Posted on: 13th May 2025
POSEIDON is an EU-funded project aiming to guide select Mediterranean cities in their transformation toward Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). By integrating technical, environmental, and social strategies, POSEIDON addresses the unique climate, lifestyle, and governance challenges of southern European urban areas. At its core, the project promotes a shift from traditional urban models to ones that are more sustainable, community-focused, and energy-positive.
Wonderland joins partners in Marseilles
POSEIDON partners gathered for two intensive days of exchange and planning despite major logistical disruptions from a Europe-wide blackout.
Hosted at La Friche la Belle de Mai, a local arts and innovation hub, the meeting took place over two days.
The first day featured a warm welcome, a Steering Committee meeting, and the City of Marseille’s official presentation reaffirming its role in the “100 Climate-Neutral Cities by 2030” initiative, followed by a press conference announcing the local demonstrator district for POSEIDON. In the afternoon, partners participated in collaborative sessions to refine localized solutions, wrapping up the day with a social dinner in the city center.
Urban Living Labs and curated content
Wonderland is leading the development of Urban Living Labs across POSEIDON’s six participating cities. This work draws on our longstanding knowledge of PEDs, energy equity, and participatory governance. Our expertise in organizing inclusive workshops and fostering cross-sector dialogue is central to how we design these Labs: we create spaces where municipalities, citizens, and technical experts can engage with one another meaningfully.
We also integrate storytelling and artistic practices as vital tools for surfacing community narratives and translating complex challenges into shared understanding. Each Urban Living Lab will be tailored to the needs of its local context, with curated content and formats designed in collaboration with local actors.
In Marseille, we focused on identifying social vulnerabilities in our municipalities, and exploring how PED tools can be applied to address them. Through hands-on workshops conducted by Wonderland, local actors reflected on issues like energy poverty, access, and inclusion. We also collaborated closely with municipal representatives to draft the social programming framework for the POSEIDON cities, ensuring the content responds directly to the distinct challenges each municipality faces.
Sharing content
We’ve been developing, designing and curating content related to sustainability, renewable energy and the climate. We were happy to share the upcoming exhibition concept we had developed for the Living Labs. The concept brings the energy transition to life through a mix of visual and narrative media.
The exhibition includes a series of posters and films, such as a documentary on an Austrian energy community and an animated short exploring energy and the future.
These materials aim to make the complex themes of energy, equity, and climate action more accessible and emotionally resonant — tools not just for education but for empowerment and advocacy.
This integrated approach builds on Wonderland’s broader research into energy communities, our database of best practices, and the principles outlined in our PED Manifesto. We continue to advocate for energy transition models that are inclusive, artistic, community-rooted, and built from the ground up — because the future of energy is not just about infrastructure, but about people.
