Group Consumption and Ecological Footprint: The Effect of Habits and Lifestyle

Abstract

Different religious communities seem to tell different tales about the influence of consumption on the ecological footprint, and the boundaries created between consumption and places. Our case study, Ramat Shlomo neighbourhood in Jerusalem, is highly segregated and provides us with a unique opportunity to examine the consumption habits of essential products and disposable utensils, as well as the circumstances, barriers, and facilitators that contribute to the production and maintenance of ecological footprints. Using a door-to-door survey, our findings hint at a link between multi-generational consumption habits of certain essential products, including unhealthy food and disposable utensils and low family income, health, and environmental impacts. Aside from affecting an individual’s health, these choices also have a greater footprint. As the Haredi demographic becomes more prominent in Israeli society, its influence on the environment grows. lifestyle characteristics and habits are not merely a product of limited resources and residents may prefer to consume low-quality foods or spend money on plastic even when they can afford other alternatives. Such preferences at the household level affect the larger components of the neighbourhood and affect the entire urban matrix as a whole.