IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/enp/wpaper/eprg2030.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A deep-narrative analysis of energy cultures in slum rehabilitation housing of Abuja, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro for just policy design

Author

Listed:
  • Ramit Debnath

    (EPRG, CJBS, University of Cambridge)

  • Ronita Bardhan

    (Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge)

  • Sarah Darby

    (University of Oxford)

  • Kamiar Mohaddes

    (EPRG, CJBS, University of Cambridge)

  • Minna Sunikka-Blank

    (Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge)

Abstract

Slum rehabilitation housing (SRH) are critical transitional spaces in urban informality that has deep-rooted implications on poverty alleviation efforts. However, current literature reports systemic injustices in SRH on access to essential services, including energy injustices. This study investigated distributive injustices in the SRH across three cities, Abuja, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro, developing ‘energy cultures’ narratives. It employed a computational social science methodology that used textual analysis, followed by a constructivist grounded theoretic approach to inform just policy design. The analysis was performed at two scales to identify and contrast injustices in the study areas. The result at an aggregated scale showed commonalities were around the poor design of the built environment, administrative lags of the utilities and high electricity bills. Case study-specific results showed that poverty penalties were linked with the energy cultures of each SRHs. In the Mumbai case, poverty penalties were associated with the aspirational purchase of household appliances due to move from slums to SRH. The Abuja case showed low power quality and load shedding frequently damaged appliances that increase the maintenance costs for the occupants. The Rio de Janeiro SRH case had injustices embedded through the adoption of inefficient appliances received as charity from higher-income households. Fuel stacking was also observed in the SRH that illustrated cultural identities associated with cooking energy. The conclusion was drawn to support just policy design by considering the socio-cultural context of the built environment, improving utility governance and promoting cleaner fuel mix at the household level.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Ramit Debnath & Ronita Bardhan & Sarah Darby & Kamiar Mohaddes & Minna Sunikka-Blank, 2020. "A deep-narrative analysis of energy cultures in slum rehabilitation housing of Abuja, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro for just policy design," Working Papers EPRG2030, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg2030
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/eprg-wp2030.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Debnath, Ramit & Bardhan, Ronita & Sunikka-Blank, Minna, 2019. "How does slum rehabilitation influence appliance ownership? A structural model of non-income drivers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 418-428.
    2. Ramit Debnath & Sarah Darby & Ronita Bardhan & Kamiar Mohaddes & Minna Sunikka-Blank, 2020. "Grounded reality meets machine learning: A deep-narrative analysis framework for energy policy research," Working Papers EPRG2019, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    3. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2011. "Conceptualizing urban household energy use: Climbing the "Energy Services Ladder"," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1659-1668, March.
    4. Day, Rosie & Walker, Gordon & Simcock, Neil, 2016. "Conceptualising energy use and energy poverty using a capabilities framework," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 255-264.
    5. Ramit Debnath & Gianna Monteiro Farias Simoes & Ronita Bardhan & Solange Maria Leder & Roberto Lamberts & Minna Sunikka-Blank, 2020. "Energy Justice in Slum Rehabilitation Housing: An Empirical Exploration of Built Environment Effects on Socio-Cultural Energy Demand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-27, April.
    6. Samarakoon, Shanil, 2019. "A justice and wellbeing centered framework for analysing energy poverty in the Global South," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Brand-Correa, Lina I. & Steinberger, Julia K., 2017. "A Framework for Decoupling Human Need Satisfaction From Energy Use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 43-52.
    8. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Dworkin, Michael H., 2015. "Energy justice: Conceptual insights and practical applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 435-444.
    9. Stephenson, Janet & Barton, Barry & Carrington, Gerry & Gnoth, Daniel & Lawson, Rob & Thorsnes, Paul, 2010. "Energy cultures: A framework for understanding energy behaviours," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 6120-6129, October.
    10. Ramit Debnath & Ronita Bardhan, 2020. "India nudges to contain COVID-19 pandemic: A reactive public policy analysis using machine-learning based topic modelling," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, September.
    11. Bartiaux, Françoise & Vandeschrick, Christophe & Moezzi, Mithra & Frogneux, Nathalie, 2018. "Energy justice, unequal access to affordable warmth, and capability deprivation: A quantitative analysis for Belgium," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 1219-1233.
    12. Grover, David & Daniels, Benjamin, 2017. "Social equity issues in the distribution of feed-in tariff policy benefits: A cross sectional analysis from England and Wales using spatial census and policy data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 255-265.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muza, Olivia & Debnath, Ramit, 2021. "Disruptive innovation for inclusive renewable policy in sub-Saharan Africa: A social shaping of technology analysis of appliance uptake in Rwanda," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 896-912.
    2. Ramit Debnath & Gianna Monteiro Farias Simoes & Ronita Bardhan & Solange Maria Leder & Roberto Lamberts & Minna Sunikka-Blank, 2020. "Energy Justice in Slum Rehabilitation Housing: An Empirical Exploration of Built Environment Effects on Socio-Cultural Energy Demand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-27, April.
    3. Debnath, R. & Darby, S. & Bardhan, R. & Mohaddes, K. & Sunikka-Blank, M., 2020. "Grounded reality meets machine learning: A deep-narrative analysis framework for energy policy research," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2062, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    4. Noelle Greenwood & Peter Warren, 2022. "The role of climate finance beyond renewables: Behavioural insights," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(8), pages 1570-1586, November.
    5. Igawa, Moegi & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "Energy poverty and income inequality: An economic analysis of 37 countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    6. Pilar Murias & Beatriz Valcárcel-Aguiar & Rosa María Regueiro-Ferreira, 2020. "A Territorial Estimate for Household Energy Vulnerability: An Application for Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-21, July.
    7. Gordon, Joel A. & Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Nabavi, Seyed Ali, 2022. "Beyond the triangle of renewable energy acceptance: The five dimensions of domestic hydrogen acceptance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    8. Okushima, Shinichiro, 2024. "Measuring energy sufficiency: A state of being neither in energy poverty nor energy extravagance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 354(PA).
    9. Wu, Rongxin & Lin, Boqiang, 2021. "Does industrial agglomeration improve effective energy service: An empirical study of China’s iron and steel industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    10. Okushima, Shinichiro, 2021. "Energy poor need more energy, but do they need more carbon? Evaluation of people's basic carbon needs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    11. Tarasova, Ekaterina & Rohracher, Harald, 2023. "Marginalising household users in smart grids," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    12. Koďousková, Hedvika & Bořuta, Dominik, 2022. "Energy poverty in Slovakia: Officially defined, but misrepresented in major policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    13. Van Uffelen, N. & Taebi, B. & Pesch, Udo, 2024. "Revisiting the energy justice framework: Doing justice to normative uncertainties," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).
    14. Fortier, Marie-Odile P. & Teron, Lemir & Reames, Tony G. & Munardy, Dynta Trishana & Sullivan, Breck M., 2019. "Introduction to evaluating energy justice across the life cycle: A social life cycle assessment approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 211-219.
    15. Brand-Correa, Lina I. & Steinberger, Julia K., 2017. "A Framework for Decoupling Human Need Satisfaction From Energy Use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 43-52.
    16. Shan Zhou & Douglas S. Noonan, 2019. "Justice Implications of Clean Energy Policies and Programs in the United States: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, February.
    17. Ana Escoto Castillo & Landy Sánchez Peña, 2017. "Diffusion of Electricity Consumption Practices in Mexico," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-24, November.
    18. Feenstra, Mariëlle & Özerol, Gül, 2021. "Energy justice as a search light for gender-energy nexus: Towards a conceptual framework," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    19. Wang, Shangrui & Cao, Anran & Wang, Guohua & Xiao, Yiming, 2022. "The Impact of energy poverty on the digital divide: The mediating effect of depression and Internet perception," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Inseok Seo & Youhyun Lee, 2024. "Identifying typologies of synthetic energy justice: Eco-centric and anthropocentric perspectives," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(6), pages 3297-3315, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    energy justce; poverty; computational social science; policy design; machine learning; textual analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg2030. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ruth Newman (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/jicamuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.