Krzywoszynska, A., Buckley, A., Birch, H. et al. (5 more authors) (2016) Co-producing energy futures: impacts of participatory modelling. Building Research and Information, 44 (7). pp. 804-815. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
This transdisciplinary research case study sought to disrupt the usual ways public participation shapes future energy systems. An interdisciplinary group of academics and a self-assembling public of a North English town co-produced ‘bottom-up’ visions for a future local energy system by emphasizing local values, aspirations and desires around energy futures. The effects of participatory modelling are considered as part of a community visioning process on participants’ social learning and social capital. This paper examines both the within-process dynamics related to models and the impact of the outside process, political use of the models by the participants. Both a numerical model (to explore local electricity generation and demand) and a physical scale model of the town were developed to explore various aspects of participants’ visions. The case study shows that collaborative visioning of local energy systems can enhance social learning and social capital of communities. However, the effect of participatory modelling on these benefits is less clear. Tensions arise between ‘inspiring’ and ‘empowering’ role of visions. It is argued that the situatedness of the visioning processes needs to be recognized and integrated within broader aspects of governance and power relations.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | agency; built environment; cooperation; co-production; energy model; renewable energy; resilience; social capital |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL (EPSRC) EP/I032541/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 Aug 2016 11:08 |
Last Modified: | 13 Dec 2016 09:29 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2016.1211838 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/09613218.2016.1211838 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:103192 |