the CIPU’s 2025 process toward urban proximity and everyday urbanity, inspired by the concept of the 15-minute city. More than just collecting ideas, the workshop’s aim was to engage participants in a strategic process to open perspectives and build shared visions that will inform concrete actions in the coming months.

A Workshop Framed by Fiction – Duffereschbourg 2045

The day began with a deep breath and a guided thought experiment. Participants were invited to close their eyes and walk – mentally – through the streets of Duffereschbourg, a fictional city set between Differdange, Dudelange, Esch and Luxembourg City, located along the Alzette River. Once a steel town, Duffereschbourg had evolved into a diverse, green, and tech-driven urban hub.

Groups developing the vision for Duffereschbourg 2045 (Source: Zeyen+Baumann)

This imagined future initiated the development of a vision – a compass to explore the values, qualities, and experiences that could shape Luxembourgish cities in 20 years. The method allowed participants to step beyond everyday constraints and think long-term: What kind of city do we want to live in? What does “urban proximity” feel like, e.g. when accessing locations of our daily needs? And how can mobility, public space, local economy, and social participation be reimagined on a neighbourhood scale?

Phase A: Strategic Visioning through Creative Materials

In the first working phase, participants developed “flyers from the future” – fictive promotional materials showcasing life in Duffereschbourg in 2045. Each group chose at least three themes – mobility, local economy, green infrastructure, social participation, or digital communities – and imagined what their future city stands for in that thematic field.

The flyers included slogans, potential visualisation, citizen or visitor testimonials, and mottos. While encouraging creative thinking, the exercise highlighted common priorities across the groups: accessible local services, a strong community feeling, high-quality public space, and active, sustainable mobility.

Phase B: From Vision to Spatial Translation

With these visions in mind, the participants moved into the second phase: urban spatialisation. Using a blank city map of Duffereschbourg, each group began designing a city where the 15-minute principle could come to life.

Transferring the vision onto a map of Duffereschbourg 2045 (Source: Zeyen+Baumann)

The task required translating their abstract ideas into spatial structures: Where should schools be located? How close are services to residential areas? Where are mobility hubs or green corridors? Again, the group work made visible the tensions and synergies between different priorities – compactness versus greenery, density versus comfort, or innovation versus identity. It revealed how the concept of the 15-minute city, while simple in its promise, becomes complex and context-specific when applied spatially.

A Process, Not a Product

Rather than seeking ready-made solutions, this first workshop was designed for exploration. The CIPU chose to start with fiction after developing a common understanding of the concept with the online lecture series – to loosen constraints, encourage participation, and identify common values. They depict the foundation for the next stages of the CIPU programme, shifting to the application in real cities, testing the measures and dissemination. The entire sequence of events in 2025 follows a successive process (see figure below).

Sequence of CIPU events 2025 (Source: CIPU)

What Comes Next?

The results of Workshop 1 will soon be available on the CIPU website and will feed into Workshop 2 in June. Participants will work with real locations and translate the imagined into the actionable.

As Luxembourg’s municipalities face increasing complexity and changing demand, the idea of the 15-minute city can serve as a shared instrument. It must be contextualised, adapted, and co-created – as this workshop clearly showed. A vision of the ideal 15-minute-city in the future gives orientation for the further steps.

Contact and further information

CIPU – Cellule Nationale d’Information pour la Politique Urbaine: cipu@zeyenbaumann.lu

The documentation of the results will be published soon on www.cipu.lu

 

Imagine this: It is Tuesday morning, you are riding your bike to work on a designated lane through the fresh spring air, listening to the first birds chirping this year and glimpsing the first rays of sun forecasted for the day. Does that sound relatable? Or perhaps it resembles the day of a cartoon character who got dressed by singing forest animals earlier that day? For many urban residents, commutes are far from idyllic. Instead, they involve congestion, traffic noise and limited space for biking or walking – that sounds stressful. The research project FragMent investigates exactly this – how the urban environment influences stress levels and health.

Background

Stress has emerged as a significant factor contributing to the development of chronic diseases, including hypertension, anxiety disorders, and cardiovascular conditions. Extensive research has established that stress levels – and particularly chronic stress – are directly influenced by the characteristics of the urban environment. Factors such as limited green spaces, high crowd density, noise pollution, and heavy traffic have been repeatedly linked to negative health outcomes, affecting residents’ mental and physical well-being.

In response to this growing evidence, the FragMent project was initiated as a five-year research initiative funded by the European Commission under the HORIZON programme. Coordinated by the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), FragMent unites an interdisciplinary international team specialising in public health, epidemiology, geography, psychology, digital health, and virtual reality. Project partners include:

• Luxembourg Institute of Health
• University of Zurich
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Wageningen University
• Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health
• Utrecht University
• University of Montreal School of Public Health
• Ghent University
• Computer Lab of Paris 6 (Lip6)

Objectives

Addressing the evident connection between urban living and stress, FragMent aims to explore how specific urban environments, spatial features, and behavioural patterns shape stress and over all well-being. Through qualitative research and data-driven analysis, the project seeks to identify key stressors within urban spaces, such as noisy, crowded areas, and evaluate the beneficial impacts of restorative environments, like parks and green spaces.

Eventually, FragMent aims to provide concrete insights to facilitate less stressful, healthier urban lifestyles. Its findings are intended to inform urban planning strategies, guide effective public policy decisions for cities to enhance their citizens’ quality of life through stress-reducing urban design.

To delve deeper into the science behind urban health and stress, please listen to the SciLux podcast episode featuring Dr Camille Perchoux, principal investigator of FragMent.

Project activities

FragMent applies three innovative and complementary research methods:

1. Simulations supported by Virtual Reality (VR) allow participants to virtually walk through meticulously designed urban environments. These scenarios simulate various real-world conditions, including crowded sidewalks, busy traffic, varying levels of green surroundings, and building density. Researchers then track emotional, perceptual, and physiological reactions to identify precisely what triggers or alleviates stress.
2. Another significant method involves detailed smartphone-based surveys, where participants actively report their stress experiences via voice recordings and answer detailed questionnaires about their surroundings and daily activities. This data is complemented by passive sensor-based tracking, including GPS location and voice biomarkers, offering highly detailed, real-time insights into how various urban features influence stress.
3. The participatory and citizen-based dimension complements the methodology. Collaborative identification of stress factors and solutions is facilitated through workshops and focus groups involving residents, planners, policymakers, and scientists.

Early project activities, such as comparative studies of real and virtual walks in Luxembourg’s Belval district, have demonstrated the potential of VR for stress research, despite noted methodological challenges like cybersickness. The first insights also validate the effectiveness of combined qualitative and quantitative survey techniques in capturing comprehensive urban stress data. To read more about preliminary results, some first publications can be accessed here.

Outlook

Running until September 2027, FragMent will continue exploring urban stress through extensive surveys, advanced VR simulations, and ongoing dialogues with stakeholders. It remains interesting to see how the final outcomes will influence urban planning practice – hopefully making our daily commutes and urban interactions, much less stressful. To follow project advances, visit the FragMent project website and the social media channels.

Contact:

fragmentproject@liser.lu

References

The FragMent project (English, French and German): https://www.fragmentproject.eu/

The city of Differdange is strengthening energy efficiency in Luxembourg with its project Zesumme renovéieren, which promotes the sustainable renovation of residential buildings. Supported by Klima-Agence, the Ministry of Energy and Spatial Development, the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, and the National Institute for Architectural Heritage (INPA), this initiative helps homeowners lower their energy consumption, improve their living conditions, and contribute to the city’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.

 

Objectives and development

The main goal of Zesumme Renovéieren is to increase energy efficiency in Differdange’s residential areas. With over 4,000 properties in focus, the project offers tailored support for homeowners to renovate their homes, improve insulation, and reduce energy waste. By doing so, it helps lower CO2 emissions while making homes more sustainable.

 

Project logo Zesumme renovéieren (Source: Ville de Differdange – https://differdange.lu/vivre/environnement/projets/zesumme-renoveieren/)

 

Launched in April 2023, Zesumme Renovéieren contributes to the objectives of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNEC) of Luxembourg and supports Differdange’s participation in the European “NetZeroCities” initiative, about which you can read in our previous blog post. The city’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 formed the basis for this pilot project.

The project identifies common building types across the city and provides renovation solutions specifically tailored to each type. A neighbourhood office, managed by a representative of Klima-Agence, acts as a central contact point for residents. Here, homeowners can get advice, connect with certified energy advisors, and receive guidance on subsidy applications and the renovation process.

 

Key actions towards energy efficiency

From initial assessments to the implementation of energy-saving measures, Zesumme Renovéieren” offers comprehensive support to homeowners. Some of the key activities include:

• Neighbourhood analysis: Experts identified the architectural characteristics of Differdange’s neighbourhoods to offer renovation solutions that both respect heritage and improve energy efficiency. Guided tours in September and October 2023 highlighted renovation potential in areas such as Cité Sicon and Cité Breitfeld. These events also showcased how insulation techniques can preserve architectural details like mansard roofs and window bands.
• Homeowner engagement: Residents can use the project’s website to receive personalised building profiles, complete with renovation recommendations, and information about available subsidies. After registering, homeowners benefit from an in-person visit by a Klima-Agence advisor to discuss suitable insulation measures and create a tailored renovation plan. Homeowners can assess the potential for renovation based on the building typologies provided in the catalogue by Klima-Agence (see figure X)

 

Catalogue of building typologies in Differdange (Source: https://www.klima-agence.lu/en/building-types)

 

• Subsidy support: Homeowners who choose to move forward with their renovations get additional support. Klima-Agence covers the costs of a certified energy advisor, ensuring high-quality advice and making participants eligible for subsidies like the Klimabonus. Tools like subsidy simulator and renovation simulator help residents understand the financial aspects and plan their projects.
• Neighbourhood office: Open weekly, this office provides a consistent point of contact for residents to address queries and receive hands-on support from project staff.

Thanks to these activities, the project has already seen strong participation. As of late 2023, over 170 homeowners have signed up, and the latest registration period remained open until end of November 2024.

 

The neighbourhood office in Differdange (Source: Klima-Agence – https://www.klima-agence.lu/en/energy-renovation-differdange-opening-neighbourhood-office-zesumme-renoveieren-project)

 

Outlook

Zesumme renovéieren has already made a real impact in Differdange, with more than 170 homeowners taking steps to improve their homes. The project will run until the end of 2025, continuing to offer tailored advice, technical expertise, and access to subsidies. By helping even more residents renovate their homes, the initiative contributes to the city’s vision of a more energy-efficient and sustainable future. Every completed renovation brings Differdange closer to achieving its carbon neutrality goals.

 

Contact

Klima-Agence: zesumme-renoveieren@klima-agence.lu

City of Differdange: energiespueren@differdange.lu

 

References

Klima-Agence (English, French, German): https://www.klima-agence.lu/en/zesumme-renoveieren

City of Differdange: (English, French, German): https://differdange.lu/vivre/environnement/projets/zesumme-renoveieren/

Catalogue of building typologies in Differdange: https://www.klima-agence.lu/en/building-types

 

 

In the dynamic and pressured landscape of Luxembourg’s housing market, innovative solutions are essential to address the growing challenges of affordability and community integration. One promising approach is the housing cooperative model, which offers an alternative to traditional homeownership and renting. These cooperatives emphasise communal living, ecological responsibility, and affordability, providing a sustainable and inclusive solution to the housing crisis. Cedric Metz, the president of Adhoc, Luxembourg’s first non-profit housing cooperative, offers valuable insights into the value of housing cooperatives, their role in Luxembourg’s housing market, and the future prospects for such initiatives in the country.

What are housing cooperatives and what is their added value?

Housing cooperatives are organisations that create and manage housing collectively, based on principles of self-help and self-responsibility. Members of a cooperative actively participate in the planning and design of their living spaces and social interactions. The primary value of these living arrangements lies in fostering community and social cohesion. Additionally, the housing is often constructed with ecological considerations and provides affordable accommodation below market rates, contributing to social stability and promoting sustainable living. Housing cooperatives are one form of community housing, next to co-living, rental house syndicates, and communities of owners. People who wish to live together join forces and jointly operate a building in whose flats they are granted the right to live. If economic profits are excluded, the co-operative operates on a non-profit basis.

What is the state of the housing market in Luxembourg and what role do housing cooperatives play?

The housing market in Luxembourg is characterised by high prices and a shortage of affordable housing. Demand far outstrips supply, leading to increasing rents and property prices. Housing cooperatives offer a valuable alternative in this context. They could create affordable housing and promote new forms of communal living, and like Adhoc can promote and raise awareness about the relevance of members not only receiving housing but also participating in the planning and design of their living environments. This potentially fosters a high level of social integration and mutual support.

What challenges do housing cooperatives and alternative housing models face in Luxembourg?

Housing cooperatives and alternative housing models are facing several hindrances in Luxembourg. One major issue is financing. Since these projects are often non-profit, accessing traditional funding sources can be difficult. Additionally, there is a significant need for political support. The housing market is heavily dominated by economic interests, making it challenging to implement socially oriented housing projects. Directly linked to that, the finding and acquisition of land depicts a significant challenge for implementing alternative forms of housing initiated by housing cooperatives due to low land availability, zoning restrictions and limited financing models. It is important to raise awareness among the public and decision-makers about the benefits of these housing models, and to provide them with adequate tools and competences to guide and support such projects from finding a site over adequate financing to facilitating the integration in the existing neighbourhood.

---

How does Adhoc operate?

Adhoc is a non-profit housing cooperative dedicated to promoting new housing forms and developing cohousing projects. In general, the cooperative provides members with housing that is ecologically built and socially oriented. Members actively participate in the planning of their homes and the structuring of their communal living. A recent pilot project of community housing in Luxembourg’s business district Kirchberg in cooperation with the public developer Fonds Kirchberg was shut down in beginning of 2021. Fonds Kirchberg established of conditions for the site Réimerwee that Ad-Hoc, as a non-profit cooperative, could not meet, such as selling the apartments and selecting residents based on social status. Thus, Adhoc decided not to participate in the tender and will instead focus on promoting social and ecological housing projects. Additionally, the housing cooperative advises those interested in setting up cohousing projects and informs the public and policymakers about the benefits of communal living. Currently, Adhoc is working on a collaborative housing project in Weiler-la-Tour.

What support do you see from local authorities and the government?

Political support is essential for the successful implementation of housing projects like those of Adhoc. Municipalities and the government should provide financial resources and establish legal frameworks that facilitate the creation and operation of housing cooperatives. Recognising and promoting the benefits of communal living models is crucial as well as encouraging non-profit organisations as relevant actors on the housing market. This does not only include financial support but also the provision of land, the adaptation of building regulations and adapted public procurement such as concept awarding. Additionally, capacity building regarding technical and regulatory expertise within the municipalities could support housing cooperatives, e.g. through counselling centres for those interested in the foundation process.

What is the future outlook for housing cooperatives in Luxembourg?

The future outlook for housing cooperatives in Luxembourg is promising but also challenging. If the demand on the housing market and political will for communal living is not increasing, it will remain difficult to implement alternative forms of housing. Rising housing costs and a desire for sustainable and socially integrated living contribute to increasing interest in alternative housing models. Adhoc is pursuing an alternative way, demonstrating that communal living is not only possible but also desirable. However, it is important that political frameworks continue to improve to provide sustainable support for these housing models.

Contact

Adhoc: info@adhoc.lu

References

Interview by CIPU with Cedric Metz, 24^th May 2024

Adhoc (English, French, German): https://www.adhoc.lu/

---