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Exergy and the City: The Technology and Sociology of Power (Failure)

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  • Hugh Byrd
  • Steve Matthewman

Abstract

Blackouts--the total loss of electrical power--serve as a reminder of how dependent the modern world and particularly urban areas have become on electricity and the appliances it powers. To understand them we consider the critical nature of electrical infrastructure. In order to provide general patterns from specific cases, a large number of blackouts have been analyzed. Irrespective of cause, they display similar effects. These include measurable economic losses and less easily quantified social costs. We discuss financial damage, food safety, crime, transport, and problems caused by diesel generators. This is more than just a record of past failures; blackouts are dress rehearsals for the future in which they will appear with greater frequency and severity. While energy cannot be destroyed, exergy--the available energy within a system--can be. Exergy is concerned with energy within an "environment;" in this case a city. The bottom line is simple: no matter how "smart" a city may be, it becomes "dumb" when the power goes out.

Suggested Citation

  • Hugh Byrd & Steve Matthewman, 2014. "Exergy and the City: The Technology and Sociology of Power (Failure)," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 85-102, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:cjutxx:v:21:y:2014:i:3:p:85-102
    DOI: 10.1080/10630732.2014.940706
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    Cited by:

    1. Knodt, Michèle & Stöckl, Anna & Steinke, Florian & Pietsch, Martin & Hornung, Gerrit & Stroscher, Jan-Philipp, 2023. "Power blackout: Citizens’ contribution to strengthen urban resilience," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    2. Yu Nie & Mohammad Nasr Esfahani & Yihua Hu & Xinian Li & Mohammed Alkahtani, 2024. "Multi-Port Energy Router in Mobile Energy Storage for Emergency Power Outage in Urban Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Sultana, Beenish & Mustafa, M.W. & Sultana, U. & Bhatti, Abdul Rauf, 2016. "Review on reliability improvement and power loss reduction in distribution system via network reconfiguration," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 297-310.
    4. Ghanem, Dana Abi & Mander, Sarah & Gough, Clair, 2016. "“I think we need to get a better generator”: Household resilience to disruption to power supply during storm events," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 171-180.
    5. Ziyi Wang & Zengqiao Chen & Cuiping Ma & Ronald Wennersten & Qie Sun, 2022. "Nationwide Evaluation of Urban Energy System Resilience in China Using a Comprehensive Index Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-36, February.
    6. Kerianne Lawson, 2022. "Electricity outages and residential fires: Evidence from Cape Town, South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(4), pages 469-485, December.
    7. Sharifi, Ayyoob & Yamagata, Yoshiki, 2016. "Principles and criteria for assessing urban energy resilience: A literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1654-1677.
    8. Yu Nie & Xiaotian Zhang & Yihua Hu & Mohammad Nasr Esfahani, 2024. "Automatic Power Direction Control of Dual Active Bridge/Triple Active Bridge Converter in Emergency Energy Supply for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-18, September.

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