Where are urban energy transitions governed? Conceptualizing the complex governance arrangements for low-carbon mobility in Europe

• Published in: Cities Vol. 54; pp. 4 - 10
• Main Author: Haarstad, Håvard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2016
• Subjects: Cities; Energy policy; Energy transition; Governance; Infrastructure; Networks; Planning; Stavanger Norway; Urban planning; Infrastructure; Networks; Cities; Planning; Governance; Energy transition
• ISSN: 0264-2751; 1873-6084
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2015.10.013

This article addresses the question of where urban low-carbon energy transitions are governed. A challenge is that urban governance is not simply urban, but a complex assemblage of institutions, networks and socio-technical arrangements. There are several on-going literature debates discussing the different types of processes in which cities are involved. I disaggregate these into vertical processes (multilevel governance perspectives), horizontal processes (network and policy mobility perspectives), and what I term infrastructural processes (steering by conditions in the built environment). The purpose of the article is to show how all these types of governance processes combine to drive urban low-carbon energy transitions. Using the notion of policy assemblage, I outline a framework through which the different types of governance processes can be reconciled. This is illustrated through a discussion of how the different types of processes interact in the context of urban low-carbon mobility in Europe. A discussion of the case of Stavanger, Norway, shows how different types of governance processes combine to drive and constrain low-carbon energy transitions and underlines the importance of taking seriously the constraints of the built environment. •The article discusses the “whereabouts” of urban energy transition governance•It disaggregates the current literature debate into horizontal processes and infrastructural perspectives•It illustrates a framework for reconciling these processes in analysis - using the notion of policy assemblage•It illustrates the framework through a case study of Stavanger, Norway