Communities and urban energy landscapes in Maputo, Mozambique

Abstract

What is the role of energy in building communities and to what extent are communities invested in particular energy practices? The hypothesis of this paper is that energy is embedded in the everyday life of urban communities in multiple ways. The assemblage of shared understandings within the community and the material elements that mediate the provision of energy and its use constitute an urban energy landscape. While this energy landscape is embedded in wider political economies, communities also shape it both through discursive and material engagements with energy.This hypothesis is examined with reference to an urban energy landscape in the neighbourhood Chamanculo C, in Maputo, Mozambique. For this study, we conducted a participatory mapping workshop in which a representative group of local residents discussed the use of energy and mapped different elements of the energy system in their neighbourhood using walking as a research tool. The case study reveals multiple understandings of energy in the community and how energy is embedded in different forms of living and in livelihoods. The community shares a complex energy landscape in which multiple fuels and forms of energy co-exist. These findings question current energy policies for urban development focused exclusively on the extension of the electricity network and street lighting.

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