Assembling urban energy : sociotechnical perspectives on a seawater district heating project

Guy, S; Sherriff, GA; Chmutina, K; Goodier, C

Abstract

This chapter explores the application of assemblage theory to analyse the development of an innovative seawater district heating system near The Hague, in the Netherlands. In doing so, we argue that the story of a stable technological system, moulded and shaped into a final obdurate form by social and political interests is a narrative that conceals as much as it reveals. By following the fluidity of the design and development process that twists and turns as the system emerges and changes shape, the case study highlights the potential contribution of the assemblage perspective and its ability to reveal the complexity and context specificity of sociotechnical system building. In this way, the chapter argues that the relational framing of systems as they are assembled, maintained and disassembled, encourages us to look beyond the naive certainties of best practice policy toward a richer engagement with the practices, politics and places of urban network development.

Citation

Guy, S., Sherriff, G., Chmutina, K., & Goodier, C. (2016). Assembling urban energy : sociotechnical perspectives on a seawater district heating project. In Y. Rydin, & L. Tate (Eds.), Actor networks of planning : exploring the influence of actor network theory. Routledge

• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 8, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 28, 2017
• Publisher: Routledge
• Series Title: Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design
• Book Title: Actor networks of planning : exploring the influence of actor network theory
• ISBN: 9781138886407
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/products/9781138886407
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is the author's accepted manuscript of chapter 9 of Rydin, Y. and Tate, L. eds., 2016. Actor Networks of Planning: Exploring the Influence of Actor Network Theory. Routledge, Taylor & Francis group; Funders : Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)