The limits to the urban within multi-scalar energy transitions: Agency, infrastructure and ownership in the UK and Germany DOI Creative Commons
Helen Traill, Andrew Cumbers

Urban Studies, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: March 18, 2024

This article critically interrogates the over-emphasis upon urban solutions when considering complex and multi-scalar energy infrastructures that must transition to low-carbon intensity for a sustainable future. While actors can play an important role in transition, their interventions are riven with difficulties, at times failure, as they encounter challenges of politics, capacity agency broader governance landscape. Drawing comparative variegated political economies infrastructure Germany UK, this makes three critical arguments. Firstly, it contends patterns ownership key infrastructures, particularly highly privatised context UK but also Germany’s more diversified market, trouble urban-level interventions. Secondly, against backdrop post-financial crash austerity, we raise issue level, principally concerning financing technical administration infrastructural ‘solutions’. Thirdly, entrenched politics neoliberalisation, its articulations particular discourses marketisation competition, while distinct across two contexts, shape possibilities, imaginaries support available local-level change infrastructures. The points differential capacities conditions require greater degree nuance sustainability narratives, conversation around need coordination transitions, order avert catastrophic climate breakdown.

Language: Английский

The limits to the urban within multi-scalar energy transitions: Agency, infrastructure and ownership in the UK and Germany DOI Creative Commons
Helen Traill, Andrew Cumbers

Urban Studies, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: March 18, 2024

This article critically interrogates the over-emphasis upon urban solutions when considering complex and multi-scalar energy infrastructures that must transition to low-carbon intensity for a sustainable future. While actors can play an important role in transition, their interventions are riven with difficulties, at times failure, as they encounter challenges of politics, capacity agency broader governance landscape. Drawing comparative variegated political economies infrastructure Germany UK, this makes three critical arguments. Firstly, it contends patterns ownership key infrastructures, particularly highly privatised context UK but also Germany’s more diversified market, trouble urban-level interventions. Secondly, against backdrop post-financial crash austerity, we raise issue level, principally concerning financing technical administration infrastructural ‘solutions’. Thirdly, entrenched politics neoliberalisation, its articulations particular discourses marketisation competition, while distinct across two contexts, shape possibilities, imaginaries support available local-level change infrastructures. The points differential capacities conditions require greater degree nuance sustainability narratives, conversation around need coordination transitions, order avert catastrophic climate breakdown.

Language: Английский

Citations

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