PSY | A Good Life and Climate Protection?! – New Research Project on Sustainability in the Everyday Lives of Migrants in Vienna
A new research project funded by the City of Vienna is launching at the Faculty of Psychology. It examines sustainable lifestyles from a perspective that has so far received little attention: the everyday lives of socio-economically precarious migrant women in Vienna.
A good life encompasses not only social and economic security, but also a healthy environment as well as physical and mental well-being. Climate protection and quality of life are therefore closely intertwined in everyday life. Nevertheless, sustainability debates and initiatives are often directed at specific social milieus, while other groups are hardly reached. In this context, women with a migration background play a distinctive and ambivalent role:
- They face an above-average risk of poverty and are therefore more strongly affected by the consequences of climate change, for example through energy poverty or increased heat exposure.
- At the same time, they play a central role in managing everyday routines in several households, taking responsibility for tasks such as shopping, cooking, or repairs – the very areas where climate-friendly practices can be put into action.
As part of the project, Isabel von Hansemann, under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Katharina Hametner, investigates how these women perceive and shape sustainability in their daily lives, what knowledge and routines already exist, where uncertainties remain, and what forms of support would be helpful. The study will also explore their visions of a sustainable Vienna of the future and identify both barriers and enabling conditions. The project is carried out in cooperation with Dr. Sigrid Awart from the education, counselling and therapy centre Peregrina.
Methodologically, the team employs a two-part participatory workshop concept. On the one hand, the formats are intended to be empowering and to expand opportunities for sustainable action; on the other, they provide a framework for qualitative research on the everyday experiences of sustainability. The findings are expected to generate important impulses not only for migrant women but also for other groups at risk of poverty and with limited educational opportunities, thereby contributing to a socially just ecological transformation.
Ultimately, the aim of the study is to derive concrete recommendations for action that strengthen sustainable everyday practices and enable migrant women to actively participate in broader societal transformation processes.
17 March 2026