Smart Communities: shaping new low carbon community norms and practices
Reference Number
ES/I006982/1
Title
Smart Communities: shaping new low carbon community norms and practices
Status
Completed
Energy Categories
Energy Efficiency(Residential and commercial)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)
Research Types
Applied Research and Development
Science and Technology Fields
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Sociology)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour)
Principal Investigator
Dr R Rettie
Kingston Business School
Kingston University
Kingston Business School
Kingston University
Award Type
Standard
Funding Source
ESRC
Start Date
01 January 2011
End Date
30 June 2014
Duration
42 months
Total Grant Value
£574,357
Industrial Sectors
Region
South East
Programme
Ventures
Other Investigator
Dr K Burchell, Faculty of Arch & the Built Environmen, University of Westminster
Web Site
Objectives
Also known as grant RES-628-25-0024
Abstract
Smart Communities is the first research project to bring together members of a community to discuss, develop and adopt new energy-saving ways of doing everyday practices. The three-year project draws on practice theory, the social norm approach and community action best practice. Led by researchers at Kingston University, the project is a partnership between the community itself, Fern Hill primary school, Kingston Council's sustainability team, Transition Town Kingston, Tudor Drive library and the Energy Savings Trust.In cycles of action and reflection, active community members will meet to discuss energy consuming practices (such lighting, cooking or cleaning), develop new energy-saving ways of doing things, and decide how to encourage their adoption by the rest of the community. The school and all community households will use energy monitors to learn about the energy consumption of everyday practices. The Smart Communities website will act as a virtual community hub, where participants record their energy consumption, pledge to try new practices, record their progress, and share advice. Following the social norm approach, the website will encourage adoption of new energy-saving practices by plotting participants performance against the progress of the community as a whole. The project evaluation includes extensive qualitative and quantitative research
Data
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Publications
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Added to Database
17/07/15
