• Amsterdam University of the Arts

• Design research,
• Academic

• Construction & Housing,
• Sustainability,
• Energy,
• Public space

Co-designing energy landscapes

application of participatory mapping and Geographic Information Systems in the exploration of low carbon futures

Renewable energy initiatives face opposition by local citizens, nature managers and others due to concerns over tradeoffs between two groups of ecosystem services: provisioning (renewable energy supply) and cultural services (the right to the landscape) (Nadaï and van der Horst, 2010). In order for any energy landscape to be considered sustainable, interventions must not cause critical tradeoffs between the provision of renewable energy and the supply of other ecosystem services (Stremke, 2015). Participative design processes are a promising strategy for facilitating a sustainable energy transition, especially in communities seeking self-sufficiency (De Waal and Stremke, 2014; Picchi, 2015). In addition to conjoining quantitative research methods with qualitative design inquiry, Von Haaren et al. (2014, p. 67) stress that a design approach to planning has added values: ‘making invisible or hidden ecological processes “visible”; reconciling people with a “new” landscape, for instance with unaccustomed features such as wind turbines; or raising consciousness about land degradation problems’. Despite the increasing popularity of participatory approaches, only few inquiries include tradeoff analysis between the provision of renewable energy (RE) and other ecosystem services (ES).