The NEB Junction Glossary
Explore key terms that define NEB Junction, complementing the broader terminology of the NEB Facility. For the wider NEB terminology, see the → NEB Glossary
Bio-based products
Bio-based products are wholly or partly derived from materials of biological origin, such as plants and trees, animals, enzymes, and microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and yeast. These products can also be derived from waste and by-products, such as used cooking oil, bagasse and tall oil.
Bio-fabricated materials
Made by growing living cells and microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, and mycelium. There are two categories of bio-fabricated materials: 1. Materials made with ingredients that are bio-fabricated but need further mechanical or chemical processing. For example, bio inks made from bacteria, which can be used for printing. 2. Bio-assembled materials, such as an acoustic panel from mycelium, which are directly grown from living microorganisms.
Built environment
Refers to human-made buildings and infrastructures that provide physical settings for human activities. This includes public and private buildings, streets, transport and energy infrastructure, common spaces, public places, and green open spaces, all of which play an essential role in addressing the basic needs of society. In NEB, the built environment can contribute to a more just society by accommodating the needs of different individuals and groups, such as influencing the physical and mental health of inhabitants through exercise or creating dedicated bike lanes for citizens to safely move around the city.
Co-benefits
Complementary benefits that arise from implementing NEB initiatives, with a positive environmental, economic, social, cultural, spatial, health, governance or other types of societal impact. For example, while renewable energy can help lessen our CO2 emissions, it can also affect our wellbeing through cleaner air, creating new jobs, and making energy more accessible.
Common spaces
Spaces that are brought into being through common practices. These common practices are linked to a physical public, semi-public or private place that is accessible to all. For example, community kitchens in a municipality or a playground for kids in the neighbourhood.
Construction ecosystem
All those involved in the design, construction, maintenance, refurbishment, and demolition of buildings and infrastructure. This includes contractors for building and infrastructure projects, construction product manufacturers, engineering and architectural services, urban planners, construction workers, engineers as well as other relevant actors and economic activities (e.g., rental and leasing of machinery and equipment, employment agencies).
EIT Community NEB
One of the key vehicles for implementing the NEB on the ground since 2021. The EIT Community NEB - formed by Climate KIC, EIT Food and EIT Urban Mobility, - cascades EU funding to citizen engagement projects, public space interventions, SMEs and startups, bridging and positioning NEB actors in the field into the wider European policy and innovation ecosystem.
Green gentrification
Defined as new or intensified urban socioeconomic and socio-spatial inequalities that are a result of urban greening interventions, such as greenways, parks, community gardens, or green infrastructure. While urban greening has diverse benefits, it can under certain circumstances also contribute to green gentrification which can undermine climate equity and justice. For example, while the transformation of an abandoned building into a public park is good for the community, it could increase rent prices in the area and could leave current residents unable to afford their own city.
Green transition
Refers to a process aimed at transforming how societies produce, consume, and manage resources to ensure that socioeconomic systems remain within ecological planetary boundaries. Policies that tackle climate change must also tackle inequality, fairness, and inclusion - considering the impact of change across race, gender, cultural and religious background, age, and socio-economic status. This includes thinking about how the transition can leave no-one behind, whose voice risks being excluded and who gets to have a seat at the decision table.
Housing-led
Describes all policy approaches that identify the provision and/or sustaining of stable housing with security of tenure as the initial step in resolving or preventing situations of homeless. These approaches treat housing as a fundamental right and prerequisite to solving other problems, such as social, health and employment issues. It moves away from the 'staircase' or 'continuum of care' approach, where people need to "earn" their home by complying with conditions, such as sobriety.
Knowledge Graph
Organised representation of real-world entities (objects, events, situations, or concepts) and their relationships (capturing the context and meaning), typically stored in a graph database where nodes are the former and links the latter.
Nature-based solutions (NBS)
Inspired by nature, NBS are cost-effective solutions that provide environmental, social and economic benefits, while simultaneously improving resilience and climate adaptability. Solutions could include green infrastructure, water-efficient landscaping, or urban forests. In comparison to more conventional solutions, this may look like the decision to utilise seaweed, oysters, or mangroves as a natural coastal defence versus a concrete wall for example.
NEB Academy
The NEB Academy is the learning and innovation infrastructure of the New European Bauhaus. Launched in 2022, it initially focused on skills for sustainable construction and a transdisciplinary approach to transform the construction sector. Since 2026, its mission has broadened to help ideas move from inspiration to implementation by connecting knowledge, skills, and innovation across Europe.
NEB boost to small municipalities
The NEB boost to small municipalities aims to provide support small players that want to develop projects that are aligned with NEB values (inclusive, sustainable and beautiful), helping them overcome early barriers. Municipalities in rural settings or with a population below 20.000 inhabitants are eligible for the prize. The focus of the project applications needs to be on the built environment - such as the sustainable construction, renovation, and adaptation of building and public spaces. The 20 winners receive a monetary prize of EUR 30 000.
NEB Checklist
The NEB Checklist is a compact self-assessment tool tailored to small scale projects or the preliminary phases of larger ones. It helps assess the extent to which built environment projects align with the NEB core values and working principles.
NEB Community
The core of the New European Bauhaus and the actors that contribute to it. It contains NEB Partners, NEB Local Chapters, NEB Lab projects and much more.
NEB Community Platform
A collaborative platform where users can form local chapters, find partners and promote their projects. The Community Platform welcomes all members of the NEB Community who follow the steps to become approved community members.
NEB Compass
The NEB Compass describes the three core values and principles which underpin the entire initiative. Supported by respective levels of ambition, and examples in practice, it supports project design by providing guidance on the aspects a truly NEB project needs to incorporate, as well as pointing towards further resources on how to translate NEB theory into practice.
NEB Dashboard
An interactive web application allowing stakeholders to explore the knowledge stored in the Portal. See also NEB Junction Portal & NEB Monitoring System.
NEB Facility
1st multi-annual NEB budget support tool from 2025 to 2027, including R&I and roll-out component.
NEB Festival
The flagship event of the NEB movement, bringing together the NEB ecosystem and community in Brussels to showcase, celebrate, and strategize on the impact and potential of the NEB initiative. Takes place biannually, with the recent edition in June 2026.
NEB Gems
A NEB Gem is a valuable piece of NEB knowledge that is processed to be: usable by others, either for inspiration, adaptation, or replication; adapted to a web format, i.e. for sharing and dissemination through the web platform developed by NEB Junction. A NEB Gem can result from any initiative that is aligned with the NEB values and working principles (NEB Compass), whatever its scale (local, regional, national, European), its funding programme (if any), or the nature of its outcome. A NEB Gem can be for instance: a technical solution, tool, software, methodology, or their application in a specific context and the resulting lessons learnt, a guidance report, recommendations, etc.
NEB Investment Guidelines
The NEB Investment Guidelines support investors in making more informed decisions by offering them an overview of how and why NEB can add value. The guidelines consist of two main components supporting its two main goals: 1. General advice: for investors, developers, and project owners to better understand what the NEB is and how it concretely links to the different aspects and stages of investment and project development. Demonstrating the added value of aligning with and applying NEB, how the NEB relates to different types of built environment investors, and how it can benefit various types of built environment projects. 2. Concrete recommendations helping shape high-quality projects in line with the NEB values and principles. The recommendations also show how such actions can provide immediate benefits to investors, as well as drawing attention to challenges and ways to mitigate them.
NEB Junction
The NEB Hub for results and impact funded under the Horizon Europe topic HORIZON-MISS-2024-NEB-01-03.
NEB Junction Portal
Central point for accessing all NEB Junction results, consisting of a Drupal Website, Knowledge Base, Dashboard, and the SummarAIse knowledge extraction service.
NEB Knowledge Base
The NEB Knowledge Base gathers NEB initiatives into one place, providing a shared resource of projects, insights and results to inspire, support collaboration and replication. The key features of this currently are the NEB Project Map and the NEB Gem Repository.
NEB Lab
The NEB Lab is a co-creation space where teams self-organise to deliver beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive projects and achieve tangible change in a specific place or context. The NEB Community and EU institutions autonomously develop projects proposals for the NEB Lab. Proposals become NEB Lab projects following a process that ensures a clear purpose, transparency towards the community, and well-defined beneficiaries. The New European Bauhaus team supports the maturing of emerging projects and validates the ones ready to become part of the NEB Lab. The NEB Lab does not provide funding for projects.
NEB Local Chapters
Local chapters act as grassroots units, enabling the NEB movement to operate at regional, city, or even neighbourhood levels. They are informal, volunteer structures and do not receive EU funds for their operations. They provide platforms for local stakeholders to engage with NEB projects while respecting regional diversity and culture. Chapters help translate NEB principles into actionable projects by offering tools, guidance, and localised solutions. By organising events and interventions, they aim to increase awareness about the NEB's vision for a greener and more collaborative Europe.
NEB Monitoring System
Standardised methodology for assessing the impact of NEB initiatives, developed by NEB Junction based on the NEB Compass and similar tools, tested with stakeholders, and showcased in the Dashboard.
NEB National Contact Points (NCPs)
There are two groups of National Contact Points (NCPs), working together to support the implementation of the NEB Facility. The first network of NCPs established are referred to as Policy NCPs, and the second are the NEB Research and Innovation NCPs for Horizon Europe, advising on the NEB Facility R&I component in particular.
NEB Partner
NEB Partners are legally registered entities that engage with the NEB initiative and Community through amplifying, participating, organising, collaborating, and generally engaging with elements of the NEB Community and its activities. The call for Partners is permanently open and NEB Partner status does not imply financial support.
NEB Prizes
Annual competition providing a platform for creativity, talent, and innovation to the benefit of local communities and society as a whole. The prizes acknowledge tangible, real-life projects carried out in the NEB ethos, as well as foster ideas and initiatives from an emerging generation of NEB agents.
NEB Project Map
Iterative and dynamic overview of projects which are formally acknowledged and funded by EU instruments as NEB projects (1st iteration). Will be expanded with NEB-adjacent and NEB-aligned projects in the next iterations (not directly funded or identifying as NEB).
NEB Self-assessment Method
The NEB Self-assessment Method aligns with established standards, combining, balancing and expanding them to ensure a consistent and comprehensive evaluation of Sustainability, Beauty and Inclusiveness. It is a quantitative assessment of environmental performance, health, life cycle cost and value, without overlooking crucial aspects, such as equity, aesthetics, or resilience against evolving hazard scenarios. Currently comprised of 1) Self-Assessment Handbook and 2) online tool.
NEB Stakeholders
Projects, initiatives, organisations, and authorities with a stake in NEB. NEB Community, e.g. Labs, Lighthouses, Chapters, Academy and Alliances; Informal initiatives, e.g. artists, designers, architects, cultural organisations, civic associations, grassroots movements; NEB-minded projects funded by EU Missions, Partnerships, European Urban Initiative, URBACT, KICs etc.; Public authorities, construction sector and other decision makers that will apply NEB Junction knowledge; A broad spectrum of disciplines and sectors, including unusual, sometimes overlooked and potentially critical stakeholders, such as civil engineering; information technology; (landscape) architecture; urban/rural planning, design & governance; entrepreneurship & venture capital; real estate development & facility management; social sciences & humanities; culture/creative industries/sectors; emerging industries; research & innovation; climate, energy & ecosystem services (land- and water-based); circularity & regeneration; public health & well-being; climate change adaptation & mitigation; innovation management & procurement; advocacy & science communication; economy, value creation & decision support.
NEB Thematic Axes
The thematic areas agreed through a co-creation approach that initially guided the NEB initiative as outlined in the Communication on the New European Bauhaus. 1. Reconnecting with nature. 2. Regaining a sense of belonging (through contributing to the 'spirit' or 'meaning' of places, communities or goods that celebrate diversity). 3. Prioritising the people and places that need it the most (by addressing the needs of territories, communities and individuals due to economic, social or physical characteristics). 4. Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking (including circular and regenerative paradigms).
NEB Toolbox
The NEB Toolbox contains practical tools, workshops, and good examples to support public and private authorities and other project owners, enabling them to kickstart transformative actions, structured around three key stages of project design: 1) Identification, 2) Exploration, 3) Refinement.
NEB Values
The three values that make NEB what it is, striving for a green, liveable, inclusive present and future. Sustainable: from climate goals, to circularity, zero pollution, and biodiversity. Beautiful: quality of experience and style, beyond functionality. Together: from valuing diversity and equality for all, to securing accessibility and affordability.
NEB Working Principles
The three working principles that make NEB what it is. Participatory process: from consultation to self-governance. Multi-level engagement: across scales, fields, and time. Transdisciplinary approach: bringing together both knowledge and practitioners from different fields.
Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods are comprehensive residential systems in rural, peri-urban or urban areas with mixed functions. A neighbourhood ideally includes public and private functions and infrastructures such as education institutions (e.g. kindergartens, primary schools), cultural facilities, community centres, youth centres, retirement homes, post offices, banks, stores, parks, and workplaces. In contrast to community, which is a social unit, neighbourhood refers to a physical unit where one can address local challenges through planning initiatives. For the purpose of the NEB Facility implementation, a neighbourhood is understood as an area that either has a maximum of 25 km2 or a maximum of 10,000 inhabitants. A neighbourhood should also be part of or represent the lowest level of a public administration or elected body such as a quarter, borough or district.
R&I Component
The component of the NEB Facility that funds basic research, testing, and demonstration projects.
Regenerative design
Based on a holistic worldview that sees humans and the ecosystem as an integral part of nature. Regenerative design aims to actively restore, revitalise, and enhance ecosystems and create sustainable, thriving environments for local communities and nature. It is about sustaining qualitative growth for the well-being of all life on Earth in cooperation with nature. Applied to the built environment, regenerative designs will contribute to long-term ecosystem resilience and improved soil quality in urban and rural NEB neighbourhoods, creating a more harmonious coexistence between the built environment and nature. For example, creating walkable pathways with lots of trees to alleviate heat stress, encourage walking, while reducing one's carbon footprint.
Roll-out component
Complementing the R&I component of the NEB Facility, it focuses on deployment and leveraging of additional funding, including via other EU programmes feeding into the NEB topics.
Social fabric
Created by interactions between people and within communities. It is crucial for a sense of belonging. The interplay between economic and social factors drives the improvement or deterioration of the social fabric of a place. Therefore, maintaining or bettering the social fabric requires actions on a local or community level, rather than regional or national level.
Social infrastructure
Institutional and spatial frameworks that support collective civic life, including community facilities and public spaces that foster social interaction, community development, and social cohesion.
SummarAIse
An AI-driven service used as a tool within NEB Junction. The service facilitates knowledge generation from NEB projects and initiatives, allowing project partners to define questions and let AI answer these for a set of documents.
Vernacular knowledge
Encompasses local, community-based understandings that often operate outside formal scientific or academic frameworks. It is deeply rooted in cultural, historical, and environmental contexts and is transmitted through generations, multiple communication strategies such as oral traditions, and daily practices. Vernacular knowledge is shared and shaped by communities and can apply to various domains such as architecture, language, health, culture, arts, and beliefs.
So far, no glossary definitions have been created for words beginning with the letter .
