Negotiating the urban smart grid: Socio-technical experimentation in the city of Austin

Urban Studies

Volumn 53, Issue 15, 2016, Pages 3246-3263

  McLean, Anthony ^a   Bulkeley, Harriet ^b   Crang, Mike ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD   (United Kingdom)

^b DURHAM UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

energy futures; experiment; infrastructures; smart city; smart grid; socio technical; transition; urban

Indexed keywords

CARBON EMISSION; ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; EMISSION CONTROL; EMISSIONS TRADING; ENERGY PLANNING; ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS; INVESTMENT; RESOURCE USE; SMART CITY; SMART GRID;

AUSTIN; TEXAS; UNITED STATES;

CARYA ILLINOINENSIS;

EID: 84991730488     PISSN: 00420980     EISSN: 1360063X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0042098015612984     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. Andrejevic M, (2005) Nothing comes between me and my CPU: Smart clothes and ‘ubiquitous’ computing. Theory, Culture & Society 22(3): 101–119.
2. Behr P, (2010) Is Texas writing the book on wind power. The New York Times, 8 April 2010. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/04/08/08climatewire-is-texas-writing-the-book-on-wind-power-35036.html?pagewanted=all.
3. Berkhout F, Smith A, Stirling A, (2004) Socio-technical regimes and transition contexts. In: Elzen B, Geels FW, Green K, (eds) System Innovation and the Transition to Sustainability: Theory, Evidence and Policy. Cheltenham, Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar, pp. 48–75.
4. Blok A, (2013) Urban green assemblages. Science & Technology Studies 26(1): 5–24.
5. Broto VC, Bulkeley H, (2013) Maintaining climate change experiments: Urban political ecology and the everyday reconfiguration of urban infrastructure. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 37(6): 1934–1948.
6. Bulkeley H, (2005) Reconfiguring environmental governance: Towards a politics of scales and networks. Political geography 24(8): 875–902.
7. Bulkeley H, Castán Broto V, (2013) Government by experiment? Global cities and the governing of climate change. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 38(3): 361–375.
8. Bulkeley H, Castán Broto V, Hodson M. (2011) Cities and Low Carbon Transitions. Abingdon; New York, NY: Routledge.
9. Cardenas JA, Gemoets L, Ablanedo Rosas JH. (2014) A literature survey on Smart Grid distribution: An analytical approach. Journal of Cleaner Production 65: 202–216.
10. Copelin L, (2012) Pecan Street’s aim: Create path for consumers into smart grid’s future. Austin American Statesman, 22 January 2012. Available at: http://www.statesman.com/news/technology/pecan-streets-aim-create-path-for-consumers-into-s/nRjt7/.
11. Coutard O, Rutherford J, (2011) The rise of post-networked cities in Europe? Recombining infrastructural, ecological and urban transformations in low carbon transitions. In: Bulkeley H, Castán Broto V, Hodson M, (eds) Cities and Low Carbon Transitions. Abingdon, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 107–126.
12. Covrig CF, Ardelean M, Vasiljevska J. (2014) Smart Grid Projects Outlook 2014. Science and Policy Report by the Joint Research Centre. Luxembourg: European Commission.
13. Crang M, Crosbie T, Graham S, (2006) Variable geometries of connection: Urban digital divides and the uses of information technology. Urban Studies 43(13): 2551–2570.
14. Crang M, Crosbie T, Graham S, (2007) Technology, timespace and the remediation of neighbourhood life. Environment and planning A 39(10): 2405–2422.
15. Dooling S, (2009) Ecological gentrification: A research agenda exploring justice in the city. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 33(3): 621–639.
16. Ernstson H, van der Leeuw SE, Redman CL. (2010) Urban transitions: On urban resilience and human-dominated ecosystems. Ambio 39(8): 531–545.
17. Evans J, Karvonen A, (2011) Living laboratories for sustainability: Exploring the politics and epistemology of urban transition. In: Bulkeley H, Castán Broto V, Hodson M. (eds) Cities and Low Carbon Transitions. Abingdon, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 126–141.
18. Evans J, Karvonen A, (2014) ‘Give me a laboratory and I will lower your carbon footprint!’ – Urban laboratories and the governance of low-carbon futures. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38(2): 413–430.
19. Evans JP, (2011) Resilience, ecology and adaptation in the experimental city. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 36(2): 223–237.
20. Falconer G, Mitchell S, (2012) Smart City Framework: A Systematic Process for Enabling Smart+Connected Communities. Cisco. Available at: https://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/ps/motm/Smart-City-Framework.pdf.
21. Geels FW, (2002) Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: A multi-level perspective and a case-study. Research Policy 31(8–9): 1257–1274.
22. Geels FW, (2004) From sectoral systems of innovation to socio-technical systems: Insights about dynamics and change from sociology and institutional theory. Research Policy 33(6–7): 897–920.
23. Geels FW, Kemp R, (2007) Dynamics in socio-technical systems: Typology of change processes and contrasting case studies. Technology in Society 29(4): 441–455.
24. Graham S, (2002) Bridging urban digital divides? Urban polarisation and information and communications technologies (ICTs). Urban Studies 39(1): 33–56.
25. Graham S, Marvin S, (2001) Splintering Urbanism: Networked Infrastructures, Technological Mobilities and the Urban Condition. London: Routledge.
26. Harrison C, Donnelly IA, (2011) A Theory of Smart Cities. Proceedings of the 55th Annual Meeting of the ISSS, 17–22 July 2011, Hull, UK. Volume 55(1).
27. Hodson M, Marvin S, (2007) Cities mediating technological transitions: The adaptability of infrastructure and infrastructures of adaptability. In: Geyer HS, (ed.) International Handbook of Urban Policy. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, pp. 240–258.
28. Hodson M, Marvin S, (2009a) Cities mediating technological transitions: Understanding visions, intermediation and consequences. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 21(4): 515–534.
29. Hodson M, Marvin S, (2009b) ‘Urban ecological security’: A new urban paradigm? International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 33(1): 193–215.
30. Hodson M, Marvin S, (2010) Can cities shape socio-technical transitions and how would we know if they were? Research Policy 39(4): 477–485.
31. Hollands RG, (2008) Will the real smart city please stand up? City 12(3): 303–320.
32. Hughes TP, (1987) The evolution of large technical systems. In: Bijker W, Hughes TP, Pinch T, (eds) The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Direction in the Sociology and History of Technology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 51–82.
33. IBM (2012) About the Smarter Cities Challenge. Available at: http://smartercitieschallenge.org/about.html.
34. Karvonen A, van Heur B, (2014) Urban laboratories: Experiments in reworking cities. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38(2): 379–392.
35. Laidley J, (2007) The ecosystem approach and the global imperative on Toronto’s Central Waterfront. Cities 24(4): 259–272.
36. Lewis P, (2013) Smart Grid 2013 Global Impact Report. San Francisco, CA: VassaETT.
37. Lianos M, (2000) Dangerization and the end of deviance: The institutional environment. British Journal of Criminology 40(2): 261–278.
38. Markard J, Raven R, Truffer B, (2012) Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects. Research Policy 41(6): 955–967.
39. Microsoft (2014) Microsoft CityNext. Available at: http://www.microsoft.com/government/ww/public-services/city-next/Pages/about.aspx.
40. Neirotti P, De Marco A, Cagliano AC. (2014) Current trends in Smart City initiatives: Some stylised facts. Cities 38: 25–36.
41. Nepal R, Jamasb T, (2013) Security of European electricity systems: Conceptualizing the assessment criteria and core indicators. International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection 6(3–4): 182–196.
42. Pecan Street Inc. (2010) Working Group Recommendations, Austin, Texas. Available at: http://www.pecanstreet.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Pecan_Final_Report_March_2010.pdf
43. Pecan Street Inc. (2011) Pecan Street Project Issues Call for Proposals Focused on Customers, Home Systems. Available at: http://www.pecanstreet.org/2011/02/pecan-street-project-issues-call-for-proposals-focused-on-customers-home-systems/.
44. Planet Forward (2012) A Few Smart Ideas to Clean Up and Re-energize Cities. Available at: http://planetforward.org/2012/02/06/a-few-smart-ideas-to-clean-up-and-re-energize-cities/?rel=viewprofile&uid=448.
45. Rohracher H, Späth P, (2014) The interplay of urban energy policy and socio-technical transitions: The eco-cities of Graz and Freiburg in retrospect. Urban Studies 51(7): 1415–1431.
46. Siano P, (2014) Demand response and smart grids – A survey. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 30: 461–478.
47. Smilor RW, Gibson DV, Kozmetsky G, (1989) Creating the technopolis: High-technology development in Austin, Texas. Journal of Business Venturing 4(1): 49–67.
48. Smith A, Stirling A, Berkhout F, (2005) The governance of sustainable socio-technical transitions. Research Policy 34(10): 1491–1510.
49. Swearingen WS, (2010) Environmental City: People, Place, Politics, and the Meaning of Modern Austin. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
50. US Census Bureau (2013) 2009–2013 5-Year American Community Survey, Selected Economic Characteristics. Data derived from: http://www.census.gov/
51. Vanolo A, (2014) Smartmentality: The smart city as disciplinary strategy. Urban Studies 51(5): 883–898.
52. Verbong GPJ, Beemsterboer S, Sengers F, (2013) Smart grids or smart users? Involving users in developing a low carbon electricity economy. Energy Policy 52: 117–125.
53. Viitanen JKR, (2013) Smart cities and green growth: Outsourcing democratic and environmental resilience to the global technology sector. Environment and Planning A 46(4): 803–819.
54. While A, Jonas AEG, Gibbs D, (2004) The environment and the entrepreneurial city: Searching for the urban ‘sustainability fix’ in Manchester and Leeds. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 28(3): 549–569.
55. While A, Jonas AEG, Gibbs D, (2010) From sustainable development to carbon control: Eco-state restructuring and the politics of urban and regional development. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 35(1): 76–93.
56. Whitmarsh L, (2012) How useful is the multi-level perspective for transport and sustainability research? Journal of Transport Geography 24: 483–487.