The energy transition is rapidly changing the Netherlands. For the industry, this comes with challenges, but it also creates opportunities. But what about the people living in peri-urban areas, “in the shadow of industry”? Do they experience specific disadvantages, and could they also benefit from the changes taking place around them?
Tata Steel and the IJmond region were used as a case study because here the tensions become visible. The area has heavy industry, residential neighbourhoods, ecological pressure, and a strong local identity, making it an interesting place to explore the “toxic” relationship between industry and community. To understand this relationship, the research combined street interviews, media analysis, spatial analysis, demographic analysis, literature review, and site visits. Together, these methods helped show the perspective, struggles, and dreams of the community, the residents of the peri-urban area in close proximity to large industry, and with that shape the vision and strategy.
The analysis shows that the community faces several challenges. Pollution and health concerns are evident problems in the area. Also, lower purchasing power, poorer housing conditions, and limited resources make it harder to participate in the energy transition. Mobility is fragmented, which increases car dependence. At the same time, the region is not only defined by problems. Many residents depend on industrial jobs, and the industry remains part of the local identity. This creates a situation in which people are both affected by and connected to the industry.
In this project, environmental, social, and economic interventions are formed to help residents become more aware of their energy use and support them in the energy transition. The strategy is guided by three central themes, so the perspective and voice of the community itself remains central. The themes being ‘wellbeing’, ‘chances and choices’, and ‘identity’ cover the possible concerns of the community and form the basis for the interventions formulated in the strategy. These interventions were developed into four projects, tested against a theoretical framework based on spatial justice, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the vision goals that emerged from the analysis.