This dissertation describes an interventionist design anthropology study that investigates how power can be transformed using a design approach. This study is situated in the local energy transition in Amsterdam Southeast, as part of a
broad multi-actor consortium aimed at addressing combined social and technological challenges in the energy transition. As such, this study engages with the power relations and dynamics that are implicit in design processes where heterogeneous actors collaborate, that characterize societal transitions and that are inherent in participatory engagements with citizens. The dissertation develops understanding about the relationship between design and power in the context of transitions, and does so by explicating the positionality of the design researcher. This effort cuts across multiple disciplines, as it draws from, and contributes to various research fields, including design research, design anthropology, energy studies and transitions studies. ... Read more

This booklet describes the outcomes of four years of research and co-creation in the Venserpolder neighborhood. This research was done as part of the Local Inclusive Future Energy (LIFE) project. The LIFE project ran from 2021 to 2025 and was a collaboration between research institutions, the municipality of Amsterdam, companies, and local stakeholders in Amsterdam Southeast.

The project had two goals: first, to develop smart solutions to reduce the congestion in the electricity grid. Second, to explore how such solutions can reduce energy poverty in Amsterdam Southeast. From this second goal, the initiative emerged to establish an energy community in Venserpolder.

This booklet describes how residents, researchers, and local actors collaborated as much as possible. We describe the co-creation activities and the common responses and concerns of residents. Additionally, the booklet provides information on what an energy community is, how it functions and how a neighborhood can transition away from natural gas in the future.

First of all, this booklet is intended for residents: to provide information about the research but, more importantly, as an invitation to participate. Together, we can ensure a stable and low energy price, energy security, and stronger cooperation within the neighborhood. This booklet may also be of interest to researchers, municipal employees, and other professionals working in the energy transition. ... Read more

Dit boekje beschrijft de uitkomsten van 4 jaar onderzoek en bewonersparticipatie in de wijk Venserpolder. Dit onderzoek is uitgevoerd als onderdeel van het Local Inclusive Future Energy (LIFE) project. Het LIFE project duurde van 2021 tot 2025, en was een samenwerking tussen onderzoeksinstellingen, de gemeente Amsterdam, bedrijven en lokale stakeholders in Amsterdam Zuidoost.

Het project had twee doelen: ten eerste om slimme oplossingen te bedenken voor de overbelasting van het elektriciteitsnet. Ten tweede om te onderzoeken hoe zulke oplossingen de energiearmoede in Amsterdam Zuidoost kunnen verminderen. Uit dit tweede doel is het initiatief voortgekomen om in Venserpolder een energiegemeenschap op te richten.

Dit boekje beschrijft hoe bewoners, onderzoekers en lokale partijen zoveel mogelijk hebben samengewerkt. We beschrijven de co-creatie activiteiten en de veelgehoorde reacties en zorgen van bewoners die daar aan bod kwamen. Ook geeft het boekje informatie over wat een energiegemeenschap is, en hoe je in de toekomst als wijk van het gas af kunt gaan.

In de eerste plaats is dit boekje bedoeld voor bewoners: om informatie te krijgen, maar vooral als uitnodiging om mee te doen. Samen kun je zorgen voor een vaste lage energieprijs, voor leveringszekerheid, en voor sterkere samenwerking in de wijk. Ook kan dit boekje interessant zijn voor onderzoekers, werknemers van de gemeente, en andere professionals die in de energietransitie werken. ... Read more

This brochure provides a set of recommendations for how to organize energy transition projects in a more inclusive way. These recommendations are meant for anyone working in the local energy transition who wants to build stronger collaborations between residents, municipalities, researchers and other professionals. The recommendations address a variety of challenges and are based on lessons from four years of field research in Amsterdam Southeast.

The research was conducted as part of the Local Inclusive Future Energy (LIFE) project. The LIFE project took place between 2021 and 2025 and was a collaboration between universities, the municipality of Amsterdam, companies and local stakeholders in Amsterdam Southeast. The figure on the right shows a vision for a local energy community in the Venserpolder neighbourhood, which the LIFE project worked towards. The photos below give an impression of the various co-creation activities that were part of this project, and which resulted in this brochure. ... Read more

Deze brochure bevat een set aanbevelingen over hoe projecten in de energietransitie op een meer inclusieve manier georganiseerd kunnen worden. Deze aanbevelingen zijn bedoeld voor iedereen die actief is in de lokale energietransitie en sterkere samenwerkingen wil creëren tussen bewoners, overheden, onderzoekers en andere partijen. De aanbevelingen zijn gebaseerd op vier jaar veldonderzoek in Amsterdam Zuidoost, en de leerlessen daaruit.

Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd als onderdeel van het Local Inclusive Future Energy (LIFE) project. Het LIFE project vond plaats tussen 2021 en 2025 in Amsterdam Zuidoost, en was een samenwerking tussen kennisinstellingen, de gemeente Amsterdam, bedrijven en lokale partijen in Amsterdam Zuidoost. De afbeelding rechts laat een visie zien voor een lokale energiecoöperatie in de wijk Venserpolder, waar het LIFE project aan heeft bijgedragen. De onderstaande foto’s geven een indruk van de diverse co-creatie activiteiten die onderdeel waren van dit project, en die hebben geresulteerd in deze brochure. ... Read more

This article presents a novel approach—Ontological Future Making—that prioritizes transformative action. Rather than considering distant possibilities and consequences of futures, this approach engages with the negotiation of futures in the present. It is based on a review of existing work from the field of design anthropology. The article describes three steps of Ontological Future Making: to understand the future orientations of actors involved, engage with the immediate tensions that arise from their negotiation, and transform the ontological conditions that constrain future possibilities. We illustrate the approach with empirical data from a local energy transition project in Amsterdam Southeast. In this empirical account, we describe the future orientations of project partners and local residents and identify tensions related to extractive research and disciplinary differences. We describe the actions taken to address these tensions and describe our collaboration with residents to establish a local energy community. We characterize this initiative as transformative action as it served to enable shared futures for the project. We discuss the implications of these findings, arguing that future making should be more direct, political, and relational. ... Read more

This position paper is in response to a letter (De rol van energiegemeenschappen in het energiesysteem) by Ms. Sophie Hermans, Minister van Klimaat en Groene Groei. Our position paper was also cited in a debate in the Tweede Kamer in December 2025.

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This paper describes a design anthropology approach toward design ethics, which understands design ethics in a relational and emergent manner. We characterize how ethical issues and judgments emerge from the continuous stream of social interactions, collaborations, and relations that constitute the design process. The approach recognizes that there is a fundamental uncertainty in how social engagements and associated ethical issues in a design process unfold. Design anthropology aims to remain open to such emergent understandings, and fosters a sense of empathy and practice of care towards collaborators. The approach is illustrated by reflecting on empirical findings from an interdisciplinary energy transition project in Amsterdam South-East. The findings show how unexpected
ethical issues emerged in the design process that challenged the authors to navigate, with care and empathy, between the opposing needs of project collaborators. ... Read more

This article proposes to support human-centered energy transitions through design fiction. Design fiction is conceptualized as a form of worldbuilding in the sense that design fiction not only represents alternative realities but also intervenes in the processes of their emergence. For the context of energy transitions, this article proposes to approach worldbuilding through an understanding of and engagement with energy infrastructures. The distributed agencies and lengthy time horizons that characterize infrastructural development pose interesting challenges for designers and can be subverted by leveraging the poetic and aesthetic qualities of infrastructure through design fiction. The article discusses such aspects of energy infrastructures and expected developments in the transition to renewable energy. The approach is illustrated using seven emerging energy worlds, and future steps are identified to develop these into proper design fiction further. Overall, our approach draws together technological, political, and economic trends in the energy sector and provides pointers for designers and artists to intervene and co-shape energy transitions. ... Read more

Critical challenges in energy transitions are social and cultural – not just technical and economic. This paper shares research in an interdisciplinary consortium developing an innovative smart energy system, and demonstrates the value of ethnography in supporting energy transitions and local energy communities. Our fieldwork illuminated frictions stemming from the invisibility of energy infrastructure and lack of a relatable narrative, people’s past experiences with public participation in the energy transition, and conflict between long-term policy goals with people’s short-term concerns. The project’s typical techno-economic framing of renewable energy projects also inhibited the building of social connections and rapport within our fieldwork. Using a design anthropology approach, we describe how ethnographers can support the emergence of local energy communities and identify future directions to address the frictions identified. These directions include making energy systems more socially experienceable, mediating between people and institutions, and embedding ethnographic engagements in institutional structures to ensure continuity. ... Read more