Urban Energy Landscapes

Research volume on urban energy transition that will have wide interdisciplinary appeal to researchers in energy, urban and environmental studies.

Vanesa Castán Broto (Author)

9781108419420, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 April 2019

252 pages, 19 b/w illus. 6 maps
25.3 x 17.8 x 1.6 cm, 0.66 kg

“From charcoal fires in Maputo to Hong Kong's riot of neon light, Urban Energy Landscapes provides a conceptually sophisticated and empirically grounded street level view of the possibilities for radical transformation in urban energy landscapes. Through the lens of urban infrastructure and the looming realities of climate change, Castán Broto sheds new light on our understanding of what cities are and how they work in the daily lives of urban citizens.' Caroline Knowles, Goldsmiths, University of London

The urban energy transition represents a transformation of such magnitude that it will require a re-examination of the fundamental relationship between societies and energy resources. The potential for cities to deliver sustainable energy for their citizens requires context-specific action. One-size-fits-all approaches - which assume homogeneity across cities and economies of scale in the extension of electricity networks - have largely failed to deliver sustainable energy for all. This challenge is existential, questioning the fundamental ways in which contemporary life is organized around energy. This innovative volume argues that the urban energy transition depends on specific urban trajectories and heterogeneous urban energy landscapes, reflecting both strategic projects of urbanization and people's dwelling practices. Looking at in-depth case studies of urban energy landscapes in four major cities, it calls for citizens' active engagement with experimentation in everyday life. The book will have wide interdisciplinary appeal to researchers in energy, urban and environmental studies.

1. Introduction
Part I. Understanding Urban Energy Landscapes: 2. Energy transitions and urban infrastructure
3. Urban energy landscapes as connective tissue
4. Change and agency in landscapes of dwelling
Part II. Heterogeneous Urban Energy Landscapes: 5. Modernity promises and the quest for autonomy: urban energy landscapes in Maputo, Mozambique
6. Continuous heterogeneity and private strategies for energy provision: urban energy landscapes in Bangalore, India
7. When equal access to energy causes injustice: urban energy landscapes in Hong Kong, PR China
8. Industrial legacy and governance through activism: urban energy landscapes in Concepción, Chile
Part III. Change and Transformation in Urban Energy Landscapes: 9. Exploring connective tissues through walking different urban energy landscapes
10. Imagining urban energy futures
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Urban & municipal planning [RPC], Earth sciences, geography, environment, planning [R], Environment law [LNKJ], Urban economics [KCU], Environmental economics [KCN], Comparative politics [JPB]