Bridging policy and practice: European legislative frameworks and user behaviour for the implementation of positive energy districts

Positive Energy Districts are a cornerstone of Europe’s urban energy transition, but their effective delivery depends on the interaction between top-down regulation and bottom-up behavioural engagement. This paper provides an integrated review of two interdependent pillars of PED implementation: European regulatory framework that enables PED development and user behaviour that shape real-world energy outcomes. On the regulatory side, the review analyses Renewable Energy Directive in its second and third iterations, Internal Electricity Market Directive, Energy Efficiency Directive and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, alongside strategic instruments such as REPowerEU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Together, these measures create the conditions for energy communities, prosumer participation and district-scale investment. On the behaviour side, the paper synthesises evidence on social norm and gamification approaches and energy sufficiency measures such as thermostat set-point management, space sufficiency, shared communal infrastructure and proximity-based planning. It also reviews behavioural drivers of the energy performance gap, estimated at 10 to 34 % across building types. The review examines prosumer governance, energy sufficiency and equity implications, showing that behavioural and social interventions represent a non-substitutable layer of PED strategy that cannot be captured by technical metrics alone. The synthesis demonstrates a symbiotic relationship: policy provides the institutional basis for PEDs, while user engagement and sufficiency practices help achieve energy balance targets and wider social and environmental objectives. The findings point to the need for stochastic occupant behaviour modelling, equity-oriented governance and monitoring of combined sufficiency, efficiency and flexibility strategies in operational PEDs.