Hugo Polman,
Antonia Kalatha,
Joey Wagemans
It is assumed that the two subsystems mentioned above will also exist in the future. Nevertheless, they must not only be effective in and of themselves, but they must be re-designed in such a way as to accommodate and support each other. It is only by meeting the demands of both of them that our subsector of accommodate community will reach optimal performance in the future.
The use of Innovative technology can really make a difference. Current technology is already getting more and more integrated into one complete system where technical systems communicate with each other and share their knowledge. One of the main pillars of in Texel becoming a technology pushing island is the goal of being climate neutral in 2020. With this statement a lot of positive media-attention is gained, and is therefore high on the priority list. They way they are trying to accomplish this is reducing the energy use to one third of the current numbers, and generating renewable energy. For tourist housing the main target area is still insulating better the properties, because usually are poorly insulated (Duurzame Waddeneilanden, 2011). This goes hand in hand with informing the locals through the contact points, like the smart energy meter of TexelEnergie named “Kiek!”. Moreover, these campaigns and policies target the locals with slogans like “being self-sufficient and becoming independent of third parties” (TexelEnergie, 2014). Furthermore, in 2020 devices within households will adjust their energy use on the energy price, which has a direct correlation with the energy that is produced at other households or energy plants.
The target of 2050 should also be to become an energy supplier instead of an energy neutral island. Concerning the subsystem of “accommodate community”, the loss of energy due to the malfunctioning of different properties on the island should be reduced as much as possible, even close to zero. Nowadays, there is still a lot of energy loss due to ‘dirty’ accumulators.There is a high chance that in 2050 clean hydrogen accumulators will be used which will not include dirty chemicals and are able to store energy more efficiently. Besides this, locals and tourists will be informed about benefits of generating and using of renewable energy, and that the best time of using this energy is at the time when it is generated. Hopefully, the technology push makes it so that all devices will be connected with each other and do the main thinking for the user/tourist inside the holiday housing. This energy reduction will have a high impact on the total percentage of energy used and energy produced. With systems like tidal power stations, wind energy stations and solar panels Texel will be able to deliver energy to the mainland with a higher profit. In general there can be estimated that accommodating tourist will have a low impact on technologies in 2050, as it has a high chance of following the trends of Texel in general.
Moreover, in 2050 there will be a societal change towards constant connectedness. This connectedness within technical and social systems is driven anyway by the technology push. However, the actual effects of the uptake of a new technology will only be clear in the societal execution of these new technologies (Udo Pesch, 2015, pp. 384). Tourist accommodation in Texel will still account for great part the societal need. In comparison to the current situation that the tourist facilities are centered and close to each other near De Koog, there is a high chance that in the future there are going to be more scattered around the island. Supply of the main necessities will already be more efficient whereas the placement near the capital won’t be necessary anymore.
Moreover, the adjustment of the houses, hotels and overall properties according to personal wishes might also become very high. With the coming of new architectural bureaus, like Superlight 2030 and Bilt architecture, the adjustment of housing through panels might have a high chance of becoming the standard. This practice offers the opportunity of resizing the buildings during the tourist low season, and as a consequence, reducing its impact during this period. Therefore it may result in a highly dynamic societal need and touristic environment.
To conclude, both the innovative technology and the societal need need to be adjusted to fit each other’s needs. As Texel will change to an independent innovative technology/energy supplier in the future, this will have great effects on the accommodation sector (private and touristic) and all the elements and mechanisms connected to it. The use of adjustable buildings will also become a trend. The societal need and acceptance of this will go hand in hand with the technology push.