Energy Re-Shift for an Urbanizing World

Cirella, Giuseppe T, Russo, Alessio ORCID: 0000-0002-0073-7243, Benassi, Federico, Czermanski, Ernest, Goncharuk, Anatoliy G. and Oniszczuk-Jastrzabek, Aneta (2021) Energy Re-Shift for an Urbanizing World. Energies, 14. Art 5516. doi:10.3390/en14175516

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Abstract

This essay considers the rural-to-urban transition and correlates it with urban energy demands. Three distinct themes are inspected and interrelated to develop awareness for an urbanizing world: internal urban design and innovation, technical transition, and geopolitical change. Data were collected on the use of energy in cities and, by extension, nation states over the last 30 years. The urban population boom continues to pressure the energy dimension with heavily weighted impacts on less developed regions. Sustainable urban energy will need to reduce resource inputs and environmental impacts and decouple economic growth from energy consumption. Fossil fuels continue to be the preferred method of energy for cities; however, an increased understanding is emerging that sustainable energy forms can be implemented as alternatives. Key to this transition will be the will to invest in renewables (i.e., solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass), efficient infrastructure, and smart eco-city designs. This essay elucidates how the technical transition of energy-friendly technologies focuses on understanding the changes in the energy mix from non-renewable to renewable. Smart electricity storage grids with artificial intelligence can operate internationally and alleviate some geopolitical barriers. Energy politics is shown to be a problematic hurdle with case research examples specific to Central and Eastern Europe. The energy re-shift stressed is a philosophical re-thinking of modern cities as well as a new approach to the human-energy relationship.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NA Architecture N Fine Arts > NA Architecture > NA9000 Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying. S Agriculture > SB Plant culture > SB469 Landscape gardening. Landscape architecture T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Creative Arts
Research Priority Areas:	Place, Environment and Community
Depositing User:	Alessio Russo
Date Deposited:	07 Sep 2021 10:43
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2023 16:03
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/10121

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