Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) represent a pivotal evolution in urban energy performance, expanding the ambition from individual buildings to entire neighborhoods and wider urban systems. While much attention has been devoted to their technological dimensions, successful PED development equally depends on sustained citizen engagement, inclusive governance and community-driven co-creation. This study brings together nine EU-funded projects — InterPED, TIPS4PED, ARV, COMMUNITAS, PEDvolution, Citizen-led Renovation, NEUTRALPATH, ASCEND, and LEGOFIT — to present and compare their approaches to citizen and stakeholder engagement in PED planning, design, and implementation. Drawing on contributions prepared for a dedicated workshop at the Sustainable Places 2025 Conference, this paper identifies five cross-cutting themes: partnership-based engagement models, digital tools and platforms for co-creation, energy communities as governance frameworks, participatory monitoring and living lab methodologies, and gamification and innovative facilitation. The projects collectively demonstrate that the energy transition is not merely a technical challenge but a fundamentally societal one, and that citizens can play an active role as co-creators in PED development processes. The findings highlight the importance of inclusivity, adaptive engagement frameworks, energy literacy, and long-term governance structures in enabling PEDs that are equitable, resilient, and scalable across diverse European urban contexts.
Spyridakos et al. (Mon,) studied this question.