Flux RSS

Flux RSS

Home
Accueil   >   Agenda & Brèves   >   Agenda : Séminaire Villes et énergies en Europe

Séminaire Villes et énergies en Europe

October 12, 2021
From 14:30 until 17:30
Pour plus d’informations et obtenir le lien de connexion concernant les séances en ligne, merci de contacter : Sophie Henck : s.henck@unistra.fr

12/10 : 14h30-17h30 : séance 3 : en distanciel via BBB

Présentations et échanges :

 Grégoire Wallenborn

How cities will cope with energy mutation. A critical analysis of existing scenarios

Among the flows that structure urban fabrics, energy has a special place. Indeed, when we talk about energy, we are talking about powering machines that provide us with a multitude of services, machines that are perfectly integrated into the daily ballet of social practices. But we know that energy flows will change. And it is the whole of society, its institutions, infrastructures and practices that will be modified. Firstly, energy flows will be reduced. This means that the number of activities will decrease, and that it should be possible to discuss democratically which activities to eliminate. Secondly, energy flows will be variable because the storage of electricity will be limited by material constraints. The logic of demand will give way to a logic of supply: daily practices will have to adapt to the energy available at each moment, which will be predictable a few days in advance. It is therefore the entire organisation of work and other activities that will have to change. In fact, the energy transition is a profound process in which questions of power, resistance, social inequalities, etc., are omnipresent.

This presentation explore how cities will be affected by these changes – inevitable because of the decline of oil in particular. Cities have always been places of concentration: of power, knowledge, capital, energy (including food). What could a democratic and socially just city look like under strong ecological constraints? Grégoire Wallenborn will analyse various scenarios found in the literature concerning the possible futures of cities and will screen them for the new energy constraint, without forgetting the other ecological constraints (climate, mineral resources, biodiversity, etc.).

Grégoire Wallenborn is Senior Researcher at the Institute for Environment Management and Land Planning (IGEAT), Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium).

 

Thoma Lamb

Vulnerability and uncertainties of the smart meter roll-out in French cities.

Linky, from a (big) data revolution to a (small) market innovation

This presentation focuses on the main effects induced by the implementation of Linky smart meters in French territories. Building on theories related to the “Tools of government” and based on a sociological fieldwork study following the genesis and the introduction of the electricity smart meter in the French energy sector, this communication considers Linky as a new instrument of regulation for the electrical subsystem. After a brief review of the specific objectives initially assigned to Linky as a public policy instrument, the presentation will concentrate on the first concrete uses of the meter within French cities in order to confront these initial objectives and narratives to their reality. Two remarks will be drawn from this observation. First, the uses of Linky are scarce and unequal on the territories. Secondly, these uses are solely based on a market perspective that limits the use of Linky by local administrations and political actors. By discussing these points, this study more broadly helps to underline the relationship between a public policy instrument, the institutional environment in which it is deployed, and the actors supporting the program or opposed to it.

Thoma Lamb holds a PhD in political science and is research associate at the Center of research and study of political and administrative science (CERSA), University Paris 2, France.