Power blackout: Citizens’ contribution to strengthen urban resilience

Abstract

A long-lasting, large-scale power blackout has a huge impact on the infrastructure of public life, as well as on critical infrastructure including electricity and water supply. At the same time, it can be observed that the share of renewable energies, and thus the possibility of self-sufficiency, has increased enormously in recent years. This contribution focuses on the question to what extend citizens are willing to share their electricity resources in order to make their city more resilient. In reference to Ostrom's concept of club or common goods, it can be shown if and how the private good of citizen's electricity resources can be transformed into a club or even a common good. Drawing on survey data from the city of Darmstadt we investigated the willingness to share electricity and to participate in participatory formats to enhance urban resilience.