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Networked Urban Climate Governance: Neighborhood-Scale Residential Solar Energy Systems and the Example of Solarize Portland

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  • Alex Aylett

    (Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA; and Sustainable Cities International, 210 -?128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver V6B 1G8, BC, Canada)

Abstract

With this paper I investigate the role of civil society groups in speeding the urban adoption of green technologies (in particular, renewable energy systems) by creating economic niches, and catalyzing market transformations. I focus on a qualitative case study of Solarize Portland, a community-managed solar energy program that has transformed the local and regional market for solar energy in Portland, OR. This case study is analyzed through the lens of recent theories of public participation that emphasize the multiplicity and complexity of participatory processes in practice. I conclude that—thanks to their flexibility, risk tolerance, and locally embedded understanding of technological change—civil society groups have the capacity to design and implement significant urban sustainability projects. They achieve this by creating niches within the urban landscape that allow local small and medium-sized enterprises to develop and refine their businesses practices; by coordinating novel partnerships between state, community, and private-level actors; and by grounding technological change in the broader social networks that give them meaning and momentum. These findings speak directly to the way that cities approach the complex sociotechnical transitions involved in reshaping urban infrastructure to respond to the challenge of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Aylett, 2013. "Networked Urban Climate Governance: Neighborhood-Scale Residential Solar Energy Systems and the Example of Solarize Portland," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 31(5), pages 858-875, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:31:y:2013:i:5:p:858-875
    DOI: 10.1068/c11304
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nicolli, Francesco & Vona, Francesco, 2019. "Energy market liberalization and renewable energy policies in OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 853-867.
    2. Jacqueline Hettel Tidwell & Abraham Tidwell & Steffan Nelson, 2018. "Surveying the Solar Power Gap: Assessing the Spatial Distribution of Emerging Photovoltaic Solar Adoption in the State of Georgia, U.S.A," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    3. Brummer, Vasco, 2018. "Community energy – benefits and barriers: A comparative literature review of Community Energy in the UK, Germany and the USA, the benefits it provides for society and the barriers it faces," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 187-196.
    4. O'Shaughnessy, Eric & Nemet, Gregory F. & Pless, Jacquelyn & Margolis, Robert, 2019. "Addressing the soft cost challenge in U.S. small-scale solar PV system pricing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Beau Warbroek & Thomas Hoppe & Frans Coenen & Hans Bressers, 2018. "The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-28, July.

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