From housing to public space: ECA brings cluster expertise to TRUEHOME and StreetRevival

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European Clusters Alliance is advancing its work on affordable housing and neighbourhood regeneration through TRUEHOME and StreetRevival, two Horizon Europe projects launched in September 2026 under the New European Bauhaus. Together, they connect research, public authorities, residents and industrial ecosystems to develop sustainable, inclusive and beautiful places to live.

TRUEHOME brings together 13 partners from four countries, coordinated by Th!nk E. It will develop and demonstrate two integrated packages for new construction and deep renovation in three pilot actions, namely Errenteria in Spain, Mechelen in Belgium and Trbovlje in Slovenia. These combine building technologies, participatory design, procurement, financing and local supply chains.

The project addresses the true cost of housing: construction and running costs, maintenance, mobility, and environmental and social impacts. Industrialised construction, circular and bio-based materials, and meaningful resident participation will be assessed together with affordability and whole-life performance.

ECA will:

  • Lead the work package on innovative packages and demonstrations, supporting knowledge exchange and industrial mobilisation across the three sites.
  • Map suppliers, capabilities and barriers, with a project target of mobilising at least 100 construction-related clusters.
  • Coordinate two Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) calls, covering technical innovation, co-creation and replication. Planned grants include up to €60,000 for technical SME projects and social housing replication, and up to €35,000 for arts-led co-creation and service or business model pilots.
  • Support training, industry engagement and the transfer of validated solutions to other housing providers and regions.

The other projects takes a closer look at public spaces. StreetRevival brings together 21 partners from nine countries, coordinated by the Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH). It will establish four NEB Facilities in Murcia, Helsinki, Bologna and Nicosia, enabling residents, designers and manufacturers to co-design and test innovative street furniture. Circular materials, accessibility, shading, greenery and digital design tools will support neighbourhood transformation.

ECA will lead the development of business models, financing opportunities and new markets, as well as exploitation of results and intellectual property management. It will also contribute to capacity building. This work will help manufacturers, creative businesses and social economy organisations turn prototypes into viable products, services and partnerships.

StreetRevival also foresees €400,000 in cascade funding for at least 12 third-party projects, through an open call managed by F6S and an agile piloting programme led by Forum Virium Helsinki.

For clusters, these projects create opportunities to connect SMEs with demonstrators, finance experimentation, validate solutions and expand into new markets. The financial support to the SMEs reflects the role promoted by the European Commission through initiatives such as Euroclusters: connecting industrial ecosystems and delivering practical support to SMEs.

The projects build on ECA’s Sustainable Housing and Construction Task Force and the European housing position paper currently being finalised. Evidence from implementation will inform this continuing policy work, while cluster networks will help transfer successful approaches across regions.

Both projects are funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. Both projects are New European Bauhaus facility.