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A new waste and energy nexus? Rethinking the modernisation of waste services in Delhi

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  • Rémi de Bercegol

    (PRODIG, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France)

  • Shankare Gowda

    (Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, India)

Abstract

One important aspect of sustainability involves the flows of materials and energy, extracted, consumed, transformed and disposed of in the functioning of urban societies, which makes it directly linked to the ‘nested’ character of infrastructure that this special issue of Urban Studies on ‘urban nexus’ is keen to address. In particular, the question of urban waste, a sector previously neglected in the field of urban policy, has slowly become a major issue in world urbanisation that can be tackled through its cross-sectorial interactions and its multidimensional effects. Through an analysis of the case of Delhi, this article aims to undertake an exploration of the waste and energy nexus in order to contribute to the current debates on the socio-technical transformations of waste infrastructure and its societal interlinkages. This article studies the effects of waste management policies in Delhi that essentially promote large centralised technical systems such as waste-to-energy plants, which are presented as a ‘modern nexus’ of waste and energy, at the expense of any ‘alternative nexus’ such as the existing traditional recycling sector. Hence, the main objective is not only to question the socio-spatial and political implications of the current reforms of the waste sector but also to discuss the development of other potential decentralised solutions that could complement the overall system in an adapted way.

Suggested Citation

  • Rémi de Bercegol & Shankare Gowda, 2019. "A new waste and energy nexus? Rethinking the modernisation of waste services in Delhi," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(11), pages 2297-2314, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:56:y:2019:i:11:p:2297-2314
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098018770592
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yujiro Hayami & A. K. Dikshit & S. N. Mishra, 2006. "Waste pickers and collectors in Delhi: Poverty and environment in an urban informal sector," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 41-69.
    2. Ashish Chaturvedi & Rachna Arora & Manjeet Singh Saluja, 2015. "Private Sector and Waste Management in Delhi: A Political Economy Perspective," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(3), pages 7-16, May.
    3. Neepa Jani, 2013. "Article 21 Of Constitution Of India And Right To Livelihood," Working papers 2013-9-14, Voice of Research.
    4. D. Asher Ghertner, 2011. "Gentrifying the State, Gentrifying Participation: Elite Governance Programs in Delhi," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 504-532, May.
    5. Kaveri Gill, 2007. "Interlinked contracts and social power: Patronage and exploitation in India's waste recovery market," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(8), pages 1448-1474.
    6. Gill, Kaveri, 2012. "Of Poverty and Plastic: Scavenging and Scrap Trading Entrepreneurs in India's Urban Informal Economy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198085508.
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    Cited by:

    1. Antoine Fontaine & Laurence Rocher, 2024. "Cities looking for waste heat: The dilemmas of energy and industry nexuses in French metropolitan areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(2), pages 254-272, February.
    2. Jochen Monstadt & Olivier Coutard, 2019. "Cities in an era of interfacing infrastructures: Politics and spatialities of the urban nexus," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(11), pages 2191-2206, August.
    3. Antoine Fontaine & Laurence Rocher, 2023. "Cities looking for waste heat: The dilemmas of energy and industry nexuses in French metropolitan areas," Post-Print hal-04156338, HAL.
    4. Daniel Florentin, 2019. "From multi-utility to cross-utilities: The challenges of cross-sectoral entrepreneurial strategies in a German city," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(11), pages 2242-2260, August.

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