Sustainable, Inclusive, and Resilient Cities - Energy Transition (2024-2025)

This report examines how the Groene Hub, a community-based initiative in Amsterdam Zuidoost, can
contribute to a just and inclusive energy transition. Conducted as part of the Interdisciplinary
Community Service Learning 2 (ICSL2) course at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the project
integrates diverse disciplinary perspectives including law, history, computer science, economics, and
bioinformatics, to explore practical and conceptual challenges in engaging marginalized communities.

Through participant observation, stakeholder interviews, data analysis of household energy
consumption, and community surveys, the research identifies significant barriers to participation in
energy-saving initiatives, such as trust deficits, language barriers, and socio-economic disparities. The
Groene Hub’s work demonstrates that relational, low-barrier outreach, like home visits and co-design
processes, can build trust and increase engagement among underrepresented groups.

Key findings highlight the importance of aligning technical interventions with social justice
principles. The report proposes three priority actions: formalizing home visits as an inclusive
engagement tool, establishing a cross-hub working group on inclusion and data ethics, and developing
gamified energy feedback systems to motivate behavioural change.

While limited by the scope of data and the timeframe of the course, this study offers a roadmap for
scaling community-driven approaches to energy justice. It emphasizes that sustainable energy
transitions must integrate technical solutions with equitable, participatory, and culturally sensitive
strategies to avoid deepening existing inequalities.