Energy justice and sustainable urban renewal: A systematic review of low-income old town communities.

Improving living conditions, quality of public services and social safety nets in blighted and underdeveloped urban areas also are important aspects of urban renewal. In another way, achieving sustainable urban development requires more improvements. Equity, sustainability, and universality are core principles of sustainable development and should be integrated into urban renewal strategies. For instance, urban renewal in old town areas presents multiple challenges, including balancing public investment needs, social justice considerations, and environmental impacts. Studies have shown that inequalities often arise during implementation, disproportionately affecting low-income residents in old town areas. While energy justice is a key concept for reducing these inequalities during renewal process, however existing frameworks lack a multi-dimensional approach. This study proposes a comprehensive evaluation framework that combines sustainable development with energy justice principles during the renewal of old town areas. This framework aims to achieve equitable and sustainable development outcomes in renewal of old urban areas by systematically examining the unequal impacts on low-income groups and proposing equitable energy services and inclusive policies. The proposed equity evaluation framework includes two key components: 1) Main factors in existing renewal strategies, which include equitable access to energy resources, sustainable energy systems, affordability, and public participation. 2) Criteria for refining energy justice evaluation framework, which include accessibility, energy efficiency, community participation, and policy coordination. The research emphasizes the importance of fairness in providing affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy opportunities within urban renewal initiatives. This focus can provide rational perspective and reference for decision makers, thereby empowering vulnerable groups, giving equitable energy access and contributing to achieve sustainable urban development. • Energy inequalities impede sustainable urban development. • Proposed assessment framework integrates sustainable development and energy justice. • Key components: equality access, affordability, sustainability & public participation. • Urban renewal challenges: lack of investment, injustice, and environmental threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]