Sustainable Living in Utrecht: Understanding Current Practices and Future Aspirations

This study investigates sustainable living among budget-conscious residents of Utrecht, focusing on their current practices, aspirations, and encountered challenges. Conducted from September to December 2024, it targeted a diverse demographic and employed a mixed-methods approach for data collection, including discussion groups, brainstorming sessions, street interviews, and online surveys. Key findings indicate residents' strong engagement in sustainable behaviors such as choosing plant-based diets, saving resources, managing waste effectively, preferring second-hand goods, and using eco-friendly transportation. Residents expressed aspirations to further adopt sustainable diets, grow their own vegetables, reduce waste and plastic use, minimize air travel, and curb consumerism habits. Obstacles like cost, lack of space, and information gaps were identified. The study concludes with a suite of proposed initiatives aimed at overcoming these barriers. This research underscores the community's commitment to sustainability despite financial constraints and outlines actionable initiatives to address challenges, aiming to guide Utrecht towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.