The European Commission, through the New European Bauhaus (NEB) programme, has opened the Horizon Europe call HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-03, which focuses on developing systematic approaches for the reuse of vacant, obsolete, or underutilised spaces. The call responds to growing housing needs, the inefficient use of existing building stock, and the EU objective of achieving "no net land take" by 2050. According to the call documentation, Europe currently contains approximately 19,000 km² of underutilised brownfield land and 300 km² of vacant or underused office space, representing significant opportunities for regeneration

Projects will be required to validate their approaches in at least three neighbourhoods across different European countries, covering urban, peri-urban, and rural contexts. In addition, applicants must evaluate the social, cultural, environmental, and economic benefits of their proposed methodologies and develop recommendations that can support wider uptake across Europe. The call has an indicative budget of €9 million, with an expected EU contribution of €4.5 million per project, and applications are open until 1 December 2026.

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