Social fingerprints: Social characterisation of neighbourhoods as design frame for sustainable communities

In this study, survey data were collected for a neighbourhood in the municipality of Pekela, The Netherlands. The neighbourhood takes part in a national programme aiming for natural gas-free neighbourhoods as Living Lab. The study demonstrates how social data can complement economical and technical data to inform the energy planning process. With these data, both the choice for specific measures and the way in which plans should be implemented can be adjusted to the specific features of a community. A theoretical model was developed in which relevant resident and neighbourhood characteristics were identified based on the existing literature. Demographic, community, individual, socio-historic context and participation factors were identified as key concepts. Part of these concepts are related to energy, such as attitude towards energy transition and the willingness to take energy measures, and part of these concepts are more general in nature, such as the social contacts between neighbours. A total of 25 factors within those 5 key concepts were measured for the neighbourhood. With these data, a so-called 'social fingerprint' was constructed, a unique set of scores on the variables that represents the neighbourhoods' identity in a concise manner. The social fingerprint, presented in a graph, can be compared with other neighbourhoods in a way that mutual differences become easily apparent. Notable characteristics for Pekela are the low institutional trust and low scores on neighbour interactions while showing strong neighbourhood connectivity. The social fingerprint can be interpreted for application in the planning practice. Overall, tangible indications can be given for the technical measures to be chosen, the communication with citizens, the degree of citizen participation and the cooperation with third parties.