Climate-Neutral Districts and Positive Energy Districts as Governance and Investment Environments: A Conceptual Stakeholder–Pathway Framework

Climate-Neutral Districts (CNDs) and Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) have become central concepts in European strategies for climate-neutral cities. Existing research, however, has predominantly interpreted these models from technological and energy-system perspectives, while their governance implications and effects on real-estate investment remain comparatively underexplored. This paper develops a conceptual and interpretative framework that also considers CNDs and PEDs as governance and investment environments shaped by different stakeholder configurations. Methodologically, the study combines an evidence-informed stakeholder and governance framework developed within CapaCITIES 2.0 with an interdisciplinary conceptual interpretation. The framework derives from comparative analysis of Countries’ Self-Assessments and National Action Plans involving 33 consortium participants representing 14 Member States, complemented by interviews, focus-group exchanges, collegial reconciliation, and participant validation. The unit of analysis is the stakeholder configuration associated with a dominant district-transition logic. The analysis positions PEDs as an energy-system-led, rather than energy-system-exclusive, configuration characterised by high infrastructural integration and comparatively strong dependence on specialised technical and regulatory actors. This perspective also highlights the structurally central, yet often under-leveraged, role of real estate actors. The paper concludes that recognising the plurality of district-transition logics provides a more differentiated basis for examining governance arrangements and the conditions under which real-estate stakeholders may move from reactive implementation roles towards greater strategic agency in urban climate transitions.