A human-centred, climate-responsive decision-support framework for Positive Energy Districts: integrating urban microclimate, energy modelling, and socio-technical evaluation

<ns3:p>Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) have emerged as a key strategy within European climate and energy policies to accelerate the transition towards climate-neutral cities. While many PED initiatives have focused on technological performance and energy balance, growing evidence highlights the need for integrated, human-centred approaches that address climate adaptation, urban liveability, and socio-environmental resilience alongside energy outcomes. Despite the availability of advanced simulation tools, PED planning and implementation processes often remain fragmented, limiting their capacity to support evidence-based, transparent, and collaborative decision-making. This paper proposes an integrated methodological and decision-support framework for the design and evaluation of climate-responsive and human-centred Positive Energy Districts. Building upon previous research, the framework combines urban microclimate analysis, urban building energy modelling, and district-scale energy system assessment within a coherent workflow that supports both ex-ante and ex-post evaluation. Rather than prioritising technological optimisation alone, the approach foregrounds energy demand reduction, thermal and hygrometric comfort, affordability, and broader social co-benefits as structural conditions for achieving PED objectives related to energy balance, flexibility, and carbon neutrality. The framework is illustrated through two contrasting European case studies: a residential cluster in Ludvika (Sweden), located in a cold-climate context, and a mixed-use district in the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region (Germany). Existing simulation outputs are reinterpreted to demonstrate how climate-adaptive design strategies, nature-based solutions, and integrated energy systems contribute not only to reduced energy demand and emissions, but also to improved outdoor comfort, accessibility, and overall quality of living environments. The results highlight the role of interoperable modelling tools as decision-support instruments for human-centred PED planning, while also acknowledging uncertainties inherent to simulation-based approaches. The paper concludes by discussing implications for designers, municipalities, and policymakers, and by outlining conditions for replicability and scalability in support of European climate-neutrality missions.</ns3:p>