Urban Governance and the Transition of Energy Systems: Institutional Change and Shifting Energy and Climate Policies in Berlin

Abstract

Energy systems in Germany and in all western Introduction: urban and regional governance and energy infrastructuresUtility networks -such as energy, water, sanitation, transport and telecommunication systems -support the economic, social and environmental performance of cities and regions. They are the basic infrastructure grids that provide the fundamental conduits through which modern cities and regions operate (Marvin et al. , 1999: 93). Among the most important utility sectors are electricity, gas and district heating networks. These energy networks are the prerequisite for urban and regional sustainability in three ways. Firstly, energy infrastructures have become increasingly critical for the functioning of nearly all production, services and infrastructure sectors, as well as for politics, public health and even individual social practices. The spectacular power blackouts in North America and Europe have dramatically demonstrated that failure of these systems is one Thanks to Sabine Hofmeister, Ulrike von Schlippenbach, Bernhard Truffer, Timothy Moss and two anonymous referees for their critical and constructive comments on an earlier version of this article.

The geography of sustainability transitions: Review, synthesis and reflections on an emergent research field

“…Hodson and Marvin (2009; Lagendijk and Boertjes (2013); Maassen (2012); McCauley and Stephens (2012); Monstadt (2007Monstadt ( , 2009 ;Quitzau et al (2012); Rohracher and Späth (2014); Shove and Walker (2007);Smith (2007a); Rohracher (2010, 2012); Truffer and Coenen (2012) Rohracher (2010, 2012); Truffer and Coenen (2012); Wirth et al (2013) institutions  Niche formation is embedded in localised social practices  Informal localised institutions positively influence the regulatory push on the development and adoption of environmental regulation  Importance of recognising differences in informal institutions even within local or urban territories, resulting in struggles over sustainability visions Local natural resource endowments Bridge et al (2013) A quite large number of studies examine the central role of urban and regional visions and policies (the edited volumes by Bulkeley et al 2011; 2014 take a prominent position in this literature). While these contributions have a main focus on the urban and regional levels, the importance of connections to other policy levels is evident, with some authors taking an explicitly multi-level governance perspective Marvin 2010, 2012;Rohracher 2010, 2012;Uyarra and Gee 2013).…”

“…As an example, local planners may perform such intermediation, as they are centrally placed actors in the process of establishing sustainability priorities and engaging local stakeholders, even though the formation of local stakeholder networks is highly influenced by existing relations (Hawkey 2012;Quitzau et al 2012). As governance of sustainability transitions need to encompass multiple policy areas, they are contested and negotiated between multiple public, quasi-public and private territorial actors (Coutard and Rutherford 2010;Monstadt 2007). Thus, contrary to the emphasis in for instance transition management on consensus and alignment, the contributions on urban and regional policies and visions highlight the struggles and conflicts associated with governance of sustainability transitions.…”

“…This infrastructure has in many cases been privatised, thus, governance of sustainability transitions increasingly becomes a collaborative effort involving public and private actors with varied interests and incentives (Lagendijk and Boertjes 2013). This results in highly complex processes (Faller 2014;Monstadt 2007) Bulkeley and Castán Broto (2013) argue that one important manner in which this power is exercised is through urban climate change experiments, and they show that the actor constellations behind these experiments vary considerable between different parts of the world. For instance, the private sector is particularly active in Asian climate change experiments.…”

“…Likewise, the strong research milieu within the field of solar research was an important precondition for the policy focus on this industry in Berlin (Monstadt 2007). Similarly, in a comparative case study analysis, Carvalho et al (2012) stress the role of local technological and industrial specialisation on the choice between various green urban transport technologies in Curitiba, Gothenburg and…”

“…Coutard and Rutherford 2010). On the other hand, Monstadt (2007Monstadt ( , 2009 argues that the increasing complexity of the governance of sustainability transitions implies that the ability of urban and regional authorities to control these processes are diminishing and that central regulatory functions have been transferred to the national and European policy levels. Further, in the case of England, Smith (2007a) points out that the lack of direct control of the regional energy infrastructure and the absence of sufficient funds at the regional level for initiatives lead to a weak regional autonomy.…”