Energy Re-Shift for an Urbanizing World

Giuseppe T. Cirella, Alessio Russo, Federico Benassi, Ernest Czermański, Anatoliy Goncharuk and Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrzabek
Additional contact information
Alessio Russo: School of Arts, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ, UK
Federico Benassi: Italian National Institute of Statistics, 00144 Rome, Italy
Ernest Czermański: Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland
Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrzabek: Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-22

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.

Keywords: rural-to-urban transition; energy mitigation; urbanization agenda; smart city; energy landscape; urban energy transition; alternative energy technologies; sustainable energy; geopolitical energy change; Central and Eastern Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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