In Riga (Latvia), 70% of the residents live in housing units built during the Soviet period. Now the city is pushing to renovate 2,000 buildings by 2030. Yet this is a complicated process, as it is difficult to get citizens engaged. However, the city is engaged in two renovation efforts aimed at just that. To foster more inclusive buildings and renovations the city is using New European Bauhaus (NEB) principles to involve the community and to prepare for the renovation of the residential building Ziepju 11 and a Circular Economy Centre.

Renovating Ziepju 11 has been aimed at creating social housing, municipal rental apartments, and daycare centres for children and youths with disabilities. In the context of the DESIRE project, the city carried out three citizen engagement workshops, leading to a series of maps of how the building could look like in the future. These maps were developed by the neighbouring residents of an earlier renovated building, children and youths with disabilities of two existing day care centres. In the end, the municipality combined the various maps into a final map that could be used, in the future, as a blueprint for the renovation of the building and of the shared space among the surrounding buildings. The procurement process was highly influenced by the NEB related activities and it had the goal to include very ambitious sustainability criteria.

A Circular Economy Centre was also built in the city, to create a common space where citizens can learn more about circularity and apply those principles in practice. Similarly to the renovation of Ziepju 11, the centre aligns with the NEB principles of sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion. The procurement procedure began with a call for ideas, inviting schools in Riga to come up with ideas. 10 teams submitted their ideas, which were then reviewed by a jury of municipal employees. When the energy department launched the procurement, the students were invited to participate in the implementation.

Because of the similarity with the scope of the Big Buyers Working Together NEB Community of Practice (CoP), of which ICLEI is a coordinating partner, in October, members visited Riga to learn how NEB principles can be applied in building renovations and the role that sustainable public procurement can play in that process. They flagged the importance of involving politicians and relevant stakeholders in the projects to be carried out and of having in-house knowledge of the topic of interest, to ensure a smooth and creative oriented delivery of the projects.

ICLEI Members interested in learning more about public procurement’s role in NEB can check out Big Buyers Working Together NEB CoP. The CoP seeks to connect sustainable procurement to NEB principles, with a focus on capacity building and awareness raising, and the development of guidance, recommendations, and best practices for public procurers. To receive more information about its work, or to join it, send an email to big.buyers@eurocities.eu