Facilitating Participation in Action towards Sustainability in City District East

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1 Facilitating Participation in Action towards Sustainability in City District East Anne Braukmann, GCE, Maayke Damen,, Eefje Gijzen,, Conor McEvoy, ER, Tessa van Mechelen,, Roel Vreeken, ER, Saskia Wijte, GCE, Group Paper November 4, 2011 Transdisciplinary Case Study Master Sustainable Development Utrecht University Supervisor: Dr. Paul Schot Coordinator: Broer Soolsma

2 Acknowledgements For this report we are indebted to Broer Soolsma, who provided us with useful feedback, contacts and information, and without whose help we would not have bene able to do this project as well as we did. Similarly, all people form WATERgraafsmeer, Waternet and city district East who have helped us deserve our gratitude. Furthermore, we would like to thank all supervisors of the University of Utrecht, Dr. Paul Schot, Dr. Frank van Laerhoven, and Dr. Robert Harmsen, to whom we could always turn with questions. A special thank you goes out to Ms Wilma Mik, Mr Sander Alkema and Ms Jacqueline Rijke, who partook in our interviews. Ms Nevin Öz tok deserves special mention as well, as she took time out of her busy schedule to talk to us. Finally, the time and effort of the one person who showed up for the focus group, and who remains anonymous, was also greatly appreciated. 2

3 Table of Contents Introduction... 5 Positioning of Chapter 1 and 2: Internal and External Factors Internal Factors Influencing Pro-Environmental Behaviour A Introduction B Research Methodology C Results D Conclusion E Action Plan Recommendations External Factors Influencing Pro-Environmental Behaviour A Introduction B Research Methodology C Results D Conclusion E Action Plan Recommendations Collective Pro-Environmental Action A Introduction B Research Methodology C Results D Conclusion E Action Plan Recommendations Analysing Residents Initiatives of Energy Saving Measures and Examining the Potential of Applying Small-Scale Renewable Energy Technologies in Dwellings A Introduction B Research Methodology C Results D Conclusion E Action Plan - Recommendations Presenting Viable Insulation Measures and Examining the Implementation and Effect of Public Procurement on the Simple Payback Period of Suggested Technologies and Measures A Introduction B Research Methodology C Results D Conclusion E Action Plan - Recommendations Greening the Private Space: Ecological Benefits and Drawbacks of Green Roofs and House Insulation A Introduction B Research Methodology C Results D Conclusion E Action Plan Recommendations Greening the Public Space A Introduction B Research Methodology C Results D Conclusion E Action plan - Recommendations

4 Integration of Recommendations and Combined Action Plan Conclusion References Appendices

5 Introduction Around the world, cities and urban communities are becoming increasingly aware of the growing urgency to become more sustainable (Droege, 2008). This is also the case for the capital of the Netherlands: Amsterdam (Amsterdam Duurzaam, 2011). For example Amsterdam s city district East (CDE), the focus of this research, is an area located 5.5m below New Amsterdam Level that already has, and with climate change increasingly will have, problems with rainfall flooding. Due to these problems, this area has been chosen to host an experimental societal project called WATERgraafsmeer (WATERgraafsmeer, 2010, Achtergrond ). This project, initiated by Waternet and CDE, uses a governance approach 1 to tackle challenges like climate change and urban densification (WATERgraafsmeer, 2010, Aanpak WATERgraafsmeer ). The aim of this project is to connect different kinds of stakeholders, like inhabitants and service providers, to share experiences, knowledge and act collectively towards sustainability (ibid.). Stimulated by, among other things, technological improvement of small-scale renewable energy technologies, higher electricity and gas prices, and the trend of individuals becoming more aware of global climate change, citizens take initiatives to sustainably improve their environment (Droege, 2008). In CDE, initiatives that range from making green roofs to applying insulation systems can be found. However, the wide range of initiatives taken by the inhabitants knows varying degrees of success and sometimes they solely remain ideas (B. Soolsma, personal communication, September 9, 2011). Since the current governance approach does not result in a sufficient amount of successful collective action to sustainably improve residences or the neighbourhood, WATERgraafsmeer would like to know how it can stimulate and better facilitate such initiatives. This consultancy project conducts research which focuses on the stimulants and barriers for making citizens initiatives a success either from the perspective of WATERgraafsmeer or the inhabitants themselves. Therefore, the central research question is the following: How can inhabitants of city district East who are involved with sustainability be facilitated to be successful in achieving their initiatives and ensure collective action to sustainably improve their residences or their immediate environment? As suggested by the client, Middenmeer and Park de Meer are the designated research areas within CDE. These residential areas have similar housing and a relatively high percentage of ownership of the dwellings (~80%). Moreover, the term sustainability in this research is defined as follows: the use of the vital functions (possible uses) of our biophysical surroundings in such a way that they remain indefinitely available (Hueting & Reijnders, 1998, p.139). Chapter 1 and 2 give insight in the internal and external factors that influence proenvironmental behaviour in the research area. Chapter 3 shows what factors are influencing collective action and will apply this to a successful and an unsuccessful initiative in CDE. Chapter 4 to 7 provide literature, tools and suggestions that show which actions WATERgraafsmeer and inhabitants can undertake to better facilitate and be more successful in achieving initiatives 1 The concept governance describes the patterns that emerge from the governing activities of social, political and administrative actors, it includes non-state actors in the analysis of societal steering and is not tied to a particular period of time or place. Governance is opposed to government, that is described as the traditional form of governing, with a central role for national authorities. It refers to those social activities, which make a purposeful effort to guide, steer control or manage societies. (Jordan, 2008, p. 21 and Kooiman& Van Vliet, 1993, p. 64 through Stoker, 1998). 5

6 aimed at sustainability. Chapter 4, 5 and 6 concentrate on measures for private properties, with a focus on energy in chapter 4 and 5, while chapter 6 concentrates on ecology. Chapter 7 focuses on measures for the public space. The main research question is answered in the integration that combines all previous chapters into a set of recommendations and an action plan for WATERgraafsmeer and inhabitants of CDE setting up or running initiatives. 6

7 Positioning of Chapter 1 and 2: Internal and External Factors In the Netherlands environmental protection and service provision is being retrenched and localised, e.g. to local city districts. This makes the involvement of inhabitants and civic action increasingly important to successful community development and sustainability (Feitelson & Lindsey, 2001). This is also one of the reasons WATERgraafsmeer is interested in facilitating participation of local inhabitants. Their envisioned outcome is changing people s behaviour towards sustainability (WATERgraafsmeer, 2010, Aanpak WATERgraafsmeer ). Yet at the moment they are struggling with exactly how to involve local inhabitants in the governance processes (Godschalk et al., 2003). To be able to facilitate people participating in local environmental governance processes it is necessary to have insight in factors that influence behaviour of citizens regarding undertaking action towards sustainability (Clark et al., 2003). Action towards sustainability is defined as behaviour that consciously seeks to minimize the negative impact of one s actions on the natural and built world (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). There is an array of literature on factors that influence pro-environmental behaviour (PRB), whereby each discipline looks through their own lens. Two ever present approaches are found in the field of psychology and the field of socio-economics. The first focuses on factors that are motivators of behaviour from within the actor, for instance their attitudes, norms and perceived behavioural control (Azjen, 1991). The second mainly focuses on individual characteristics and factors that shape the actor s capacity to act, such as age and income (Clark et al., 2003). Often these are referred to as internal and external factors. More and more it is argued that both approaches are necessary to explain PEB (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). Although the factors are intrinsically linked and influence each other, for practical and analytical purposes the two approaches are discussed separately in the following two chapters, so that each receives due attention and focus. The first chapter takes the internal factor approach to explain behaviour and the second chapter focuses on the external factor approach. Additionally, each approach arrives at different tools and (in)abilities for influencing PEB. Together, this will amount to a full spectrum of recommendations. 1. Internal Factors Influencing Pro-Environmental Behaviour Tessa van Mechelen, , 1.A Introduction Behaviour of citizens is key in -facilitation of- successful sustainability initiatives. In the governance approach of WATERgraafsmeer it is expected that citizens and other actors provided with a platform for collaboration will set change in motion (WATERgraafsmeer, 2010, Aanpak WATERgraafsmeer ). However, change is a product of behaviour and it is unclear why some inhabitants of city district East (CDE) do perform pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) and others do not. Psychology science and related literature might provide insight into the stimulants and barriers for PEB. It describes so-called internal factors such as values, beliefs, and attitudes. For the WATERgraafsmeer and inhabitants, it is interesting to see if the general literature on stimulants and barriers also applies to its inhabitants. Derived stimulants might be used by inhabitants to create a larger group for successful collective projects. Also, the tools invoking behavioural change from this field, which are awareness, education, guilt and persuasion 7

8 (Clark et al., 2003, p. 237) might be applied. The following research questions are formulated for this chapter: 1. What are, according to the literature, the internal factors that make up the stimulants and barriers for pro-environmental behaviour by inhabitants in their residential area? 2. What are the internal stimulants for engaged inhabitants of Park de Meer and Middenmeer for pro-environmental behaviour? 3. What are the internal barriers for engaged inhabitants of Park de Meer and Middenmeer for pro-environmental behaviour? The answers in the first chapter of this section will form a building block in combination with Chapter 2 which focuses on the external factors. Together they explain how behaviour can, and cannot be influenced. This will help WATERgraafsmeer and inhabitants to be more successful in facilitating and running sustainability initiatives. 1.B Research Methodology Chapter 1 and 2 follow the same methodology as they research two sides of the same coin. First, a broad literature collection and review was conducted in order to search for what can be considered internal and external factors that influence behaviour. The literature is scientific, as the client did not provide additional literature. Second, information gathering from inhabitants of Park de Meer and the Middenmeer was envisioned to test the relevance of the factors found. Due to time restrictions this information gathering was to be indicative, not scientific. Scientific review learnt that a focusgroup of house-owners was the most useful and feasible. Such a focus-group allows enlarging of the sample size at low cost, as several people can be interviewed at once. Also, participants speak more naturally than when interviewed one-on-one (Bernard, 2002). A problem might be an increase in socially desirable answers because of social norms from others present. Bernard (2002) was used as a guideline to formulate and structure the questions. See Appendix A for the setup including notes on factors. The focus-group session was planned on 20.00h on October 18 at a centrally located neighbourhood café/restaurant. To lower the threshold to partake, drinks would be provided by CDE. As this research focuses on what citizens see as barriers and stimulants for PEB, only inhabitants that had already expressed an interest in sustainability were of interest. The right database to draw a sample from was found in a new phenomenon, Nudge: an independent company that stimulates a more sustainable society through a consumerplatform by connecting, strengthening and accelerating people and initiatives. 2 This selection method (after which self-selection would take place) disables any claims to generalisability and skews the outcomes towards people willing to act. However, it would be in accordance with the clients wish to focus on people that are already involved in sustainability. Fifty Nudgers living in the research area were invited to the focus-group session. Alas, the number of participants could not have been more disappointing as there was one cancellation of the two confirmed participants. Consequently, the session was reformulated into an interview. Four inhabitants expressed interest to participate in the research via . In addition Oost Oogst, a group of citizens living in CDE focusing on the production and consumption of organic food, was contacted. They assured us to their numerous members our questionnaire, which can be found in Appendix B. The questions are formulated to not direct 2 Dutch mission statement: Nudge is een onafhankelijke onderneming die vanuit een consumentenplatform de verduurzaming van de samenleving bevordert door mensen en initiatieven te verbinden, te versterken en te versnellen. From: 8

9 the answers and to not exclude possible interesting information from the inhabitants by being too narrow. Unfortunately, none have replied. 1.C Results Intentions PEB starts with the assumption that people have control over (part of) their behaviour, to choose to act with environmental considerations in mind 3. One often cited author in the field of behaviour, Icek Ajzen, wrote The theory of planned behaviour (1991). He explains that it is generally found that intention is a good predictor of human behaviour, if there are no serious problems of control. Control is made up of the opportunities and the resources that an actor has. However, Ajzen (1999) uncovers another influence, which is the perceived control over behaviour, which can be understood as the confidence of an actor to be able to perform a certain task. Whether an actor feels that they are able to control the desired outcome of their behaviour combined with their intention will much better predict the behaviour. The author is very specific about the phrasing of intention and action for prediction; if the behaviour is donating time to a nature conservation society, we must assess the intention to donate time to a nature conservation society and not the intention to volunteer time in general or to work for nature conservation (adjusted example from Ajzen, 1999, p. 185). Therefore, the theory of planned behaviour may explain disparities between intentions and behaviour concerning the environment in three ways, namely 1) because there might be an influence of perceived control in which the actor does not feel the action is within their control, 2) because it might be that the intention regarding the behaviour towards the environment is measured on another scale than the outcome behaviour and 3) there are problems with actual control in the field of opportunities and resources. This latter group of factors will receive more attention in chapter 3. Additionally, there is another obstruction to intention. It can be confused with perceived behavioural control, but is named locus of control or efficacy. Some people feel like their behaviour makes a difference, while others feel that changes are not due to individual behaviour. This is called the locus of control, which can be internal or external (Fransson & Gärling, 1999, p. 375). In a meta-analysis performed by Hines et al. (1987) it was shown that PEB occurs more with individuals who have an internal locus of control. Sometimes locus of control is related to efficacy in which people understand their own behaviour is too small to make a change, which leads to responsibility barriers, according to Blake (1990). His respondents answered they felt they could not act on their own and felt powerless. Moreover, some ascribed the responsibility for the environment to individuals or groups that could act more effectively. The next paragraphs focus on the internal factors that inform intention: values, norms and attitudes (towards the environment, society and governance). Values Values can be seen as criteria for choice making, whereby values are cognitive representations of three universal requirements: (a) biological needs, (b) interactional requirements for interpersonal coordination, and (c) societal demands for group welfare and survival (Swartz & Bilsky, 1987, p. 550). Fransson and Gärling (1999) explain that values influence the formation of attitudes and that a set of values can be understood as a value orientation. In relation to PEB, 3 In this chapter, the view that people have cognitive self-regulation is taken as given, leaving other views out, such as those of renowned neuroscientist Victor Lamme who argues that this control does not exist. In his book De vrije wil bestaat niet, he shows that the part of the brain associated with the conscious is the last to react, when physical action has already been set into motion. 9

10 three value orientations can be discerned: 1) egoistic, people that take costs and benefits to themselves into account, 2) social-altruistic, people that judge on the basis of costs and benefits towards the group and 3) biospheric, people that take costs and benefits towards ecosystems into account (Stern, Dietz & Guagnano, 1995; Fransson & Gärling, 1999). Of course, we should not see value orientations as absolute and separate when applied to people, but in research and related to specific subjects an orientation can be dominant. In this way, an egoistic value orientation can be considered a barrier to PEB, although it does not exclude PEB that is informed by other motives such as cost-effectiveness. Dominant social-altruistic and biospheric value orientations are generally considered to be stimulants towards PEB. Norms A norm can be defined as an expectation held by an individual about how he or she ought to act in a particular social situation (Fransson & Gärling, 1999, p. 374). Norms can be internalised, making it a personal norm, which means there is no need for control from the outside. A social norm is controlled, for instance through punishment and reward. An example of a norm can be take responsibility towards the environment and conservation ; this will inform the individual on what they ought to do in a more specific situation (Tanner, 1999, p. 148). The norms relate to values, in which altruism and environmentalism are the norms of the social-altruistic and biospheric values and Clark et al. (2003, 245) find that both are necessary for the voluntary provision of an environmental public good. However, there are two types of awareness necessary for norms to motivate behaviour: awareness of the consequences of one s own actions and awareness of responsibility of these outcomes (Clark et al., 2003, p. 240). One of the six categories of reasons Palm and Tengvard (2011) found when researching motives for micro-electricity generation in Sweden was to set an example for others, which can clearly be understood as a norm-setting reason. However, seemingly undirectly related norms can work for or against PEB. Examples from Palm and Tengvard (2011): the norm do not hinder the neighbours, for instance by obstructing their view with a high micro-turbine, works against PEB. The norm show your wealth, in which a respondent compares his mirco-turbine, which delivers expensive electricity, to having a Mercedes on the driveway, works towards PEB. These examples show that norms influencing PEB might be unrelated to environmental considerations; thus case-by-case there are norms that form stimulants and barriers. Thus, a positive value orientation towards the environment does not have to lead to intentions to perform PEB if there are heavier weighing norms that oppose the behaviour (Fransson & Gärling, 1999, p.378). Attitudes Attitude can be understood as a generally positive or negative view but also as a broader judgment or position towards a person, place, thing, or event. According to Fransson and Gärling (1999) attitudes related to the environment might be divided in four categories. 1) An environmental attitude which emphasises the fragility of nature and is anti-anthropocentristic, which is coined the New Environmental Paridigm by Dunlap and Van Liere (1978). 2) An attitude in which a threat to other human beings through a degrading environment takes focus. 3) An attitude in which personal threats from environmental degradation is the focus. This is also described and found important for PEB as personal problem awareness in Tanner (1999), in which concerns for own health and risks stimulate PEB. 4) Environmental concern that comes from a deeper concern or value orientation, perhaps related to religion or post-materialistic values. 10

11 Clark et al. (2003) have proceeded to test the workings of different attitudes to stimulate behaviour. They found that biocentrism within altruism is most important, which means that the participants show altruistic attitudes towards the environment, not people. Also, they found that local concerns mattered more than big global problems to inform their attitude and behaviour. From research into the gap between attitudes and behaviour in the US, Blake (1990) confirmed two familiar points: 1) Environmental concern, and basic environmental action are becoming widespread throughout the population; 2) Few people take environmental actions which involve changes to their lifestyle (p ). Blake proceeds to question whether the concerns regarding the environment people express are actually related to their environmental actions. Complimentary are the findings of Palm & Tengvard (2011) who found that it was generally people who already embraced a green lifestyle that would participate in microelectricity programs. The above might be explained by two more categories of attitudes: the attitude towards other human beings and the attitude towards governance. Sutton and Tobin (2011) and Fischer et al. (2011), argue that people expect a certain role from the government and how the world should be governed, which influences their attitude towards their own behaviour. Clark, Kotchen and Moore (2003, p. 240) say that the environment and many of its parts can be understood as a public good of which those investing in it will not solely reap the benefits, because it is non-rival and non-excludable. Therefore, some attitudes include an expectance that the government needs to solve issues related to public goods. This is closely related to the perception of human kind, also coined folk psychology (Fischer et al. 2011) in which the behaviour of others is very important for individual behavioural decisions. There needs to be societal trust for behavioural change and people who believe that others are in general honest and cooperative would more likely express PEB (Fischer et al. 2011, p.1026). Stimulants for PEB in short could therefore be a bio-altruistic attitude, already having a green-lifestyle, trust in other humans and a feeling of personal responsibility besides or within the attitude towards governance. Barriers to be PEB could thus be distrust in other human beings and a conception of governance in which responsibility does not lie with the individual. Moreover, Blake finds individual barriers from his respondents that can be characterised as laziness, wrong person, lack of interest (Blake, 1999, p.265). The first and last barriers might be categorised under egoistic attitude and wrong person under either category of attitudes, towards other people or governance. From Understanding to Change To sum up, value orientation produces specific values which lead to specific attitudes. These converge and contradict with personal and social norms, leading case-by-case to intentions, which will only lead to behaviour if the individual places the locus of control within himself, has perceived control of the behaviour and has the resources and capabilities to perform the behaviour. [The literature of psychologists] suggests that PEB originates from values, beliefs, and attitudes that orient individuals toward particular actions. Consequently, psychologists recognize awareness, education, guilt, and persuasion as tools for invoking behavioral change (Clark, Kotchen & Moore, 2003, p.237). From this perspective, knowledge might increase awareness and concern about impacts of environmental problems. Sutton and Tobin (2011) find that negative appraisals of the consequences of an environmental problem are associated with the willingness to change behaviour and that information is used by the individual on how to 11

12 change his behaviour to prevent these expected negative effects. Likewise, Stern (1992) found that knowledge is the single factor that could help explain whether attitude predicted behaviour between two groups. Also, actively engaged individuals stood out in their knowledge of a specific problem and how to effectively deal with it. By contrast, Fransson and Gärling (1999) quote a research that found no positive correlation between knowledge and PEB. Divided into abstract and concrete knowledge, only the concrete knowledge influenced PEB. Blake (1990) agrees that there is an over-emphasis on knowledge, with all the other factors influencing behaviour as well. Reflection on an Inhabitant As the methodology section and scientific literature review revealed, it is not easy for inhabitants to move from a positive attitude to PEB towards action. Joining Nudge or Oost Oogst is understood to represent a positive attitude but nobody replied. The one interviewed inhabitant of the Middenmeer has exactly this concern: The group of people, who actually want to know it, is not that big 4 and the group that is willing to change its lifestyle is equally small. Another difficulty is his doubt about perceived control. He thinks all people -himself includedhave very limited control. Additionally, the interviewee believes that the government is a follower and can be at most a partner in sustainability initiative, but change has to come from the people and we all have to do it. Moreover, the inhabitant sees the market as the necessary evil that causes many of the environmental problems we face. The lack of faith in behaviour changes of others, in control of behaviour, in government and the market could work against PEB according to the literature. However, the inhabitant only experiences waves of these barriers demotivating him. The inhabitant finds his drive from the knowledge from the ecological footprint that it is impossible to continue using resources the way we have. It will go wrong and he is worried for himself and for his offspring (egoistic), not for other people as such (altruism), for the continuation of humankind and not nature as such (biocentrism). Additionally, he has performed a lot of PEB (for more examples see chapter 2) and finds it a stimulant to continue and increase his PEB. As Firstname Duurzaam 5, his Twitter name, he has internalised the social norm that we should act out what we argue for and he should therefore live the lifestyle he preaches. 1.D Conclusion From the single interview with an inhabitant it becomes clear that PEB can come from different attitudes and cannot be found to derive from one set of stimulants. The external factors found in chapter 2 that influence the inhabitant will form more of an explanation for his behaviour. In short: different combinations of internal barriers and stimulants can lead to PEB. 1.E Action Plan Recommendations In literature, researchers with a large sample set do make some recommendations for (facilitating) sustainability initiatives. - Structure the project in such a way that short-term self-interest of participants coincides with long-term collective interests (Franssons & Gärling, 1999, p.374). 4 Dutch: De groep van de mensen die het echt willen weten is niet zo groot. (Anonymous, personal interview October 18, 2011). 5 The Dutch duurzaam means sustainable, in which firstname is the first name of the inhabitant. 12

13 - Use social norm setting to group pressure inhabitants into PEB, which means that projects need to seek visibility and that participants should express their pro-environmental norms. - In line with the previous idea: encourage initiatives with a social component, which might mean doing the initiative with a hobby club or relate it to personal interests (dog walking). This will lower the threshold to participate, will change participants social norms and will take away a lack of efficacy (Blake, 1999, p.269). 13

14 2. External Factors Influencing Pro-Environmental Behaviour Maayke Aimée Damen, , Although sustainable development acquired its initial currency in the international arena, it will be the local responses that will determine its success or failure as a practical programme. (Munton, 1997, p.148) 2.A Introduction The governance approach adopted by WATERgraafsmeer aims at facilitating and stimulating pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) of the inhabitants of Amsterdam city district East (CDE) (WATERgraafsmeer, 2010, Aanpak WATERgraafsmeer ). To be able to facilitate behavioural change, it is vital to have insight in the factors influencing behaviour. Likewise, inhabitants setting up or running initiatives benefit from this knowledge. Qualitative and quantitative research have shown that a positive intention of individuals towards PEB cannot solely explain behaviour and that policies/programmes fall short if the focus is only on internal factors (Kollmus &Agyeman, 2002; Clark et al., 2003; Driessen & Leroy, 2007). Therefore this chapter, complementary to chapter 1, uses socio-economic science and related literature to investigate which so-called external factors, like gender, income and exposure prove significant in explaining PEB. External factors shape the capacity and willingness of actors to PEB and prove equally important in explaining and steering behaviour (Guangano et al., 2005). The challenge for WATERgraafsmeer and inhabitants is that the influence they can exert on external factors is limited. The objective of this chapter is to answer the following research questions: 1. What are, according to the literature, the external factors that make up the stimulants and barriers for PEB by inhabitants in their residential area? 2. Which external stimulants can be identified in Park de Meer and Middenmeer and what do the engaged inhabitants consider as external stimulants? 3. Which external barriers can be identified in Park de Meer and Middenmeer and what do the engaged inhabitants consider as external barriers? 2.B Research Methodology The research methodology of this chapter is covered in chapter 1. One addition is that the PEBsteering effect of several factors is investigated via application to a dataset of O+S 6. 2.C Results Virtually all studies explain the gap between pro-environmental intentions and actual PEB by referring to the role of external factors as set out in the comprehensive study of Stern and Oskamp (1987). They developed a framework that established a dialectic causal relation between internal and external factors and subsequently linked that to PEB. For example, when the intention to only eat biological meat proves complicated because it is costly and time consuming to procure, behaviour is less likely to reflect intention. Guagnano et al. (1995) also found that external factors affect the strength (positively or negatively) of the internal factorbehavioural relation. For example people who want to separate their garbage, but are not 6 O+S is the Department for Research and Statistics from the municipality of Amsterdam. O+S provides various basic statistics, like population size, age and employment rate. This information is mostly used by the municipality and the city districts to define or evaluate policy (O+Sa, 2011). 14

15 provided with public recycling-infrastructure, might therefore think it is not really important to recycle, since the infrastructure would otherwise have been provided. Thus, internal and external factors influence each other and jointly influence behaviour. However, influencing this relation is complicated by the fact that not all external factors can be influenced. The socio-economic literature classifies external factors into four not mutually exclusive groups: socio-demographic, institutional, economic and cultural factors (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). In response Wakefield et al. (2005) emphasise that the factor exposure should also be added. In line with the found dialectic causal relation, external factors relevant in influencing PEB will be categorised according to the possibility to be influenced by WATERgraafsmeer or inhabitants. Due to practical reasons research questions two and three will be answered per external factor. External factors that cannot be influenced 7 The following socio-demographic factors cannot be influenced. They need to be taken into account and used to differentiate policies/programmes. Age The influence of someone s age is characterised as the strongest and most consistent predictor of environmental concern (Mohai & Twight, 1987,p.813). Virtually all studies found that PEB varies according to age. The majority finds that people below 35 are more inclined to exercise PEB. Two hypotheses can explain this relation: 1) difference in behaviour stems from generation differences (cohort-effect), 2) PEB coincides with the changing socio-economic circumstances when aging (age-effect); thereby older people are more included to protect the status-quo. Most evidence points towards confirmation of the first hypothesis, yet only a time-series study can investigate the hypotheses (Mehta & Ouellet, 1995). As figure 2.1 shows, within CDE 50% of the inhabitants is under the age of 35. Compared to Amsterdam and The Netherlands this number is relatively high. Hence, this might be a stimulant to PEB in East. One inhabitant of CDE, interviewed for this research and introduced in chapter 1, shows much PEB 8 and ranks into the category PEB is thus not exclusively a trait of youngsters. 7It should be noted that this chapter by no means implies that human behaviour is somehow predetermined by a set of external factors. Rather, this overview will provide a comprehensive lens through which individual environmental behaviour can be explored and interpreted. 8 PEB of the interviewee included: consuming less, procuring biological food and clothing, not eating meat, mainly travelling by train, driving a Toyota Prius, never use the airplane, saving as much energy as possible. Installed solar panels on his roof, insulated his home, and invests in windmill parks. Moreover he twitters, blogs and writes (i.e. in a local newspaper) about sustainability. He participates in the sustainability working-group of a political party, facilitates the repair of products via the concept Repair Café and supports Aid Foundations in his daily work (Anonymous, personal interview October 18, 2011). 15

16 Percentage Figure 2.1: Comparison of age groups Comparison of age groups January 1, % % 60% % 20% % Amsterdam city district East Amsterdam The Netherlands Source: (O+Sb, 2011; CBS, 2011) Gender Nearly all studies identify a clear gender difference in PEB (Dietz et al., 1995; Wakefield et al., 2005). Two hypotheses can explain this difference: 1) differences emanate from the development of a consciousness under patriarchy for men, while the feminine ethic is grounded in an ethic of care 9, 2) differences can be explained by the division of productive and reproductive labour. Most studies conclude that women are more emotionally engaged than men, are more concerned about destruction of the environment, less impressed with technological solutions and the willingness to change behaviour is higher and therefore they more often show PEB. In CDE, 50,2% of the inhabitants is female, in Amsterdam this percentage is 50,7% and in The Netherlands 50,5% (O+Sb, 2011; CBS, 2011). In all three, the difference in sex-ratio is too little to speak of a large scale stimulant to PEB. This does not undermine the fact that females are more likely to exercise PEB. The interviewee, showing PEB, is male. Factors which are difficult to influence It is extremely complicated to influence the following factors, yet not impossible. However, in this analysis they should be taken as a given and used to differentiate policies/programmes. Additional research is necessary if WATERgraafsmeer or inhabitants want to influence them. Socio-Economic Status Socio-economic status is defined as the social standing or class of an individual or group and measured as a combination of education, income and occupation (APA, 2011). Education refers to the number of years individuals received education. Most of the Western studies find that the more years of education, the higher the tendency to express PEB 9 The core notion in an ethic of care is taking care of others. Thereby the focus is on responsiveness in an interconnected network consisting of love, trust, human bonding, care, needs, and the prevention of harm (Gilligan, Carol (1982) In a Different Voice. Harvard University Press.). 16

17 (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002; OECD, 2011). Furthermore, the overall picture of many studies is that the higher the income, the more inclined people are to exercise PEB (Clark et al., 2003; Wakefield et al., 2005). One reason stresses that the new middle classes have proportionally more resources to engage in PEB. Lastly, the comprehensive EU-wide study of the OECD (2011) finds that liberal professions (specified as doctors, lawyers and teachers) show more PEB than other professions. O+S does not provide data to analyse the education level of the inhabitants in CDE. Yet, this relation holds true for the interviewee, who finished his degree in University. The average personal income of inhabitants in CDE was in 2008; slightly higher than the Amsterdam average of The average disposable income per household was in 2008; also higher than the Amsterdam average of (O+Sb, 2011). Although not asked for the income of the interviewee, he did note that he had plenty of money (Anonymous, personal interview October 18, 2011). Lastly, 47% of the inhabitants of CDE have a liberal profession -including the respondent- as compared to 42% in Amsterdam 10. With the last two factors above average this might be a stimulant towards PEB in East. Household composition This factor is composed of: a single-person household versus another composition, the marital status and whether children are present. On a household level the norms and values of that particular household are formed, thus the way people arrange their personal lives is influenced by the composition of the household (Dietz et al., 1998; OECD, 2011). Two conclusions from the literature are: 1) households with children show more PEB (ibid), 2) shared households like student flats show less PEB because responsibility is fragmented (Clark et al., 2003). O+S does not provide data to analyse household composition in CDE. The respondent does have children and indicated they stimulated him to exercised PEB. Residential status 11 This factor addresses housing tenure: whether people own the house or rent it. Multiple studies have shown that homeowners are more able to change their physical environment towards sustainability, by for example insulating the house, and therefore are also more likely to do so (OECD, 2011). Broer Soolsma (personal communication, September 9, 2011) indicated that around 80% of the houses in CDE are privately owned. Hence, this can be seen as a stimulant to PEB. The interviewee, who installed solar panels and insulated his house, is a home-owner. Exposure characteristics This factor is composed of the visibility, duration and intensity of the issue one is exposed to (Wakefield et al., 2005). This can be personal exposure like with frequent flooding of the basement or street. It can also be more distant exposure, to for example natural disasters as hurricane Katrina, via the media, accounts of foreign friends etc. The respondent indicated that more distant exposure like Malthus s population theory and the release of the Club of Rome report stimulated him towards PEB. Although CDE lies 10 Comparison to the whole of the Netherlands for the factor income and profession was not possible due to inconsistencies is data between O+S and CBS. 11Studies have found that living in rural or urban areas makes a difference regarding PEB. However, this factor is not applicable in the urban residential areas of this study. Similarly, a factor that might be relevant and has also been proven significant in some studies (Wakefield et al. 2005) is health status. Yet, because WATERgraafsmeer is not aimed at, plus does not have to deal with specific health issues, this factor is not included in the analysis. 17

18 below sea-level and has issues with flooding, our respondent indicated to never have been positively or negatively exposed to, or influenced by, environmental issues in his daily life. Factors that might be influenced The following external factors might be influenced by WATERgraafsmeer or inhabitants. These need not only be taken into account when developing policies, but can also provide some leverage when aiming at PEB. Cultural factors/ Social network characteristics The cultural norms of a society are important in shaping someone s behaviour, since people tend to look at their neighbours and society as a whole when determining their actions (Hopper & Nielsen, 1991). Thereby a supportive social network positively influences the ability to cope with environmental stressors and engage in action (Lazarus, 1993; Putnam, 2000). An example is the study of Boehmer-Christiansen and Skea (1991) who discovered that the cultural value of forest in Germany, together with the countries emphasis on stability and security, led to a completely different response to acid rain than in the UK, with different cultural norms. The interviewee stated that his friends who also show PEB form a stimulant to him, for example in taking the train more frequently. On the other hand, his feeling to stay up-to-date, mostly regarding societies technological developments make him procure every new product and forms a barrier towards PEB. Chapter 3 presents literature and suggestions on influencing this factor, for example coordinated stimulation of social network ties. Chapter 6 suggests the organisation of open roof -days. Institutional factors Kollmuss and Agyeman (2002) argue that people are more likely to conduct PEB when the necessary institutional stimulants are in place, like public recycling-opportunities, uncomplicated regulations, accessible subsidies, public transportation etc. For example, an increased recycling rate proved causally related to public curb-side collections (Guagnano et al., 1995). A complicating factor is that institutional factors interact on multiple institutional levels. Subsidies stimulated the interviewee to procure solar panels. Moreover, the excellent public transportation infrastructure stimulates him to leave the car at home and use public transport instead. A suggestion for the WATERgraafsmeer to positively influence this factor, put forth in chapter 4 is allowing people to connect their home grids to each other. Chapter 3 and 5 suggests easing institutional regulations in order to make it easier for inhabitants to alter/retrofit their houses. Economic factors This factor consists of the following: (disposable) income, financial stimulants, the costs of an action and resources (in money, time and energy) to access networks, technologies etc. (OECD, 2011). When a pro-environmental action is expensive and people have little income they will not undertake action. On the other hand, a high income can have two effects: 1) more money to buy (polluting) products, 2) or more money to spend on pro-environmental actions (OECD, 2011). Important here is that people tend to favour actions of which the payback time is short (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). PEB is also influenced by taxes and subsidies, which can make a pro-environmental action cheaper or a polluting action more expensive. The opposite is also true: cheap energy can stop people from insulating their house. Although financial incentives are helpful in initiating behaviour, continued PEB also depends on other internal and external 18

19 factors (De Young, ; Guagnano et al., 1995). Furthermore, PEB is influenced by the costs of an action and resources (both in time, money, knowledge and energy) available to a person to undertake action and to access technologies, the credit market etc. to better facilitate the action (ibid; OECD, 2011). If these so-called transaction costs are too high people are less likely to exercise PEB (see chapter 3). The respondent thinks it is uneconomical to not make use of subsidies to procure solar panels and insulate his house. Moreover, his decision to not eat meat is partly based on the costsaving aspect. Time forms a barrier to PEB, he often still buys regular clothes, for example, since those are more readily available than organic clothes. It is unknown what the reason is so little people responded to the focus-group and questionnaire, but high transaction costs and no direct personal benefits are reasons provided by the literature. Suggestions for the WATERgraafsmeer to influence these factors are presented in chapter 5 and 7, by means of subsidies to ensure measures are economically attractive for inhabitants. 2.D Conclusion External factors influence internal factors, the internal factor-behaviour relation and they directly influence behaviour. This means that although external factors, that to a large extent cannot be influenced, co-determine internal factors and behaviour. When WATERgraafsmeer or inhabitants want to influence behaviour they need to take the steering-effect of external factors into account and differentiate their strategies to influence internal factors in accordance with external factors specifics. Moreover, factors that might be influenced should be affected in ways that prove to be stimulants to PEB. For the interviewee, the factors socio-economic status, household composition, housing tenure, exposure, a supportive social network, public transport infrastructure and financial incentives are good additional external stimulants to explain why his attitude mentioned in chapter 1 leads to PEB. 2.E Action Plan Recommendations For WATERgraafsmeer to better facilitate, and for inhabitants to be more successful in achieving initiatives aimed at sustainability, current policies/programmes should be evaluated in light of the information provided in chapter 1, 2 and 3. However, the barriers defined in these chapters show that not every inhabitant can be stimulated to exercise PEB or act collectively. Moreover, when developing new policies/programmes efforts should be aimed towards external factors specifics that proved to be stimulants to PEB. This means targeting towards or involving people under the age of 35 and especially women. Additionally, people that are highly educated, have a high (disposable) income, have a liberal profession, are homeowners and have children are more likely to exercise PEB and should therefore be involved or targeted. Suggestions are targeting young mothers waiting at school for their children, women (with children) in homeowners associations or youngsters at school via their curriculum 12. Lastly, this chapter found that amongst the social, institutional and economic factors that might be influenced, supportive cultural norms and social networks, supportive regulation, uncomplicated and easily accessible subsidies and the right financial incentives stimulate PEB. Chapter 3 to 7 provide additional literature, suggestions and tools on how WATERgraafsmeer and inhabitants can influence these factors. 12 These suggestions are supported by (among others) the findings of the Barefoot College (Roy, 2011). 19

20 3. Collective Pro-Environmental Action Eefje Gijzen, , 3.A Introduction One way for WATERgraafsmeer to sustainably improve the district is to facilitate the grassroots projects set up collectively by inhabitants of CDE as much as possible (WATERgraafsmeer, 2010, Bewonersinitiatieven ). It is of interest to see to what extent projects in the area were successful. For this purpose, two cases have been selected; one successful, Vrienden van Frankendael, and one which hasn t been as successful yet, a solar panel project for an apartment building in Park De Meer 13. In the study of these projects, lessons learnt can then be incorporated into the advice given to the client. The research questions are: - What are the factors that influence the success of collective action? - To what extent were the collective projects Vrienden van Frankendael and the green roofs initiative successful? - Which factors contributed to the success or failure of these projects? - How can WATERgraafsmeer contribute to increase the chances of success for grassroots initiatives in Park de Meer and Middenmeer? The answers found in the research for this chapter build on the findings of the previous two chapters and generate a list of recommendations and a clear description of actions to be taken in order to facilitate collective action. 3.B Research Methodology In order to generate results about success or failure of collective action, one first needs to know what is needed in general by groups of citizens who are engaged in collective action. Therefore, literature on collective sustainability projects is reviewed as well as literature on collective action problems. Thus, a list of necessary conditions is made. Then two cases, one successful, one failed, are examined. Interviews with people involved in both projects are held to generate factors that have played a role in this success or failure. The first project is a homeowners association who wanted solar panels on their apartment building. These solar panels would serve to reduce the energy costs for the joint spaces in the building. This project has not come through yet. The second project, Vrienden van Frankendael, is an association of citizens who worked together to preserve Park Frankendael and make it more sustainable. They set up a society in order to better voice their objections to the plans that were made for the area (also see chapter 7). This project is a success according to the participants. The interviews are structured by means of a topic list, transcribed, and then coded (see appendices C, D, and E). The next step is to compare the results from literature research with the projects. The factors that contributed to success or failure are then presented, and a list of recommendations follows from that. 13 Due to the limited time span in which this project needed to be finished, both cases were selected on the basis of the information given by the city district. The client also indicated these projects as successful or not. The question whether these projects can really be compared is a valid one. Arguably, a homeowner s association requires a different type of collective action, and therefore faces different collective action problems, than a society which was set up with the sole purpose of saving a park. Due to the limited time in which this research needed to be done, it was impossible to find a failed and a successful project which also had similar characteristics. The results from the research are therefore tentative. 20

21 3.C Results Literature Review: Factors that Influence the Success of Collective Action Olson (1971) states that an organisation or group serves the furtherance of the interests of their members (Olson, 1971, p.5). These interests are generally common interests. Therefore, collective action can be defined as the actions of a group of people working toward a common goal. Olson (1971) states that when a person is part of a group or organisation, his own efforts will not have a noticeable effect on the situation of his organization, and he can enjoy any improvements brought about by others whether or not he has worked in support of his organization (Olson, 1971, p.16). When special arrangements, like rules and norms, are absent, individuals will rather act in their own personal interest than in the group interest. This collective action problem can also occur when inhabitants of a neighbourhood engage in collective action to invest in, for instance, solar panels. By letting one person take the lead in investing time and effort in trying to find the right information and organising the buyers in the neighbourhood, other participants are essentially free-riding. This could cause the project to fail, since the person doing the investments reaps as many benefits as the others, thereby making his cost-benefit ratio unattractive. This person is therefore unlikely to continue investing. Because of these investments of time and energy, also called transaction costs (North, 1990; Coase, 1988), people are likely to free-ride on the participation efforts of others. According to Rydin and Pennington (2000), the commitment of people who do engage in collective action is likely to be highly unstable and active participation in the process is rare. In order to get individuals in a group to act in the group s interest, a selective incentive is needed (Olson 1971). A selective incentive is a benefit that is not available to the group as a whole, but is directed selectively toward the individuals in the group (Olson, 1971, p.51). In this way, individuals who are active in the group are treated differently than those who are not. For the cases discussed in this chapter this would mean that when a group of neighbours invest in solar panels, the benefits such as a lower joint energy bill will only be available to those who participate. In the case of Vrienden van Frankendael this is less obvious, since everyone can enjoy the park, whether or not they have invested in it. Other, non-material benefits would be meeting friends who share similar values and beliefs, and the enjoyment of collective effort with these people (Rydin & Pennington, 2000, p.157). Willer (2009) argues that one of these selective incentives could be status. He states: [G]roups pay respect to individuals for their contributions to the group s efforts. By contributing, individuals display their concern for the group. The group, in turn, conveys respect for the individual. Receiving that respect further motivates the individual to contribute (Willer, 2009, p.23). Rydin and Pennington (2000) mention the phenomenon of rational ignorance, an obstacle closely related to transaction costs. When people start to engage in individual or collective action, finding information and processing it takes time, effort and resources, i.e. transaction costs. For that reason, actors have to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs. If actors perceive the investment of resources in becoming informed as not worthwhile, the quality of participation is expected to be poor. Rent-seekers, people who try to derive economic rent by manipulating the social or political circumstances rather than by adding value, Rydin and Pennington state, are usually better informed about issues which directly affect them. They may fill this rational ignorance void, providing other actors with selective and distorted information. This raises the question of whether government should be involved in training and information provision as a part of the process (Rydin & Pennington, 2000). 21

22 Rydin and Pennington (2000) state that participation is most likely to occur in smallgroup situations, where potential participants know one another. Neighbours in an apartment building collectively purchasing solar panels, for instance, are likely to know one another fairly well and will see each other on a regular basis. Also, these groups tend not to be overly large. Newman et al. (2008) examine the role of social capital in a successful local community initiative to have car-free streets on special days in Toronto, Canada. Social capital is defined as social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them (Putnam, 2000, p.19). Newman et al. (2008) say these networks consist of individuals connected to each other by ties, and the variation in these ties. They argue that the evolution of a network s ties contributes to the success or failure of the collective to achieve its sustainable development goals. Putnam (2000) distinguishes two types of ties: 1) bonding ties, ties that connect people who have common relations, like family members, friends or neighbours and 2) bridging ties, connections to people from other groups and communities. Bonding ties generate dense clusters of interconnected people and strong but localised trust. Bridging ties allow access to resources and opportunities, but decay faster than bonding ties. Newman et al. (2008) discovered that the initiative had a strong core which had remained unchanged since the beginning. The core organisers had many close friends (bonding ties) who helped out with events, while other community members assisted by attending larger public meetings. The core group mobilised existing social capital and increased it over time. This supports the idea of a strong core and weak periphery. They conclude that bonding ties are important to the success of this initiative. As to the bridging ties, Newman et al. (2008) especially examined the ties with the municipality. They say that the main obstacles were the rigidity of the regulations at the municipal and provincial level and the lack of funding. Newman et al. (2008) suggest that a realignment of regulations strategically directed to locally based grassroots initiatives, along with access to steady funding at critical points in network formation, could contribute to the success of network formation around local sustainability initiatives. In other words, lowering the transaction costs would increase the chances of success. They also claim that local network formation is sustained by positive feedback from the local community. In sum, the reviewed literature suggests that grassroots collective action has better chances of being successful when: - The group of participants is small - Transaction costs do not exceed benefits for participants - The possibilities for free-riding are minimal - Selective incentives are present - The rational ignorance void is either non-existent or not filled by faulty information - Social capital is strongly present: both bonding ties and bridging ties are abundant - There is a strong, stable core of initiators and a periphery of helpers - Positive feedback from the community is present Collective Action in Watergraafsmeer Park de Meer The interview with Ms Mik (personal interview, October 21, 2011) indicated that the homeowners association consisted of 35 households. This in itself shouldn t be too large a group to undertake collective action, but from Ms Mik s responses it becomes clear that other 22

23 factors have a large influence. The core initiators for this project initially consisted of three people: Ms Mik and two others. Eventually, one of these core initiators left the initiative, since she did not feel that the project would succeed and did not see the point in investing time and energy any longer. The potential benefits did not outweigh the transaction costs for this person. When talking about the transaction costs, Ms Mik said that most time and effort is put in finding the right information. Though it cannot be proven that the rational ignorance void was filled by rent-seekers, Ms Mik said that she got conflicting information on numerous occasions. First of all, they received three quotes which differed enormously. Also, she claimed that it was very hard to find out the rules for homeowners associations. She stated that, in general, the regulations for subsidies, deducing the costs and legal implications for future homeowners were the main obstacles. When asked about the selective incentives, Ms Mik mentioned meeting other people with similar interests and the knowledge that she has gathered for herself. On the question whether status was one of the benefits she gained, she laughed and said that she was seen as: idealistic, but not in a positive way. 14 Besides the core being reduced to two people now, Ms Mik indicated that none of the other households did anything to help. Therefore, a periphery of helpers was absent. In fact, the other members of the homeowners association could be said to free-ride on the time and effort the core initiators put into the project. Initially, the idea was to not only have solar panels or green roofs for that apartment building alone, but for all other apartment buildings in the neighbourhood. When asked about this, Ms Mik said: That was rather a low point in our motivation, when we had written to the other associations. There is nobody who immediately says: Oh, yes, we want that, too, but: Keep us updated on your progression. 15 Later on in the interview she also said: Free-riding, yes, find out for us and keep us posted. 16 Both bonding and bridging ties are largely absent or weak in this case. In fact, Ms Mik is currently selling her apartment due to little social cohesion in the neighbourhood. Regarding bridging ties, at first there were contacts with the city district and the council member for sustainability, but these contacts petered out after only one or two meetings, thus they were not very strong. Also, contacts with businesses, such as Dakdokters and energy companies have resulted in nothing but confusion. Furthermore, the feedback from the community was rather negative. Ms Mik states: One person says: You should never put anything on your roof because it would ruin your roof, another says: You ll never get anything out of it. It is hardly stimulating. 17 Vrienden van Frankendael For Vrienden van Frankendael, around 900 people have at one time been a member of the society. Currently, 200 people still pay contributions. The core initiators have been active throughout the entire period. One of these is mentioned especially throughout the interview held with Mr Alkema and Ms Rijke, members of the board of the society. Mr Vos was they key initiator and was active for the park and the society until his untimely death. The society has five people on the board who have taken over this role. This supports the idea of a stable core. Concerning the periphery, Ms Rijke and Mr Alkema claim that for each job to be done, 20 to idealistisch, maar dan niet positieve zin. 15 dat was wel een dip in onze motivatie, toen we dat rondschrijven hadden gedaan naar de andere flats. Er is niemand die meeteen zegt: oh, ja dat willen we ook, maar: houd ons op de hoogte van jullie vorderingen. 16 Wel meeliften, maar, zoek het maar uit en houd ons maar op de hoogte. 17De ene zegt je moet nooit wat op je dak zetten want dan gaat je dak eraan, een ander zegt je krijgt het er nooit uit. Het is bepaald niet stimulerend. 23

24 people volunteer. In addition, several people do small jobs, such as ordering the archives, which constitutes the periphery of helpers. (S. Alkema & J. Rijke, personal interview, October 21, 2011). Bonding ties seem to be quite strong, as both respondents repeatedly refer to the involvement of the neighbourhood. Another factor for their success that is mentioned is the importance of good communication with the neighbours and members of the society. Arguably, this enhances the bonding ties. The feedback from the community seems to be truly positive. You hear nothing else than that the experiences are positive. 18 Alkema especially stresses the importance of bridging ties: It is of vital importance that you have good contacts with politics. [...] We have regular consultations with the officials under which Park Frankendael falls. 19 In addition, the society is also part of a congress of parks, where ideas and experiences are shared. Though free-riding does occur, to both respondents this does not seem to be a problem. Rather, they enjoy doing something of which others also reap the benefits. Other selective incentives mentioned are meeting people who have the same ideas, the feeling that you have gotten a result together with others and appreciation by people in the neighbourhood. When talking about Mr Vos, the initiator, both speak about him with reverence and warmth, and say that he was well-known in the neighbourhood, implicitly supporting the selective incentive of status, although explicitly they preferred to call it appreciation. Finally, no instances of rational ignorance or rent-seekers were found. 3.D Conclusion From the presented results, the conclusions can be that the Park de Meer project failed due to the absence of strong social capital. Additionally, transaction costs were high, especially regarding finding information in the complex web of regulations around subsidies and legal consequences. There may have been some rent-seeking, but this was not proven. The level of free-riding was high and this resulted in at least one core initiator to cease working for the project. Selective incentives were present, but not so that others were willing to actively participate. Consequently, there was no periphery of helpers. The feedback from the community was rather negative than positive. Vrienden van Frankendael was successful due to the abundance of strong bridging and bonding ties and positive feedback from the community. There was a strong core of initiators and a periphery of helpers. Free-riding is not deemed a problem, selective incentives are present and outweigh transaction costs. No instances of a rational ignorance void or rent-seekers were detected. 3.E Action Plan Recommendations From the interviews can be deduced that help in organisation and the strengthening of bonding and bridging ties is needed. Currently, this function is dispersed over several departments of the city council. In a conversation with the council member for sustainability indicates that her guidance can only go so far (Özütok, personal communication, 27 October 2011). WATERgraafsmeer could facilitate this by having one or more case workers, who could guide and counsel projects, thereby also reducing transaction costs. Currently, initiators have to have a multitude of contacts and by having one case worker per project, the transaction costs could also 18 Je hoort niets anders dan dat dat als zeer positief wordt ervaren. 19 Het is het uitermate belangrijk dat je goed contact hebt met de politiek. Dus ik zeg nu maar even het stadsdeel is de politiek. Er is een regelmatig overleg met ambtenaren die, waaronder Park Frankendael valt. 24

25 be reduced. Also, this would increase the chances of uniform and clear information, thereby reducing the chances of a rational ignorance void and possibilities for rent-seekers. In addition to this, a well-publicised FAQ-site and perhaps courses offered by WATERgraafsmeer on how to find your way through all the legal and administrative regulations would be welcome. Alternatively, legal and administrative regulations could be simplified. This would constitute the realignment of regulations strategically directed to locally based grassroots initiatives, along with access to steady funding at critical points in network formation Newman et al. (2008) mentioned. Inhabitants wishing to engage in collective action should enhance bonding ties especially, through good communication with neighbours and actively involving potential participants. They should stress the benefits of the end result and selective incentives, like meeting like-minded people, and have institutions to combat free-riding, although it would depend on the project in question how this could be done. They should also invest in bridging ties, actively engaging in frequent visits or other forms of contact with the city district, companies, and other initiatives. There are numerous ways in which companies could involve themselves more in grassroots initiatives, especially those involving homeowners associations. Companies that provide solar panels, for instance, could actively seek out homeowners associations and provide them with information on their products, thereby increasing their market. They could start up pilot projects with one apartment building in the neighbourhood and then provide the findings to similar buildings in the same neighbourhood. This would decrease transaction costs for initiatives and make the threshold to take part in such an initiative lower, as well as lower the price. 25

26 4. Analysing Residents Initiatives of Energy Saving Measures and Examining the Potential of Applying Small-Scale Renewable Energy Technologies in Dwellings Roel Vreeken, , ER 4.A Introduction Energy use for homes is one of the major sectors of energy consumptions. More than one third of the world s primary energy demand is caused by the residential sector, and this primary energy mainly comes from fossil fuels (Balta, Dincer & Hepbasli, 2011). One way to make the residential energy supply sustainable is by installing small-scale renewable energy technologies. Many spaces within the urban environment, such as roofs and facades can be utilised to produce energy. Photovoltaic panels and solar heat collectors, for instance, can be used to produce power. Ambient air, wastewater and underground aquifers can be utilised to extract heat. Thirdly, municipal solid waste and green waste can be exploited to produce both, using the technology micro CHP (Genske, Porche & Ruff, 2009). Some owners of the houses of the Amsterdam neighbourhoods Middenmeer and Park de Meer have been taking initiatives to apply small-scale renewable energy technologies (SCRET) (B. Soolsma, personal communication, September 9, 2011). Installing these kinds of technologies has lowers the use of electricity and gas from the grid. Benefits of this are lower annual energy costs for households and less sensitivity to a rise in energy prices set by the energy company. New ideas and initiatives have been tried by inhabitants, but some of these do not succeed (ibid). In this chapter, these initiatives are analysed. What can be learnt from this analysis is how to make initiatives for SCRETs in that way it is successful, and, if possible, how to do so collectively. Secondly, the most cost effective small-scale renewable energy technologies are identified. This is done by analysing the subsidies in place, the energy prices and technological performance of each small-scale renewable energy technology. The technologies which are technologically possible are selected, followed by an assessment of the economic feasibility by calculating the simple payback period (Blok, 2007). In the final step, an assessment on how sustainable these recommended measures are is conducted. This is done by calculating the amount of abatement for primary energy and CO 2 the recommended measures can achieve. In order to get to the end result mentioned above, the following specific research questions are set: 1. What initiatives for installing small-scale renewable energy technologies have been undertaken by the residents of the Amsterdam neighbourhoods Middenmeer and Park de Meer in 2010? 2. What is the payback period of these SCRETs with and without subsidy? 3. How much primary energy and CO 2 emissions can these technologies and energy saving measures 20 save per year? The major part of the energy supply for houses in The Netherlands is not sustainable. The electricity and heat that is going to the houses comes mostly from power stations fired by coal or gas and the heating of water for domestic heating is fired by natural gas (IEA, 2008). These fossil fuels are not sustainable since they are finite and cause pollution on a local and global level (Blok, 2007). The results of this research will give recommendations for facilitating initiatives 20The energy saving measures will be further discussed in chapter 5. An outline of the different insulation measures and high efficiency boiler will be given and the payback period will be calculated. 26

27 for urban renewable energy technologies. It will also give recommendations of which measures are best suited to the inhabitants of Middenmeer and Park de Meer. 4.B Research Methodology This research is qualitative as well as quantitative and is conducted through several research methods. First of all, this research begins with an interview with the client. This person will elaborate the case and the problem. Also, information of other relevant people in the specific case is gathered, for instance other employees of municipality district Amsterdam East who have relevant knowledge for this research consultancy case. Another research method used is a literature review. The literature review means using scientific articles, internet sites of reliable institutions and databases from the CDE. The SCRETs are analysed by calculating the payback period and annually saved primary energy and CO 2- emissions. These indicators are dependent on the determinant in the following conceptual framework. Conceptual Framework Subsidies Energy Prices Technological performance SCRET Technogical performance SCRET PBP Saved Primary Energy & CO2 emissions Payback Period Payback Period (PBP) = Investment costs/(annual Revenues - annual Costs) (Blok, 2007) The payback period shows the number of years after which an investment is earned back. This is an important measure for homeowners, because the quicker the investment is earned back, the more years it can create revenue for the homeowner. This method of analysis is used to select the options for SCRETs. In chapter 5 the effect of collective procurement on the payback period is examined. Saved primary energy (P.E.)and CO 2-emissions Saved P.E. (gas) = annual reduction in heat demand * efficiency boiler Saved P.E. (electricity) = annual reduction kwh * 3,6 (MJ/kWh)/ efficiency CO 2-emissions = P.E. * CO 2 emission factor (Blok, 2007). 4.C Results Analysis of Initiatives Taken for Sustaining Residents Energy Supply by the Inhabitants of City District East in 2010 In this section the initiatives of the inhabitants of city district East (CDE)in year 2010 are analysed and two successful cases of collective procurement are described. 27

28 Initiatives in 2010 Requests for subsidy photovoltaic solar panels The following numbers are about the whole CDE 21 (Gemeentestadsdeel Amsterdam Oost, 2011 b ). The neighbourhoods Park de Meer and Middenmeer are a small part of CDE and numbers of these two areas are not known. Subsidy for photovoltaic solar panels in Statistics CDE. Number of requests 195 Number of houses with solar panels 148 (58% homeowners associations) Amount of dropout after the register period 24% Thus in 2010, a percentage of 24% of the requests for subsidy fell through, since solar panels were not installed. The majority of the requests (58%) were done collectively via the homeowners association (M. Menkveld, personal communication, October 6, 2011). Successful collective procurement initiatives in 2010 Building of a sustainable department at street Ringdijk 11-13, Don Bosco area At the historical Ringdijk in CDE an apartment building was constructed with seven dwellings in it. The owners of the apartment building wished to have an environmentally friendly and sustainable building. Therefore, the building features solar boilers, underground heat and cold storage and the house is well-insulated. The principals of this building project are private individuals who live in the dwellings who chose to build an apartment building which is very sustainable. This project is financed without using any subsidies and is an example of a successful initiative with collective procurement (Amsterdamse Nieuwbouwprijs, 2011). Homeowners Association Javaplantsoen In 2010 the homeowners association Javaplantsoen in CDE applied for a subsidy for photovoltaic solar panels. 21 of the 38 members of this association requested solar panels via their homeowners association. 24 sets of solar panels were purchased with the help of the CDE s subsidy. The solar panels are property of the homeowners association. Because it is not allowed to connect households to each other by an electricity grid in The Netherlands, a homeowners association has to link the central system to central facilities. In the case of Javaplantsoen, the generated electricity is used for powering central facilities like the elevator and the lighting in corridors, staircases and the bicycle parking in the cellar (Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsdeel Oost, 2011). Most often collective procurement by homeowners is done via a homeowners association. In 2010, 58% of the solar panels were installed by these associations (M. Menkveld, personal communication, October 7, 2011). This a substantial percentage of the total requests for subsidy for photovoltaic solar panels made, which proves that collective procurement through a homeowners association is convenient and works well. A reason for the success is that every homeowner in an apartment building is a member of a homeowners association. If an apartment building consists of multiple dwellings, homeowners are legally required to be a member of the homeowners association in The Netherlands. Residents of an apartment buildings pay service costs to the association, and a part 21 District Amsterdam East consists of city districts Watergraafsmeer, Indische buurt, Oud-Oost, IJburg and Oostelijk Havengebied (Gemeente Amsterdam stadsdeel Oost, 2011b). 28

29 of these service costs are used for paying the electricity for and heating of the common space in the building (Rijksoverheid, 2011). Subsidies 2011 CDE- Photovoltaic solar panels Subsidy 1,00 per Watt peak; 1,200 per request, or 30% of the costs made for the request of solar panels (NieuwAmsterdamsKlimaat, 2011). Municipality of Amsterdam Green roofs Subsidy 50/m 2 or max. 50% of the made cost Maximum budget per request 20,000 Conditions Minimal roof surface of 40 m 2 (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2011) Province North-Holland Energy saving measures and SCRETs Subsidy Individual homeowner: 500 Homeowner association: 500 times * number of apartments Conditions The total costs of the project are a minimum of 2000 including Cost integral advice of 250 on average. This is a subsidy for applying SCRETs or energy savings measures specially for dwellings (photovoltaic system, solar boiler, roof insulation, floor insulation, HR++ glass, wall insulation) However, the subsidy will not be granted if already another subsidy is given for the projects (Provincie Noord-Holland, 2011). National Government of The Netherlands Energy saving measures Maximum budget per request: 750 or 300 Owners of house or apartments can get a premium when taking energy saving measures. The amount of subsidy depends on the improvement of the energy savings of the house. The more energy saving, the higher the subsidy. An improvement of the energy index by minimal 0.75: 750 An improvement of the energy index by minimal of 0.50: 300 The energy index (see figure 4.1 below) determines what category of the energy labels (A to G) the specific house can receive. This number is calculated based on 1) building features, 2) fixed installations in the building, 3) standardised residents /user behaviour. 29

30 Figure 4.1: Energy labels and Energy index (Energiesubsidiewijzer, 2011) Analysis subsidies The subsidies given by the municipality of Amsterdam appear to be successful in CDE. For example, the 2011 budget for the subsidy for solar panels was sold out in five minutes (B. Soolsma, personal communication, October 29, 2011). This is also the case for green roofs, and most likely this will also be the case when the CDE grants subsidies for green roofs in 2012 (N. Özütok, personal interview, October 27, 2011) One can conclude that the subsidy budget is by far not enough for all requests. The subsidy of the province of North-Holland could also be applied for, for solar panels as well as for all kinds of insulation measures. However, the main difficulty is the minimum amount of investments of Therefore, a subsidy for one low costs energy saving measure is often not enough (Provincie Noord-Holland, 2010). Thirdly, the Dutch national government also grants subsidies, stimulating energy saving measures. The downside of these subsidies is that they only apply to dwellings with a low energy label, since the low cost effective energy saving measure (like roof insulation) are generally already applied to the dwellings with a high energy label. Also, most of the time one measure is not enough to be eligible for the subsidies. The advantage of these subsidies is that they can be applied for in combination with other subsidies (Energiesubsidiewijzer, 2011). The costs for obtaining an energy label are much lower for apartment buildings, since the dwelling are very similar. The average cost of purchasing an energy label for a single dwelling is 265, whereas the cost per homeowner for an apartment building with 40 dwellings is 83 (P. Van den Woerd, personal communication, 2011). This type of collective action should be done via the homeowners association. An energy label of a dwelling is valid for 10 years. In general, houses with an energy label are easier to sell, and it increases the value of the house (Energielabel, 2011). Average Gas en Electricity Prices The average electricity price of electricity in the year 2010 in the Netherlands including energy tax and VAT (Milieucentraal, 2011): Gas 0,58 per kwh Electricity 0,22 kwh Best practice Small-Scale Renewable Energy Technologies (SCRET s) in 2011 Photovoltaic solar Cells Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is a renewable energy technology in which electromagnetic energy from sun radiation is converted into electricity. This conversion is made possible by the photovoltaic effect in which energy from photons are converted into an electrical current (Green, Emery & Hishikawa, 2010). 30

31 The types of photovoltaic solar cells which are nowadays most mature and cost-effective are the multi-crystalline (mc-si) and the mono-crystalline silicon solar cells (c-si). These two solar cell technologies dominate today s PV production (Dimova-Malinovska, 2010). The monocrystalline has an efficiency of 25% and the multi-crystalline solar cells have an efficiency of 20%. However, mono-crystalline solar cells are more expensive than multi-crystalline ones (Green et al., 2010). The best choice of photovoltaic solar panels depends on the positioning of the panels and the wishes of the homeowner. Solar cells with a higher efficiency also mean a higher price. The most purchased type of solar panels are the multi-crystalline panels, which have an average lifetime 25 years. Like in every market sector, there are large differences in price and quality of solar photovoltaic panels. Therefore, in this research the model of photovoltaic panels which are mostly used have been taken into account. This is the model produced by the firm Suntec STP 230 multi-crystalline with a standard size set of 3 solar panels (Bespaarbazaar, 2011). Solar boiler A solar boiler is a renewable energy technology in which a liquid (usually alcohol) is being heated by sunlight and gives of this heat to the water in a heat exchanger. After the water has been heated, a boiler heats it further in order to get the right temperature for heating. This is called a combi-boiler, because the energy from the sun is usually not enough to heat up the water to a sufficient temperature. This type is the most commonly issued one, and consists of a collector of about 3 m 2 and a storage barrel of litre (SenterNovem, 2008). Figure 4.2. Standard type solar boiler (SenterNovem, 2006) Although for this renewable energy technology no subsidies are in place, a cost and CO 2 abatement analysis is conducted. Data of the most applied solar boiler in The Netherlands are taken into account, namely of the boiler Remaha ZentaSOL solar boiler with two collectors (Remeha, 2011) Results PBP and Annually Saved Primary Energy and CO 2-Emissions In table 4.1 below, the results of the calculations for the PBP and saved primary energy and CO 2 emissions are shown. The PBPs of the energy saving measures will be shown in chapter 5. Table 4.1. Results of calculations for PBP, Primary Energy Saved & CO2 emissions saved. SCRET PBP (years) PBP with subsidy (years) Primary energy saved (MJ) CO 2 emissions saved (kg) Photovoltaic solar panels ,

32 (set of 3 panels) Solar boiler (2 collector + boiler) , High efficiency boiler 107% Green roofs (Standard roof surface 55 m) Double glazing (Standard size window 2 m) Wall insulation (Average wall surface 115 m 2 ) 14, , , , The results show that the only option for applying a SCRET are photovoltaic solar panels with subsidies. Although a solar boiler has relatively high primary energy savings, even with subsidies of the province of North-Holland it has a long payback period. 4.D Conclusion For implementing renewable energy in the residential area the only technology which is realistically achievable is that of photovoltaic solar panels, although other measure result in higher CO 2 and primary energy savings. Along with the use of the subsidies of the municipality of Amsterdam, the technological performance nowadays is good enough for a sufficiently short payback period of 7.8 years. In general, this payback period is short enough for purchasing. Apart from the fact that it saves money, it also saves waste of primary energy of fossil fuels and its inherent CO 2-emissions. For a standard set of 3 multi-crystalline solar panels, it annually saves 3,637 MJ and kg CO 2. Besides solar panels, a solar heating boiler saves a great amount of natural gas. A standard size of a standard solar boiler saves 4,133 MJ of natural gas and 196 kg of CO 2. However, the subsidies of the province of North-Holland are not sufficient to make it economically feasible. In conclusion, it can be said that subsidies are an imperative when solar panels and solar boilers are purchased individually. As said, for solar boilers the subsidies of the province do not suffice. One way to tackle this problem is engaging in collective procurement, e.g. via a homeowners association. 4.E Action Plan - Recommendations The following recommendations are given in order to increase the purchasing of small-scale renewable energy technologies. 1. CDE should expand the subsidy budgets for SCRETs in order to address more requests for solar photovoltaic subsidies and to make the purchase of solar boilers feasible. 2. Collective procurement via homeowners associations should be stimulated and promoted by CDE, since these associations are most suitable for collective procurement. 32

33 3. Regulations should be changed to make it possible for homeowners to connect their home grids to each other in apartment buildings. That way it becomes possible to send the electricity generated by the collectively purchased SCRET only the homeowners who participated in the purchasing. 4. Collective procurement for energy labelling of multiple dwellings in an apartment building results in considerably lower costs per dwelling, and should be stimulated. 5. A combination of different subsidies in place for applying for insulation and/or SCRETs could result in high returns: collective energy labelling apartment dwellings, subsidy municipality Amsterdam or the province North-Holland and National Government result in high returns on subsidies. 6. More options for SCRETs become feasible and cheaper to apply during the construction phase of new dwellings, e.g. heat and cold storage and insulation. Coordination with housing corporations and construction companies to implement these measures is recommended. 7. Homeowners who want to make their houses more energy sustainable, can check the website Here homeowners can check which energy measures are most cost effective to take for their dwellings. 33

34 5.Presenting Viable Insulation Measures and Examining the Implementation and Effect of Public Procurement on the Simple Payback Period of Suggested Technologies and Measures Conor McEvoy , ER 5.A Introduction It has been noticed that there is a need to find viable technological solutions to sustainability issues in the chosen areas of Park de Meer and Middenmeer. As well as looking at small-scale renewable technologies, it is important to reduce energy demand in a household. The best way to address this is to reduce the heat demand in a dwelling. Communities do not generally act as a collective. Instead, individuals concerned with the environment make slight changes to become more sustainable. By getting communities involved in the collective procurement of technologies and measures, greater gains could be achieved. It is believed that the city district east (CDE) can become a prime example of what is feasible when a community works together. One way of achieving these gains is to improve the insulation standard of the houses. With rising fuel prices all across Europe, it makes sense to retrofit houses in order to avail of substantial cost and energy savings. Domestic homes account for 20% of final energy use in the Netherlands (European Commission, 2010). As a result, this sector s energy use needs to be addressed. By reducing the amount of energy consumed by the domestic end users within CDE, savings in domestic heating expenditure can be achieved. In a broader sense, tackling domestic energy use may mean that European targets can be reached, while at the moment projections are coming up short (European Commission Memo, 2011). In order to facilitate sustainable initiatives within the community, residents will require relevant information regarding technologies and measures that could be implemented in their area. In order to do this, technologies/measures have been chosen that are suited to the area and to the initiatives that are currently in place. An economic analysis is also carried out, comparing individual costs and the impact of collective procurement. This analysis entails calculations on the payback periods of the recommended technologies. Along with this analysis, it is also important to examine the impact of financial subsidies, which are applicable to our recommended technologies and measures. Homeowners need to know best practice solutions in order to implement changes that will benefit the entire community. This then leads to the following specific research questions: 1. What is the age and condition of the houses within the community? 2. What are the incentives and barriers for collective procurement? 3. What viable insulation measures can be implemented (in collective procurement projects) in the areas of Park de Meer and Middenmeer? 4. How can a public procurement plan successfully be implemented in Park de Meer and Middenmeer? 5. What are the financial benefits of collective procurement by examining payback periods? 5.B Research Methodology In order to facilitate initiatives, it is important to demonstrate how collective action and public procurement may benefit local homeowners. By suggesting insulation measures and showing the economic benefits of collective procurement, individuals may be enticed towards proenvironmental behaviour and towards collective action. 34

35 For this, a literature review was carried out examining the potential for insulation retrofit in the selected areas within CDE. Supply companies were contacted and common assumptions regarding the houses in the area were made in order to calculate the payback periods. Collective action has inherent economic benefits and in order to express the benefits of collectively organizing the community towards pro-environmental behaviour, individuals need to know the economic implications. 5.C Results Age and condition of houses Retro-fitting residential buildings provides great potential for energy savings, especially fitting efficient windows and roof insulation (Commission of European Communities, 2006). Understanding the age and condition of the residential housing is important in making decisions on viable technologies and measures. The age and condition of the houses in Middenmeer are assumed to be in line with the general characteristics of the CDE housing. Figure 5.1. outlines the percentage share of houses built within certain periods during the last century. As can be seen from figure 5.1, the majority of homes in CDE are built before 1945, which represents 40% of the total housing in the CDE. The houses within the range of < are of more interest for our study, as it is within these homes that most of the efficiency gains can be achieved. Park de Meer is a relatively new housing development. These homes were built in the early 90s and adhere to a stricter building standard in comparison to pre It is within these homes that less gain from insulation measures would be achieved. It is therefore assumed that these homes have higher quality insulation compared to the houses within Middenmeer. The exact details regarding each building s specifications could not be gathered; these are important for more accurate calculations and recommendations. Apartment <1945 Apartment Apartment Apartment >1990 Single-Family 15% 36% 40% 7% 2% Figure 5.1 The division of homeownership for the households in Oost Watergraafsmeer(Woon Amsterdam, 2010) Insulation Measures Households consume about 20% of the total energy used in The Netherlands (Odyssee, 2009). Of this 20%, around 60% of the energy consumed in Dutch households is used for space heating. Insulation is a passive product; once installed, it works efficiently, quietly and continually, usually hidden from sight. For the purpose of this study, green roofs, Low-e double-glazing and 35

36 wall insulation are examined as viable insulation measures that can benefit individual homeowners and the community as a whole. Green roofs, double glazed windows and cavity wall insulation alter the houses surface energy balance and hence affect both building energy consumption and the transport of heat into the environment (D.J. Sailor, 2011). As can be seen from table 6.1, the greatest potential for improved insulation measures reside in retrofitting the windows in an average home, closely followed by the roofs. An outline of green roofs, double-glazing and cavity wall insulation are described below. Building Element U-Value (W/m 2 /K) External Wall 0.03 Pitched Roofs Ground Floors 0.22 Windows 1.88 Table 5.1: U-Values of building elements (European Commission(B), 2010) Green Roofs The choice to examine green roofs was based on the community based benefits, which are discussed in chapter 6, as well as the inherent insulation benefits as discussed below. There are two types of green roof systems: intensive and extensive. Intensive green roofs have a deep substrate layer, which allows deep-rooted plants to survive, such as trees and shrubs (Castleton, 2010). Intensive roofs are accessible to people, require substantial maintenance and weigh more per m 2 compared to extensive green roofs. Extensive green roofs have a thin substrate layer with low level planting e.g. sedum. The extensive roof systems, with Sedum planting, has been chosen to be the most suitable system for the flat roof houses located in Middenmeer. Extensive green roofs are more common in residential settings, require little maintenance and are lightweight in composition (Edgar, 2004). Because little is known about the build quality and weight restrictions of the houses within CDE, the extensive roof system is assumed to be the most applicable. Figure 5.2 Extensive green roof system (Getter et al., 2006) Experiments were carried out to examine the engineering performance of green roofs. They demonstrate that green roofs minimise heat flow in winter months and also reduce the cooling demand in summer months (Liu, 2003). Liu also shows that green roofs reduced median daily 36

37 temperature fluctuations. These experiments show that by choosing to implement a green roof measure, temperature regulation could be increased significantly. When a green roof is combined with insulation measures, studies suggest that heat transfer from the roof to the interior is reduced substantially and vice versa. For the non-insulated roof, the heat transfer coefficient was between 6 16 W/m 2 /K (R-Value ), and for the well-insulated roof it ranged from W/m 2 /K (R-Value ) (Niachou, 2001, H.F. Castleton et al,.2010). This means that homes within Middenmeer, which have little or no insulation (pre-1945), would benefit more from implementing the green roof measures than the newly built houses within Park de Meer. The addition of a green roof can improve the insulation properties of a building, hence reduce annual energy consumption. Not only does the roof act to reduce the heat loss from the building in winter and heat gain into the building in summer, it also adds thermal mass to help stabilise internal temperatures all year round. Retro-fit Potential for Green roofs When retrofitting a home to include a green roof, it is important to think of orientation and overshadowing (Wilkinson et al., 2009). However, these restrictions can be overcome by using various types of sedum (Getter et al., 2009). The houses within our study area are not all suitable for green roofs because of the steepness of the roof itself. However, there are numerous flat roofs located along Heimholtzstraat and Linnaeusparkweg. These buildings are 2-3 storeys in height with a flat roof. The load bearing capacity is critical when designing a vegetated rooftop. The dead weight and also the saturated weight needs to be expertly examined by an engineer. Sedum green roofs have a maximum load of 85kg/m 2 with total saturation, but lighter versions are also available, which weigh 35kg/m 2 (Dakdokters, 2011). Green roofs have the potential to save 2% of energy used for space heating per annum (Castletron, N.D). This assumption has been used to calculate the payback period of such a green roof investment. Low-E Double Glazing From an on-site visit, it was seen that the majority of windows within the Middenmeer district were single glazed. Generally windows have poorer insulating performance than the wall they are set in. As a result, windows can significantly affect the energy performance of a building. U- Values are used to measure the ability of a window to prevent heat loss. The lower the U-value, the greater the ability to insulate. As can be seen from table 5.1, windows have the highest U- value in an average household. Single glazed windows, which are the predominant window type in Middenmeer, are made out of a single pane of glass. A typical U-value for a 4mm single glazed window is in the order of 5.7W/m 2 /K, but a typical low-e double glazed window has a U-value of 2.3 W/m 2 /K. This figure is half that of single glazing and represents a large potential for energy saving. Low E double glazing windows, if properly installed, have the potential to reduce up to 17% of the heat demand in a household. This figure is assumed for the calculations relating to payback period (Apte J. et al., 2003). Cavity Wall Insulation Around 30% of the heat loss of an average house is through the external walls. This figure is higher if the house is old and detached (Theyellowhouse, 2011). Given the breakdown of the housing build dates within CDE (figure 5.1.), it can be presumed that the majority of houses within the area have cavity walls. Buildings constructed pre-1920 are likely to have solid external walls and, as such, they are not addressed in this study. When choosing the correct type of cavity wall insulation it is important to inspect the quality and type of wall being insulated. 37

38 Problems with damp and any other issues such as cracks or imperfections should be examined prior to choice of insulation measure. The most achievable method of cavity wall insulation is the method of filling the air space with a porous material, i.e. injecting a fluid/material into the cavity prevents heat loss through the process of convection (Macdonald, 2004). Retrofitting a domestic dwelling with cavity wall insulation has been found to reduce demand for space heating by 15% (BBC, 2008). The three most common wall insulation measures are as follows: 1) Blown mineral fibre, 2) Polystyrene beads or granules, and 3) Urea formaldehyde foam. For this study, the choice of wall insulation is blown mineral wool. Blown mineral fibre has a long life span, is durable and has relatively low failure risk. Therefore, it is deemed the best option for the houses within CDE (Macdonald, 2004). Collective Procurement Incentives and Barriers Efficient procurement practices can play a key role in modern communities, as they can reduce wasteful activities and purchases (Özbilgina, et al. 2010). The interest in sustainable initiatives is evident in the areas of Park de Meer and Middenmeer when examining the number of initiatives which have developed in the district. However, these initiatives know various degrees of success. It is therefore important to translate this interest into successful action and break through market barriers. Initial investment costs for certain technologies as well as the choices of technical issues can act as a deterrent towards purchasing sustainable technologies. By examining literature, assumptions were made based on the incentives and barriers of collective procurement, these are outlined in Table 5.2. In order to have successful implementation of a procurement project within the communities of Park de Meer and Middenmeer, it is also important to have guidelines for an efficient procurement project. This will be discussed in the section that follows. Incentives Lower Purchasing Prices Higher Quality Lower Transaction Costs Reduced Workloads Reduced (Supply) Risk Learning from Each Other Barriers Set-up Costs Coordination Costs Loosing Flexibility Losing Control Supplier Resistance Free-Rider Effect Table 5.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Collective Procurement Successful Collective Procurement Plan By establishing a forum for public procurement, the community within Park de Meer and Middenmeer would benefit from reduced costs and improved social communication with neighbours (Schotanus F., 2007). Usually project groups are set up for one-time purchasing agreements, but if public procurement is successful in the first instance, then the community could establish a permanent group (homeowners association). Members should focus on the shared problem and in this way all members would share the supply risks and knowledge needed. A steering committee should be formed if further purchases are going to be made as a collective. In order to successfully implement a collective purchasing group within a community, 38

39 suggestions on necessary steps are outlined below (US Department of Energy, 2011, Schotanus, 2007). Step 1 Pre-procurement It is important that planning is carried out prior to a procurement. This planning should include: Establish a Committee with relevant stakeholders within the neighbourhood. Discussion with stakeholders about what is needed and the budget that is available to fulfil the need. Engagement with the market to understand the solutions that may be available and to get feedback on how their requirement may be best realised Effective governance is important for organising arrangements and resourcing plans. Step 2 The Tender Process Committees are responsible for achieving value for money, normally through a fair and open tender process. Members decide to go to the market and examine the best available options. In order to achieve this fair, open tender, the following points should be adhered to. Equal treatment of market parties Mutual recognition of tenders Majority decision on best available tender Once all tenders have been examined, the most economically viable measure should be chosen which meets the needs of all participants. Simple Payback Period (PBP) The simple payback period refers to the period of time required for the investment to repay the cost of the original investment. The formula for calculating is outlined below. Annual savings are calculated by examining how much natural gas/energy use, in Euros, is abated by implement the technology/measure. Assumptions regarding domestic energy use for heating were based on an average Dutch household. The steps to calculate the PBP are outlined below and the results are presented in table 5.3. General assumptions for calculations Below are the general assumptions, which are made in order to calculate the PBP of each measure. Annual average energy use per household 40,035MJ Annual average gas use per household 1,570m 3 Annual average electricity use per household 3480KWh Efficiency of Boiler 75% Energy content of natural gas 34MJ/m 3 Average natural gas price /m 3 Average Electricity price 0.23 /KWh 39

40 Payback Period Method The method involved in calculating the PBP is outlined in the steps below. 1. Calculate investment cost of measure/technology 2. Subtract relevant subsidies, which are discussed in chapter Examine energy savings by calculating reduction in energy use after the installation of the measure. 4. Divide investment costs by total benefits in order to find payback period. Measure Investment cost ( ) Benefits ( /year) Green Roof (55m 2 ) Solar PV (3 Panels) 4,675 (De Dakdokters, 2009) 1,435 (Bespaarbazaar, 2011) Subsidy availability PBP Without Subsidy (per person) PBP With Subsidy (per person) 18.2 Yes (2012-CDE) Yes (Municipality Amsterdam) Low-E Double Glazing (1 Window) 333 (European Commission, 2009) No 2.1 N/A Wall Insulation (Source4me, 2011) Solar Boiler 1,616 (Remeha, 2011) High Efficiency 1,600 Boiler (Nefit, 2011) Yes (Province North Holland) Yes (Province North Holland) 272 No 6.8 N/A Table 5.3 Assessments of Payback Periods Payback Period with Public Procurement In order to investigate the impact of public procurement, companies were contacted and discount rates obtained for the relevant technologies. The investment costs are then calculated with the discount rate obtained through purchasing larger quantities. Table 5.4 shows a selection of technologies/measures which were selected for this study and the results are based on the PBP per individual. This table shows the possible economic gains that can be achieved through working together as a community. Measure Data/Assumptions PBP Without Subsidy (Years) Green Roof Total area assumed 375m 2 Assume 8 participants 18% Discount rate (De Dakdokters, 2011) PBP With Subsidy (years) 40

41 Solar PV Purchase of 20 modules Each module has 230Wp Capacity At a discount of.80 /Wp (S&R Solar solutions, 2011) Homes taking part - 5 Low E- Double Assumed total area of Glazing 2m 2 Assume 8 participants Assume 10% discount rate Wall Insulation Price based on standard size home in the Netherlands 115m 2 (Homedesign, 2011) Cost calculated through online source (Source4me, 2011) Discount 10% (Quality pumped insulation, 2011) Assume 4 participants Table 5.4 Effect of collective purchasing on payback period N/A Energy Label Obtaining an energy label for your home has inherent benefits with regards to subsidies, as outlined in chapter 4. However, collectively purchasing an energy label for apartments also includes substantial discount rates. To purchase an energy label individually costs 265 and when purchased as a collective of 40 households, the cost decreases to 83 (also see chapter 4). Order of implementation It is important to note that the order in which technologies and measures are implemented can impact upon the payback period. All the PBPs calculated are based on an average Dutch household and each measure was assumed to be implemented first. However if measures were made in sequence, the PBPs would increase as a result of lower heat demand within each household. This is important to bear in mind when reviewing each payback period. 5.D Conclusion By examining the various payback periods of the selected measures, it is hoped that inhabitants see the inherent gains of collectively purchasing certain technologies and measures. Showing inhabitants the economic implications, allows individuals to more easily relate to the benefits of such technologies and measure. All measures examined for collective purchasing show a decrease in the payback period. It is important to note that the figures presented above are meant as a guide. Prices will vary for each collective purchase and scenario. 41

42 5.E Action Plan - Recommendations In order to best facilitate inhabitants initiatives, WATERgraafsmeer need to evaluate how citizens can best be informed about technologies/measures, which go towards proenvironmental behaviour. Organizations such as Nudge, Wij Willen Zon and Zoncollectief are already well established. These all provide a platform through which individuals can organise themselves into a collective to purchase sustainable technologies or insulation measures. Using this idea, a platform dedicated to CDE should be developed. This could be run through a homeowners association, who can coordinate the community s requests. Companies such as De Dakdokters and S&R Solar Systems should outline the benefits of collective purchasing on their websites. Along with this, these companies should develop a forum on their individual websites, so that people that share similar interests can gather and share relevant information and experiences. 42

43 6. Greening the Private Space: Ecological Benefits and Drawbacks of Green Roofs and House Insulation Anne Braukmann, , GCE 6.A Introduction This chapter will focus on greening the private space, referring to private houses or housing complexes, while chapter 7 investigates possibilities for greening the public space. Sustainable housing is associated with energy and cost savings by most people. However, it should also address aspects such as health and quality of living in general and the impact that certain materials used have on the environment (Priemus, 2005). In urban areas the ecological processes have been altered, for instance by creating extensive impervious surfaces and thereby replacing natural vegetation (Oberndorfer et al., 2007). This results in modified climate conditions (urban heat islands), which have an adverse effect on human health and in a drastic increase of runoff due to reduced infiltration capacities of urban surfaces (Yuan & Bauer, 2007; Scholz-Barth, 2001). Furthermore, it means a loss of habitat for plants and animals leading to a strongly reduced biodiversity in cities and towns. Especially in densely populated areas such as city district East (CDE), it is essential to find possibilities to protect the environment and ecosystem services that are associated with it. Everyone has numerous possibilities to achieve this in their private space, but often a lack of information prevents the implementation of such measures (Buys et al., 2005). For this research the main focus will be on two of the sustainable measures that have been considered by present initiatives of WATERgraafsmeer, namely green roofs and insulation of buildings (B. Soolsma, personal interview, September 9, 2011). Solar panels and solar boilers have already been discussed in chapter 4, because for these technologies the focus is on energy aspects. For green roofs and insulation it is important to critically assess ecological aspects to find out whether they can be sustainable in the long term (Bianchini & Hewage, 2011, Levin & Purdom, 1983). With these considerations in mind, the following research questions were devised: 1. What are the ecological benefits and drawbacks of greening roofs and insulating buildings a) In general? b) Specifically for the buildings in the Park de Meer and Middenmeer area? 2. Based on the findings of question 1a) and 1b), what recommendations concerning green roofs and insulation can be made for WATERgraafsmeer and the inhabitants of the research areas? 3. How can these recommendations influence the facilitation of initiatives? Answering these particular research questions is important for the main research question as a whole, because only if the proposed measures are compared from different perspectives and inhabitants are well informed, relevant and efficient recommendations can be made. Of course, this information has to be connected to people s interests and possibilities. Furthermore, it will be connected to the results of a comparison of both the energy and financial aspects to finally allow for the development of integrated recommendations that are reliable and well-balanced. 6.B Research Methodology To answer the first research question a general literature study was conducted. It should reveal the advantages and disadvantages of green roofs and insulation of buildings based on criteria such as the internal climate of the houses, health issues and the influence on the groundwater level. In order to find out what possibilities there are for green roofs in the Middenmeer and 43

44 Park the Meer, the number of houses with flat roofs was estimated using Google Maps and information about insulation of houses in these areas was collected. This process was improved by consulting responsible companies and asking for information, for instance for specific types of houses. Finally, conclusions were drawn from these findings and recommendations were made for the different technologies investigated in order to answer the second research question and for making an action plan. 6.C Results General Ecological Benefits and Drawbacks of Green Roofs From an ecological perspective green roofs mainly have advantages. They can be considered as small ecosystems within urban areas that can provide environmental benefits and ecosystem services (Oberndorfer et al., 2007). Furthermore, they are beneficial because they can be seen as a promising solution to problems caused by the drastic increase of impervious surfaces in urban areas. They increase the amount of green spaces, which can lead to a higher environmental quality of a city or town, which is certainly beneficial in times of increasing awareness for environmental problems and sustainability as a solution for them (Getter & Rowe, 2006). In this section, some major benefits of green roofs are outlined. The most important benefit of green roofs for ecology is their function as ecosystems and that they can provide a habitat for diverse species of plants and animals, when inaccessible to the public (Oberndorfer et al., 2007). In this context the distinction between extensive and intensive green roofs plays an important role. Extensive green roofs consist of few species, which only need a low medium depth and little maintenance (figure 6.1a). In contrast to this, intensive roofs can accommodate a much wider range of species, including shrubs or small trees. This necessitates a thicker medium layer and more intensive maintenance (figure 6.1b), which also increases the costs of such a roof (Getter & Rowe, 2006; see also chapter 5.C). Despite the small range of plants that is usually used in particular for extensive green roofs, often a relatively fast colonisation by animals, such as insects or birds is possible. Intensive green roofs even have the potential for restoration of native plant communities, including some endangered species (Coffman & Davis, 2005). a b Figure 6.1: Layers of an extensive green roof (a) and an intensive green roof (b) (American Hydro-tech Inc., 2011) In light of imminent, more extreme weather events another advantage of green roofs plays an important role. The impervious surfaces of urban areas prevent infiltration of precipitation into the soil, which can create excessive runoff (Scholz-Barth, 2001). The resulting 44

45 increased risk of flooding is often problematic for municipal sewer systems. Furthermore, accumulated pollutants can be washed into waterways by runoff, which can lead to eutrophication and adverse effects on human health (Dwight et al., 2004). As the medium and the vegetation of green roofs can capture much of the precipitation, they can be an efficient remedy for areas prone to flooding. Investigations revealed that due to evaporation and transpiration by the plants on green roofs, runoff can be reduced by % (Rowe et al., 2003; VanWoert et al., 2005). Additionally, the presence of green roofs results in lower rates of runoff over a longer time span, causing a delay of storm water runoff (Liu, 2003). Furthermore, green roofs can to some extent mitigate air pollution which, despite using improved catalysts and filtering technologies, still is problematic in urban regions (Beelen et al., 2008). Plants possess the ability to filter pollutants such as dust, pollutions from diesel engines and other chemical volatiles out of the air. These substances are then stored in the plant tissues or transported to the soil medium by the plants (Liesecke & Borgwardt, 1997). A reduction of harmful pollutants in the air could decrease the amount of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in the concerned area. An establishment of green roofs has further positive effects on human health. In some cases they can be used as recreational areas and green spaces have been proven to reduce stress and enhance positive feelings (Ulrich & Simmons, 1986). For the houses on top of which they are placed, they provide direct benefits such as noise reduction by absorption of sound waves (Dunnett & Kingsbury, 2004) and a better internal climate of the building (Peck et al., 1999; see also chapter 5.C). Besides looking at the benefits of green roofs, it is also sensible to look for drawbacks. If ecological aspects are less important, for instance energy savings are the main objective, common insulation of roofs is much more cost efficient (Getter & Rowe, 2006). Furthermore, a life cycle analysis, like Bianchini and Hewage (2011) did, can give insights into what kind of emissions are produced during the manufacturing process of materials used for green roofs. They determined the amount of air pollutants produced and compared them to the mitigating effect of green roofs on air pollutants. The result was that pollution caused by the production of green roof materials can be balanced within years, which makes green roofs a sustainable product on a long-term basis. General Ecological Benefits and Drawbacks of Insulation Materials As nowadays insulation of walls and roofs is a common practice and obligatory for the construction of new buildings in most European countries (Papadopoulus, 2005), there has been much research on the performance of the different insulating materials. The most common materials for insulation are inorganic fibrous material, namely glass-wool and stone-wool (figure 6.2), which in 2005 accounted for 60% of the market share and organic foamy materials, mainly expanded and extruded polystyrene (figure 6.3) and poly-urethane, which presented about 27% of the market share (Papadopoulus, 2005). Alternative materials like sheep and cotton wool as well as intelligent and transparent materials found limited penetration to the market, because they are relatively expensive compared to the previously mentioned materials (Levin & Purdom, 1983). 45

46 Figure 6.2: Mineral wool of different thickness Figure 6.3: Expanded polystyrene used for insulation (Darling, 2011) (Teknopanel, 2011) Papadopoulus made an overview of the performance of different insulation materials, comparing their insulation ability, physical properties of the material, their impact on human health and the environment. From an ecological perspective mainly the latter two aspects are of importance. This comparison revealed that the main benefits of glass-wool and stone-wool are that they contain no toxic substances and show no reaction to fire. Drawbacks are the occurrence of some emissions of dust and fibres, which can lead to slight irritations of the skin, eye and upper respiratory tract, the relatively high energy consumption in their production and very limited possibilities to reuse or recycle these materials. Stone-wool has a slightly better sound absorption than glass-wool. Concerning the comparison of foamy materials, the main benefits of expanded and extruded polystyrenes are their potential to be reused or recycled and that they have better moisture absorption than inorganic fibrous materials. Their main disadvantages are that some companies still use the greenhouse gases CFC and HCFC for their production and that they show some toxicity in case of fire. Polyurethane seems the least favourable of the materials due to its production of toxic gases in case of fire and environmental problems such as waste disposal. Another aspect that has to be considered when insulating a building is the build-up of moisture and air polluting substances in well-insulated rooms (Levin & Purdom, 1983). This means that adequate ventilation of interior spaces is very important. In order to avoid accumulation of moisture and the development of mould as a consequence, moisture absorbing materials and breathable or mineral colours can be used on the walls (Pavlik & Cerny, 2008; BUND, Ökotipps, 2011). Ecological Benefits and Drawbacks of Green Roofs and Insulation for Houses in Middenmeer and Park de Meer As CDE, to which the two research areas belong, is located 5.5m below New Amsterdam Level, flooding after intense rainfall events is a serious problem. For this reason installing green roofs in this area is particularly interesting. As mentioned above, green roofs can reduce runoff by %, depending on the slope of the roof, the medium and the vegetation used (Rowe et al., 2003; Van Woert et al., 2005). Therefore, it is important to take a closer look at characteristics of the houses in the two research areas. An estimation using Google Maps revealed that in Park de Meer about 16 buildings have flat roofs. The size of these flat roofs varies approximately between 350 m² and 1400 m². In Middenmeer, which is about four times as large as Park de Meer, about 63 buildings or blocks have flat roofs. Here sizes range from approximately 50 m² to 1900 m². Thus, in terms of space there would theoretically be many possibilities for establishing green roofs. However, it is also important to consider the construction of the buildings, because 46

47 some additional supporting structures might be necessary to carry the weight of the medium and the plants. For both the purpose of storm water retention and delay and using green roofs for creation of a new habitat for animals and plants, intensive green roofs are more efficient. Unfortunately, the high costs and the weight of these roofs often make and installation unfeasible. Extensive green roofs are more cost-efficient but have similar advantages regarding, for instance, insulation and noise reduction as intensive roofs. Therefore, it needs to be considered which criteria play a major role for the research areas. Concerning the selection of plant species, it has to be considered that even though The Netherlands have a relatively moderate climate, weather conditions on roofs are more extreme. For instance, drought tolerance of species is an important factor, because solar radiation on the roofs can be quite intensive and the moisture content of the shallow substrate is usually quite low (Getter & Rowe, 2006). Succulent species, especially of the genus Sedum are well suited for these conditions. Prepared sedum mats, consisting of four to eight species, can be used for extensive green roofs. Alternatives can be herb or grass roofs, which yield a higher biodiversity but also need more maintenance and are more expensive (Dakdokters, 2011). It is also possible to install extensive green roofs on a roof with a slope from 0 to 30 (Optigrün, 2011), which increases the potential of the two areas for green roofs. Furthermore, there seem to be many roof terraces present in the two areas. Along with establishing green roofs, it might also be interesting for the two areas to use the numerous roof surfaces for other activities such as growing vegetables, installing bee hives or keeping chickens. This has been done in rooftop garden projects for instance in New York (figure 6.4), which were also considered very useful for the purpose of environmental education (Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, 2010). Participating inhabitants named numerous advantages of these activities, such as bringing people, especially children, raised in urban areas closer to nature and more appreciation for food that they have been growing themselves. As described in chapter 1 and 2, people who are more familiar with a green lifestyle are more inclined to make sustainable choices, also due to group pressure and culture. Figure 6.4: A workshop at the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm (Butterbean s Kitchen Blog, 2011) Concerning insulation, the focus for Park de Meer and Middenmeer should be on retrofitting of older houses, because there are currently no plans to demolish older buildings and replace them by modern ones (B. Soolsma, personal interview, October 14, 2011). As described in chapter 5.C, about 42% of houses in Middenmeer were built before Presumably these houses are most 47

48 interesting for insulation measures. In Park de Meer most of the houses were built more recently (in the early 1990s), which means that most of them should already be insulated. Replacement of insulation material which is less favourable in terms of health aspects would obviously make sense, but is often financially not feasible. Therefore, the only recommendations that can be made mainly for Middenmeer concern the choice of insulation material used for retrofitting. 6.D Conclusion From an ecological point of view green roofs mainly have advantages and can be considered as a sustainable product on a long-term basis, because air pollution caused by the production of green roof materials can be balanced within years (Bianchini & Hewage, 2011). One particularly important benefit for the research areas is their potential to reduce and delay storm water runoff, which can help the prevention of an overflow of the sewer system in this area (Liu, 2003; Van Woert et al., 2005). In terms of space, the two considered areas have good potential for establishing green roofs. However, specific construction of the houses needs to be investigated by experts before implementation (N. Özütok, personal interview, October 27, 2011). When the performance of different insulation materials is compared, it becomes apparent that mineral wool is the material of choice in terms of health hazards, flammability and fire protection. The only drawbacks of these materials are some emissions of dust and fibres and the relatively high energy consumption during production (Levin & Purdom, 1983; Papadopoulus, 2005). Furthermore, sufficient ventilation after insulation of buildings or use of moisture absorbing materials should be considered. 6.E Action Plan Recommendations Establishing green roofs has many ecological benefits, which have been discussed in detail in this chapter. However, it is important to stress that they can also have direct benefits for the inhabitants of the buildings on which they have been installed. To enhance the interest of inhabitants for green roofs, it could be pointed out that green roofs can also be used for other activities such as growing vegetables, installing bee hives or keeping chickens. This can be reached, for instance, by using green roofs in combination with roof terraces that can be readily accessed. By emphasising that, this way, green roofs could also be used for environmental education purposes or that they can have a recreational factor, more inhabitants could be stimulated to get involved in initiatives. Furthermore, in group activities focused on personal interests, for instance gardening for food, it is easier to be motivated for sustainability (see chapter 1). The information that has been presented in this chapter and chapter 4 and 5 could be summarised in leaflets, which can then be made available for the inhabitants of Park de Meer and Middenmeer by WATERgraafsmeer. Furthermore, information evenings for interested inhabitants could be organised at which films, presentations or posters can be shown about sustainable measures for the research areas. For such an event experts for green roofs and house insulation could be invited. Another possibility would be to support a group of interested inhabitants for instance who live in one building and setup a pilot programme. This group could then organise open roof days for other inhabitants to familiarise themselves with the possibilities and spark their interest. This could enhance social norm setting and cultural setting, which is important for facilitating sustainable initiatives as described in chapter 1 and 2. 48

49 7. Greening the Public Space Saskia Wijte, , GCE 7.A Introduction It has been shown that people find it very valuable to have trees, shrubs, grass etc. in their neighbourhood. Several studies show a correlation between a green neighbourhood and personal health. Sugiyama et al. (2008) showed this relationship, they made a distinction between physical health and mental health and concluded that perceived neighbourhood greenness is related stronger to mental health than to physical health. The relation with physical health, they suggest, might be mediated by recreational walking. However, there is also evidence that provision of good access to green space within urban areas is positively correlated with physical activity and physical health (Coombes et al., 2010). Not only is access to green space beneficial for physical and mental health, having a garden and gardening are suggested to work therapeutically (Gross & Lane, 2007). Schroeder and Ruffolo (1996) researched householder valuation of street trees. They found that households valued them pleasing to the eye, they said their presence enhances look of yard and home, and it brings nature closer. Other studies have shown that a positive correlation is present between presence of green or open space and property value (Nicholls, 2004). The previous paragraphs express the need for green areas in neighbourhoods. This chapter focuses on involvement of inhabitants on greening the area of study: Park de Meer and Middenmeer. Both neighbourhoods are located in city district East (CDE). CDE as an organisation is part of the WATERgraafsmeer project (see introduction). Inhabitants can be engaged in greening the area in several ways. As shown in chapters 4, 5 and 6 they can become involved in greening their houses with measures such as green roofs and by retrofitting their houses with insulation and solar photovoltaic cells. Besides implementing these measures, which focus on private space, inhabitants can also become engaged in greening and maintaining the public space, or greening the neighbourhood. Greening the neighbourhood here is defined as implementing initiatives that enhance the amount of green space in a neighbourhood. In the area of study green sites are present, such as parks and plantations that are open to all inhabitants. Especially for inhabitants who do not own a garden these areas might be of importance. Some of the inhabitants are already involved in initiatives in CDE, but the main goal of this chapter is to describe how inhabitants are or can be involved and how more inhabitants can be involved. Research is done on present initiatives in the area. Furthermore, other Dutch initiatives are considered and used as an example for WATERgraafsmeer; possibly interesting aspects that can be applied to the research area are mentioned. Finally, the ecological benefits of the present and possible initiatives are determined. The accompanying research questions are: 1. What are the initiatives concerning greening the public space that inhabitants can get involved with in CDE? a. Which initiatives concerning greening the public space, are already present in CDE? b. Are initiatives concerning greening the public space present in other Dutch cities and, if so, how have inhabitants been engaged? c. For each of the initiatives: what is the role for the inhabitants and WATERgraafsmeer? 49

50 2. What are the ecological and environmental beneficial effects of green areas constructed and maintained by the inhabitants for biodiversity, local air quality and groundwater levels? Greening houses is a step towards sustainability which focuses on private space. Greening the neighbourhood focuses on making the whole neighbourhood, the public space, more sustainable. The benefits of participating in initiatives that green the neighbourhood are shared by all inhabitants which leads to positive feedback of the community ( also see chapter 3), while the benefits of private space initiatives are shared only by the homeowners themselves. It is suggested that initiatives such as collective gardening have a lower threshold for inhabitants than e.g. buying (expensive) solar panels, so initiatives on greening the public space could be a first step to getting inhabitants involved and engaged. 7.B Research Methodology For this study, relevant literature is consulted. The information on the current initiatives in CDE was provided by Broer Soolsma and gathered by contacting specialists he recommended. Specialists from initiatives in other cities were also contacted, and information was gathered from websites of the corresponding initiatives. Finally, information about the initiatives in combination with scientific literature is used to determine the ecological benefits of initiatives that are implemented or can be implemented in the area. 7.C Results The first part of this section shows initiatives that are already present in CDE in which inhabitants can get involved. Furthermore, this section shows other Dutch initiatives that can be an example for the area of study. Finally, beneficial effects of the initiatives mentioned are given. Initiatives that are already Present in the Area of Study Within CDE, two initiatives in which inhabitants can help greening the neighbourhood are already present. Not all inhabitants are involved at the moment, so the goal of this section is to show how more inhabitants could get involved in these initiatives. House front gardens CDE (organisation) offers inhabitants free construction of a house-front garden, for an example see figure 7.1, with a maximum of 100 gardens per year. The garden can be 60 centimetres deep at maximum, and must be constructed in such a way that enough free space stays available on the sidewalk. These little green spaces enhance the local environment and have beneficial effects on water storage capacity, biodiversity and the ability to filter particulate matter out of the air. It also attracts butterflies and insects, which provide food for birds. Apart from that, a house-front garden provides shelter for birds ( Geveltuinen en plantenbakken in de openbare ruimte, 2011, para 1.; Geveltuinbeleid stadsdeel Oost en nadere regels voor het plaatsen van plantenbakken en gevelbanken, p1). A role for CDE is facilitation of financial means and constructing the gardens. A role for inhabitants is applying for a house-front garden and thereby enhancing the amount of green spots in the neighbourhood. This initiative is not solely focused on individuals. Inhabitants can also sign up for a house-front garden collectively, for example with households in an entire street. When one of the inhabitants is about to apply for a house-front garden, he or she can involve neighbours. 50

51 Figure 7.1: Example of a house-front garden (Geveltuinen en plantenbakken in de openbare ruimte, 2011). Park Frankendael A successful lobby for a dynamic park with ecological elements was carried out from 1987 onwards. Park Frankendael is a site in Amsterdam with cultural heritage and used to include a country house, a trade plantation (which later became a city plantation), school gardens, allotment gardens and it contained a big garden centre. The park area had been a green area since 1882, but until 1990 this park was not accessible for inhabitants. When the city plantation was closed (1984) and the garden centre moved out (1987) a discussion started about the new arrangement of the area. The municipality suggested using the area for housing purposes; the inhabitants of the area disagreed and preferred an accessible park. In 1990 an association was set up by involved inhabitants that grew out to an association with about 600 members nowadays. Since the redevelopment, which was finished in 2008, Park Frankendael now includes allotment gardens, school gardens, grass areas, a nature garden, an organic restaurant and a scouts building (Hollandschap, 2000). Inhabitants can get involved in the park in two ways; via the association or as visitor. Some association members are involved in maintaining the park on a voluntary basis (Sybesma & Vos, 2010). They help with maintenance of the trees, grass, shrubs and are involved with supervision and security of the park. CDE is the official administrator of the park and meets with the association to discuss about maintenance and events. The association also takes care of organising events in the park, in order to bring people together. People meet in the allotment garden where they grow their own vegetables and are allowed to use herbs from the common herbal garden (Hollandschap, 2000). The nature garden and school garden are used for educational purposes, for example to educate children of nearby schools about nature. Other Initiatives This section will show other initiatives in the Netherlands that can contain interesting elements for WATERgraafsmeer. It is not possible to discuss all initiatives, since there are many, so a selection was made. Two initiatives of which the information was easily accessible are considered here. 51

52 Middenmoes In Heerhugowaard, a town 30 kilometres North of Amsterdam, a vegetable garden called Middenmoes has been set up by inhabitants. There used to be a primary school at the location of the garden. When the school was closed and demolished in 2009 an piece of fallow land remained. One of the inhabitants suggested to establish a vegetable garden at the empty site. The municipality approved and supported the project with a small budget, but they emphasised that this project would only be temporary, until another zoning plan for the site is determined (Moestuinen Plan, 2010). Only inhabitants of the district in which the garden is located can use the Middenmoes. The garden developed towards a place where people meet, kids play together and where gardeners exchange their vegetables with each other. This initiative might look similar to the vegetable garden in Park Frankendael, but in this case the vegetable garden was devised, designed and constructed by the inhabitants themselves, whereas in Park Frankendael these tasks were carried out by CDE. EVA-lanxmeer in Culemborg In Culemborg a sustainable neighbourhood has been set up in a protected drinking water extraction area owned by water company Vitens. At the beginning of the 1990s, an association of experts was founded to give an example for a sustainable neighbourhood. The goal was to set up a sustainable neighbourhood in which inhabitants are involved. A partnership with the municipality of Culemborg was set up and an inhabitants association, Bewonersvereniging EVA Lanxmeer, was founded (Bewonersvereniging EVA-Lanxmeer, 2011). The inhabitants were not explicitly involved in designing the ecological neighbourhood, but were involved in designing the common gardens and they initiated ecological management of the green areas in their neighbourhood, without big machines or pesticides, done by themselves. An association, Stichting Terra Bella, was set up to do so. The municipality facilitated a budget for the association and checks once a year whether the green areas in the neighbourhood are still being maintained according to the agreement between the association and the municipality. About 10% of the inhabitants work on a voluntary basis on mowing, cutting trees and other tasks, in association with a gardener. (Kruit & Veer, 2011). Kruit and Veer mention that EVA-Lanxmeer can be used as an example for other neighbourhoods and municipalities; however, the urban planning of a neighbourhood is an important factor for the potential of the project. In Park Frankendael, inhabitants are already involved with maintenance. For CDE it can be suggested that the inhabitants can also take care of maintenance of other green spaces, such as plantations, shrubs and street banks in the area. This could be financed and monitored by WATERgraafsmeer. Beneficial Effects for the Environment The beneficial environmental effects of initiatives that focus on greening the neighbourhood can be subdivided in three main sections; biodiversity, water storage capacity and air quality. Biodiversity Constructing house-front gardens enhances biodiversity, since the gardens are attractive for butterflies, insects and birds. Park Frankendael contains a lot of ecological elements that can be attractive to a myriad of species, including protected species. During development of the park the presence of the Root Vole, a protected species, was reported. It has not been reported since then but the species might be present in the park. Two protected plant species are present in the park, namely Ramsons and Yellow Corydalis. The Stork, according to the Bird Directive a 52

53 protected bird species, is present in Park Frankendael too (Hollandschap, 2005). EVA-Lanxmeer shows similar results. Due to the ecological character of the neighbourhood 36 red list bird species have been spotted in the area. About 140 plant species are present, none of which are protected, but plants provide food and shelter for animal species (Kruit & Veer, 2011). The ecology in EVA-lanxmeer is further enhanced by not using pesticides or insecticides. Finally, vegetable gardens increase the number of plant species in the area. This form of green space has a double function; enhancement of biodiversity and food production. The observed beneficial effects for biodiversity are also well reported in scientific literature. Bezák and Lyytimäki (2011) state that urban green areas are important to maintain biodiversity. A UK research by Gaston et al. (2005) showed that domestic gardens enhance biodiversity, especially when expanded with measures such as ponds and nesting places for aculeates. This could apply to allotment gardens and vegetable gardens too. Water storage capacity When considering water storage capacity, green space is preferable over paved surface. Paved space is impervious and, as mentioned in chapter 6, impervious space prevents infiltration of precipitation into the soil, causing excessive runoff. Since CDE is located in a polder which lies 5,5 meters below sea level (Watersysteem, 2011) additional water storage capacity can be very helpful in case of excessive precipitation. Park Frankendael is already used as an important water buffer. The water elements in the park have not been constructed solely for esthetical reasons; the water storage capacity of CDE needed to be increased in order to discharge surpluses of precipitation via another route than purely via sewage systems. The water elements in the park function as a buffer with a vegetational filter (Hollandschap, 2000). Besides parks, smaller green urban spaces in the area of study, such as (house-front) gardens, plantations and vegetable gardens are small spots of pervious space, that enhance infiltration of runoff and precipitation. Air quality The report about house-front gardens suggests that vegetation filters PM10, particulate matter that is dangerous for human health (Remy et al., 2011), out of the air and therefore enhances air quality (Geveltuinbeleid stadsdeel Oost en nadere regels voor het plaatsen van plantenbakken en gevelbanken, p1). Even a small house-front garden can function as a filter. As mentioned in chapter 6, plants can filter pollutants, such as dust and chemical volatiles out of the air, and store the substances in plant tissue or transport it to the soil (Liesecke & Borgwardt, 1997). This means that green spaces in CDE function as a filter and enhance the air quality of the area of study. 7.D Conclusion Having green areas within a neighbourhood is beneficial for both the inhabitants and the environmental aspects of the area: biodiversity, water storage capacity and air quality. Therefore, it is good to enhance participation of inhabitants in initiatives that green the neighbourhood. In the area of study two initiatives are already present in which the inhabitants can get involved; applying for house-front gardens and getting involved in Park Frankendael. Two other Dutch initiatives show that inhabitants can achieve a lot when they set up initiatives such as a vegetable garden or ecological self-maintenance. The self-maintenance structure in 53

54 Culemborg results in a comprehensive ecological maintenance of green areas which could not have been reached by the municipal maintenance due to budget issues. 7.E Action plan - Recommendations This section will show how inhabitants can get involved in greening the public space. The recommendations are divided in recommendations for inhabitants and for WATERgraafsmeer. Role for inhabitants Speak up; it can make sense and one can achieve a lot. If inhabitants feel like setting up a project such as a vegetable garden, or if they want to maintain the green areas in their street themselves, they should announce their ideas. Firstly, fellow inhabitants may be interested because such initiatives have a low threshold level for participation, as no excessive costs are involved. Secondly, present initiatives in and outside of the area of study show that a municipality, or in this case WATERgraafsmeer, is usually willing to cooperate and to finance such a project. This is also stressed by Ms. Özütok, the sustainability official of CDE (N. Özütok, personal communication, 2011). She states that CDE is very open minded concerning initiatives on sustainability. An example is Park Frankendael. If the inhabitants would not have pronounced their wishes, the park might not have been there. For future initiatives it is recommended that if inhabitants want to set up a collective garden or want to take part in maintenance, they should inform each other and the municipality; when cooperating, a successful implementation is more likely. Furthermore, inhabitants can also get involved in projects that already exist. If they feel like participating in Park Frankendael, they can apply for membership at the association Vrienden van Frankendael. Since there are no plans to demolish buildings in the area, spots of undeveloped land will not be present in the near future. However, small grass patches within the streets can also be viable places for (small) initiatives. Examples of such locations are Linneaushof and Galileïplantsoen. Role for WATERgraafsmeer There are several recommendations for the future role of WATERgraafsmeer. They can consult the inhabitants when (re)developing green areas; inhabitants might have nice suggestions and might be willing to cooperate. If inhabitants come up with initiatives, such as setting up a collective vegetable garden, WATERgraafsmeer can fund them with a budget when possible. The example of EVA-lanxmeer shows that inhabitant initiatives, such as pronouncing the wish to maintain the public green themselves, can be money saving, since the inhabitants maintain the area on a voluntary basis, which is cheaper than hiring professional staff. Furthermore, cooperation with associations, such as Vrienden van Frankendael, can lead to the same advantages. Through agreements with these associations, inhabitants can maintain parks or other green areas on a voluntary basis. Furthermore, enhancing air quality and water storage capacity is a goal of the WATERgraafsmeer project as a whole and enhancing the public green space in CDE can contribute to that. 54

55 Integration of Recommendations and Combined Action Plan The aim of this study was to find out how inhabitants can (be facilitated to) be successful in carrying out initiatives to make their residences or immediate environment more sustainable. The first step towards achieving successful (facilitation of) initiatives in the designated research areas of Middenmeer and Park de Meer within city district East (CDE) is to reveal which internal and external factors can be used as/are stimulants and which barriers there are to proenvironmental behaviour (PEB). This includes what inhabitants have encountered when involved in a collective initiative and the recommendations that can be taken from their experience. The second step is to explore the possible sustainability technologies with their ecological and economical benefits and drawbacks. This includes how inhabitants, markets and the local institutions each have their role in making it happen. Figure 1 shows how the separate results from each chapter feed into each other. Tracks Research Topics 1. Internal factors 2. External factors 3. Projects and collective action Results Inhabitants PEB 1. Stimulants and barriers 2. Lessons from collective projects ER 1. Sustainable technology and measures 2. Economic and energy analysis Technological perspective 1. Benefits and drawbacks 2. Collective procurement 3. Economic viability Recommendations 1. For facilitation 2. For inhabitants 3. For the market GCE 1. Ecological analysis technologies for households 2. Ecological analysis greening neighbourhood Ecological perspective 1. Benefits and drawbacks 2. Social possibilities 3. Possible initiatives Figure 2: Flowchart Carrying out (collective) initiatives Collective action within the CDE occurs, but often there is no project (B. Soolsma, personal communication, October 18, 2011). Projects and group initiatives are preferred over inhabitants acting solo, because it increases the pro-environmental impact and reduces the transaction costs per participant. There is a need for a community group that can handle requests and organise collective action within the area of CDE. In this way inhabitants have a low threshold starting point when they want to act. This community group can be aided by a caseworker, with specific experience in the field of pro-environmental collective action, representing WATERgraafsmeer. The organisational expertise of the caseworker would strengthen bridging ties and aid the legal and administrative procedures, which are often time consuming. Moreover, the community group should offer training sessions on dealing with bureaucracy and leading projects. 55