Beneath you will read an interview by Eelco van Wijk with program manager of 'Natural gas-free' at the municipality of Rotterdam in Bospolder-Tussendijken, Anne-Marie Verheijen.
This article has been retrieved via: https://publications.hva.nl/bewogen-stad-16/interview-botu
Since January 2019, Anne-Marie Verheijen has been program manager Natural gas-free in Bospolder-Tussendijken (BoTu) on behalf of the municipality of Rotterdam. In this role, she is responsible for one of the first area-oriented energy transitions in Rotterdam. BoTu is a neighborhood with great social challenges, and is therewith a learning approach where technology and social policy go hand in hand.
The program is part of the broader strategy, whereby the past municipal government assigned six areas for a natural gas-free future. The goal in BoTu is to connect homes to the district-heating network, in cooperation with Eneco and housing corporation Havensteder. Initially , the emphasis heavily laid on the technological side: planning, construction of infrastructure and the set up of legal agreements. "The first years we were mostly occupied with the making of agreements about costs, timelines and the spacial integration of the network," says Verheijen.
BoTu turned out to be a difficult environment for a large-scale intervention. The neighborhood has small streets, limited public space and much existing infrastructure. "We wanted to prevent that the construction of the heating network would lead to loss of trees or extra building in public space. That is why we have put much work into the spacial design of each street during the early stages."
A specific part of the technical preparation, was the integration of the distribution stations that are needed for the functioning of the heating network. In densely built neighborhoods like BoTu, public space is scarce, and new infrastructure highlights this. "We deliberately have chosen to not place distribution stations above ground, in public spaces" explains Verheijen. "Instead, all distribution points are realized indoor. This asks for a lot of coordination and customization, but it contributes to the conservation of the quality of life and greenery in the neighborhood."
That careful preparation payed off: in March of 2021, the first shovel dug into the ground. As of now, over 800 homes, a couple of home owner associations and a school have been affiliated. The execution is, thus far, on schedule.
Parallel to the technical route, Verheijen works on the combining of the technical challenges with various social goals and projects. BoTu scores, and has for years, beneath the municipal average on the social index. The neighborhood knows structural problems in terms of poverty, health and livability. At the same time, there already existed initiatives in the neighborhood like Veerkrachtig ('resilient') BoTu, a network of active residents that focuses, alongside other things, on sustainability and community development.
With that, the energy transition addressed broader questions about ownership, control and justice. "We came with an offer, of which we had thought it was the most technically and financially best," says Verheijen. "But that does not automatically mean that the residents recognize themselves in that".
The first encounters between municipality and resident initiatives did not always go smoothly. Verheijen: "Some residents were critical about the fact that we came with a monopolistic heat supplier. They had ideas about energy communities, decentralized generation or feed-in of heat energy."
The gap between the more institutional approach and bottom-up initiatives was big. Verheijen decided together with the project leader Energy of the Veerkrachtig BoTu program to call up external support. Together with Marije van den Berg from 'Democratie in Uitvoering' ('Democracy in Excecution') a process was set up in which residents, local parties, municipality, housing corporation and heat supplier explored together what binds them and how they wanted to work together on the topic of energy. This led in 2021 to a cooperation agreement with agreements about projects, communication and budget.
Joining local initiatives does not merely has a social function, but also supports the wider goal of the transition to the district heat network. Through making use of existing structures and networks in the neighborhood, more trust and support is built for the transfer. An important role here is given to 'De Verbindingskamer', who by for example going around bringing flowers to people's doorstep connect with residents in a very low-threshold manner, whom otherwise would not be seen. In this way they receive possible signals of trouble, but the wishes and needs of residents are also made visible. Another good example are the 'Taal-Milieucoaches'. This initiative focuses on non-native female speakers in the neighborhood. By giving them low-threshold language courses and by training them to become milieucoach, they are involved in the informing of residents about energy conservation, as well as in the door-to-door conversations. Verheijen: ''It is the people who have accessibility to homes that are harder to reach for us. They not only help with the signaling of concerns or energy problems, but also by making the conversation about connecting to the heating network more concrete and accessible for residents. In this way they contribute to exceeding the goal: connecting as many home to sustainable heath in a just way. Signals are fed back to the municipality, corporation and heath supplier, who pledge to respond to this."
Joining local initiatives does not merely has a social function, but also supports the wider goal of the transition to the district heat network. Through making use of existing structures and networks in the neighborhood, more trust and support is built for the transfer. An important role here is given to 'De Verbindingskamer', who by for example going around bringing flowers to people's doorstep connect with residents in a very low-threshold manner, whom otherwise would not be seen. In this way they receive possible signals of trouble, but the wishes and needs of residents are also made visible. Another good example are the 'Taal-Milieucoaches'. This initiative focuses on non-native female speakers in the neighborhood. By giving them low-threshold language courses and by training them to become milieucoach, they are involved in the informing of residents about energy conservation, as well as in the door-to-door conversations. Verheijen: ''It is the people who have accessibility to homes that are harder to reach for us. They not only help with the signaling of concerns or energy problems, but also by making the conversation about connecting to the heating network more concrete and accessible for residents. In this way they contribute to exceeding the goal: connecting as many home to sustainable heath in a just way. Signals are fed back to the municipality, corporation and heath supplier, who pledge to respond to this."
Besides the realization of connections to the heating network, the project team tries to contribute to wider sustainable initiatives from the SOK. From the collaboration with residents, space was created for several projects: energy conservation, circular initiatives, neighborhood vegetable gardens, and child education about sustainability. During annual energy festivals, these initiatives are made visible.
"We try to join to what already exists in the neighborhood. That means that we broadened our definition of 'energy' ", Verheijen says. "Not only heat, but also what motivates people in terms of other issues."
A specific group who got extra attention were the Home Owner Associations (VvE's). Many VvE's in BoTu function less well or are inactive. For a transition to district heating, that is a challenge. That is why the municipality and VVE010 developed an approach in which VvE's are supported intensively. There are kitchen table conversations, an incentive contribution for sustainability developments and support for the set up of multi-year maintenance plans. Currently, five VvE's are actually connected to the heating network.
The implementation of the natural gas-free program in BoTu will run until mid-2026. Verheijen's assignment will also end by then. An important point of concern is how the built networks and working methods can be maintained. “As long as the project is running, we can deploy resources and connect partners. But what will happen when that ends?”
That is why ways to safeguard working methods are already being sought. The collaboration with De Verbindingskamer is one example of this. That organization is now active in several cities, but their work in BoTu is project-based. “If we want what they do to be able to continue, we as a network must seek to embed it in existing welfare assignments and neighborhood (and sometimes even community) structures.”
Looking back, Verheijen mentions several aspects that she is particularly pleased with. “I am proud of how we managed to take a technical and abstract starting point and really make it work in the neighborhood,” she says. “That we were able to lay pipes without cutting down trees or putting more pressure on public space, that we concluded a SOK agreement with residents, and that initiatives such as De Verbindingskamer and the Taal-Milieucoaches have now naturally become discussion partners in the implementation. These are not self-evident achievements, but the result of a many cooperations and investment in relationships.” The approach in BoTu shows how a technical challenge such as the energy transition touches on broader social issues. According to Verheijen, it is naive to think that you can achieve results in neighborhoods like BoTu without a social approach. “If you enter a neighborhood with the message ‘we are going natural gas-free,’ then you also have to be able to mean something for people who are facing very different problems.”
At the same time, she is cautious about overly high expectations. “Sometimes it is suggested that the energy transition can lift the entire neighborhood. I don't believe that. But I do believe it is an opportunity to contribute to improvement, but only if you organize it properly.”
The BoTu Natural gas-free program is not a blueprint, but a learning process. Many components have been developed along the way, driven by necessity and collaboration. What began as a technical assignment evolved into a broader social approach. The lesson: energy transition in old city neighborhoods asks for more than just technology. It requires presence, listening, and connecting interests. But above all, it requires taking the people for whom it is all intended seriously.