Engaging vulnerable groups in disadvantaged neighbourhoods

How do you start a conversation about energy with residents who rarely come to information evenings, don’t own their homes, and have more pressing everyday concerns than energy planning? This question has been central to the JUST PEPP project, which explores how Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) can be planned with and by residents of disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods.

In the pilot neighbourhoods in the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, the team tested several low-threshold activities. They delivered useful data and results, but they also had a less expected effect: they gave the team a reason to talk with people who are usually hard to reach. Thermal images of a resident’s own home, or a solar battery standing in the living room, spark curiosity and questions. That builds a shared understanding of energy that municipalities, housing companies and other local actors can then act on.

In this 45-minute webinar, the JUST PEPP team presents three practical engagement approaches and shares what worked, what surprised them and what they would do differently.