The Contested Energy Future of Amman, Jordan: Between Promises of Alternative Energies and a Nuclear Venture

Abstract

International audienceMetropolitan authorities and local business elites are often seen as major players in the energy transition in the city. Such energy transitions are mostly conceived of as low carbon technologies, which permit the retrofitting of urban infrastructure and the rebundling of metabolic circuits. This article contests these views by highlighting the major role of non-urban energy sector institutions and actors. By examining the connections between technology, space and energy politics , and by using a relational understanding of the urban, this article explores the case of Amman's energy transition. The growth of consumption coupled with new energy practices face a problematic supply because shifts in regional geopolitics prompted energy transition policies, among which are included a green growth program and the building of a nuclear power plant at the edge of the city. The article analyses the socio-political assemblages that shape those policies and unravel the competing interests at stake. It demonstrates the political and highly unruly nature of energy transitions

‘We Live on Estimates': Everyday Practices of Prepaid Electricity and the Urban Condition in Maputo, Mozambique

“…Thirdly, much of the sustained attention to the politics of infrastructure in the South focuses on water, as attested by the work referenced so far. Energy infrastructure is only now commanding attention in urban scholarship (for example, Bridge et al, 2013;Hall et al, 2013;Rutherford and Coutard, 2014), but very few studies have been conducted in cities of the South (for example, Castán Broto and Bulkeley, 2013;Jaglin, 2014;Verdeil, 2014). The examination of the shift toward prepaid electricity in Maputo in the historical context of Mozambique's electrification and urbanization thus makes a contribution in both directions.…”

The Energy of Revolts in Arab Cities: The Case of Jordan and Tunisia

“…Meanwhile, Jordan structural dependency upon oil and gas imports has been heightened by regional geopolitics: the invasion of Iraq, which ended the cheap supply from this country in 2003 ); and the Egyptian revolution which resulted, for complex reasons, in a disruption in natural gas delivery from this country. Both factors have led to considerable increases in the cost of electricity, and hence, in the burden of public subsidies needed to compensate the electricity tariff (Verdeil 2013a). …”

“…To fit with the requested size of the article, I present an overview on findings from on-going research in Jordan and Tunisia in recent years. Further details about field methodology and empirical findings are to found in the following references (Verdeil 2011b;Verdeil 2013a;Bennasr & Verdeil forthcoming).…”

Planning restoration of a historical landscape: A case study for integrating a sustainable street lighting system with conservation of historical values

“…The objectives are often sectorial and do not produce the exponential effect of a system-oriented approach. Some cities are now struggling to provide adequate responses to the diversified demand of increasingly specialized services and to adapt their systems to new requirements such as accessibility, usability and energy efficiency [6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…However, the region has witnessed a renewed interest in the historical centres of the Abruzzo region as a result of their number, their historical, architectural, environmental value as well as their importance to local economies [8,[20][21][22].…”