The 'Onderstroom': Residents Voices from Elderveld, Arnhem. ZERO Project Report on Energy, Justice, and Trust

The ZERO project (citiZen-centric Energy gRid Optimization) addresses the socio-technical challenges that come with the municipality of Arnhem's transition toward a renewable energy system. ZERO responds to this with a citizen-centric, bottom-up approach. Instead of treating grid optimisation as a purely technical problem, the project works with residents to co-develop an Urban Energy Covenant (UEC), a shared, collectively designed agreement on how the neighbourhood manages its energy use.  Central to this approach is a thorough, anthropological understanding of the neighbourhood itself, its residents' motivations, routines, and everyday relationship to energy, before any technical or behavioural intervention is designed.

The aim of this visual report is to centre residents’ livelihoods. It is based on over 50 qualitative interviews. These insights are essential for understanding and recognizing existing dynamics and relationships around energy sharing before designing interventions in the neighbourhood.