The research project investigates the social, technical and societal dimensions of a just and effective energy transition, from carbon-based to renewable energy practices. The project develops the necessary methodological and substantive knowledge with living labs in four different municipalities (the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Nijmegen and the village of Gemert. It co-creates approaches and solutions for the transition with a forward looking dimension together with municipalities, housing corporations, residents and other relevant actors.
The emphasis is on underprivileged households that might be extra vulnerable in the process of the energy transition. This vulnerability could be caused because of less energy efficient housing, suffering from high energy prices, problematic access to solutions and lower degrees of participation. These aspects could lead to uneven distribution of costs and benefits. Citizens in these neighbourhoods often experience a lack of agency regarding their own life and their lived environment. In parallel, in other living labs, collaborative planning methods are investigated on the neighbourhood level, where retrofit strategies and governance arrangements are further developed. These experiences are exchanged with the help of future oriented methodologies reflecting upon the repertoires of in-house and neighbourhood practices, building and retrofit activities and collaboration strategies.