Urban Energy Transitions: Places, Processes and Politics of Socio-technical Change

摘要: 1. Prologue On the second anniversary of meltdown at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, some focus fell on abandoned, radioactive ghost towns and around disaster exclusion zone from which remaining residents have been forced to evacuate. A series poignant images shows empty streets, collapsed houses, unused drinks rice vending machines, school bags hanging outside a class an abandoned (The Guardian, 11 March 2013).1 All are reminder sudden, brutal collapse absolute fragility urban livelihoods materials wake energy infrastructure failing withstand earthquake tsunami. Meanwhile, following explosion global oil prices 2008, Lome Togo many other cities Ghana, Benin Burkina Faso become ever more dependent for fuel illegal trafficking subsidised petrol Nigeria. Every morning dawn, dozens containers washed up beaches Benin, thrown overboard boats their way back The dragged out water contents transferred into plastic bottles receptacles, then transported streets sale local populations 30 per cent lower than normal market price. While this flow petrol�from resource extraction Nigerian fields, through intricate transport network, its burning use cooking somebody�s home�sustains whole livelihoods, informal economies, it also financially benefits mostly elites who employ traffickers represents significant loss income these already-poor West African states (Le Monde, 23�24 September 2012). Finally, western Canada, Vancouver defines itself as �the most liveable �