Energy Urbanity and Active Citizen Participation

Alan Mee,Madeleine Lyes,Philip Crowe

doi:10.3390/en14206515

Abstract

This paper poses the question: ‘can energy innovation initiatives in Innovation Playgrounds foster a new ‘energy urbanity’ through active citizen participation in the energy transition?’ The concept of ‘Innovation Playgrounds’ and an accompanying Framework are described and linked to implementation evidence of the EU H2020 positive energy research and innovation project +CityxChange, related to emergent active citizen participation in two cities: Limerick, Ireland and Trondheim, Norway. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate that spatially clustered energy innovation initiatives in urban areas involving active citizen participation contribute to a new ‘energy urbanity’ for the energy transition. The research methods are based on a comparative case study approach and close observation of two case sites, with a focus on the ‘Innovation Playground’ area of each city. The article’s three main conclusions are: that a Framework approach to active citizen participation in energy innovation initiatives in urban areas facilitates new models of active citizen and community participation around energy innovation; emergent active citizen participation in energy innovation initiatives in urban areas suggests a new type of engagement that is information-rich, blended, action-led, citizen-focused, and spatial; and that a new paradigm of ‘energy urbanity’ for the energy transition can be proposed.

Highlights

The context of this paper is the European urban energy transition in mid-sized cities, which coincides with a time of unprecedented global climate change, rapid technological development in response, and people reporting restricted agency as citizens participating in the energy system [1]
We suggest that an Innovation Playground Framework prompts the emergence of a new type of active citizen participation with five identifiable characteristics: information-rich, blended, action-led, citizen-focused, and spatial
This paper posed the question: ‘can energy innovation initiatives in ‘Innovation Playgrounds’ foster a new ‘energy urbanity’ through active citizen participation in the energy transition? The purpose of this research was to demonstrate that spatially clustered energy innovation initiatives in urban areas involving active citizen participation contribute to a new ‘energy urbanity’ for the energy transition

Summary

Introduction

The context of this paper is the European urban energy transition in mid-sized cities, which coincides with a time of unprecedented global climate change, rapid technological development in response, and people reporting restricted agency as citizens participating in the energy system [1]. Continents and countries respond differently, and rural and urban cultures and communities differ in levels of understanding, engagement and action in climate adaptation [2]. The European Green Deal strives for Europe to be the first climate neutral continent, at national level the variations in approaches to action are evident in research projects like the EUH2020 +CityxChange (Positive City ExChange) project. This paper assesses the strategies of the +CityxChange project in Limerick and Trondheim as exemplars of current practice in facilitating the energy transition within the European context, with a focus on Active. The work of the project involves the development of technological innovation and innovation in citizen engagement, and this paper focuses primarily on the latter

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Discussion

Conclusion