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Re-examining historical energy transitions and urban systems in Europe

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Abstract

This contribution questions the implication of energy use in the evolution process of urban systems and examines the role of energy systems, their evolution, socio-economic and technological factors related to them, in differentiations or regularities observed. Then, this evolutionary approach asks about future urban dynamics in an energetic crises context. This analysis is based on historical energy consumption data (Centre for History and Economics, Harvard) and on e-Geopolis database for population of urban areas 10 000 inhabitants and more. The targets are exploration and recognition of the role of energy in urban dynamics, growth and structuration in hierarchies during 200 years.

Introduction

Recent research has focused on the analysis of past energy transitions to better understand their factors and determinants, with a view to drawing lessons for the future transition [6], [11], [14], [15]. If all factors of transition have been widely studied by focusing on the influence of historical and economic contexts, especially the development of prices [1], the demand for energy services and the penetration rate of technological innovations in the markets [5], the evolution of urban systems and urbanization are often presented as an ad hoc consequence without links between these processes and those that drive energy transitions which are clearly determined [29]. This research allows for reconsideration of this question under good methodological conditions. “The relationship between energy use and population is positively correlated” [2], but what are the relationships between the evolution of energy systems and the hierarchical structuring of urban systems in the Europe from 1800 to today (France, England and Wales, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain and Italy)? A city can be seen as a node in a hierarchical network of relations. It is then defined by its relative position in a complex hierarchy of productive, social and territorial functions that are not exercised at the local level but at the network level, regional or national [22], [23]. Our hypothesis is that occupation of space by human activities and intensification of settlement forms can indeed be seen as a consequence of a gradual degradation and increasing energy over time, what Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen described as the production of entropy by a degradation of natural resources, with reference to the laws of thermodynamics [8]. Degradation refers to the irreversible transformation or irreversible use of energy and/or natural resources. Our societies have become dependent on energy inputs that allow continuity, development or expansion of their spatial organizations (expansion of networks and infrastructures, urban growth, urban sprawl, etc.). Energy inputs are essential to urban systems to ensure their existence and sustainability, like all living organisms. To test this hypothesis, we have measured correlations by crossing the historical national data on energy developed by the Center for History and Economics and the Center for the Environment at Harvard University and Cambridge UK,1 and the e-Geopolis population database.2 The evolution of urban systems shows breaks and discontinuities in time and in space. Therefore, this contribution questions the implication of energy use in the evolution process of urban systems and examines the role of energy systems, their evolution, socio-economic and technological factors related to them, in differentiations or regularities observed. Then, this evolutionary approach asks about future urban dynamics in an energetic crises context.

Section snippets

The drivers of energy transitions

The energy transition is a major concern of the twenty-first century policies, but it is however not new. The first modern energy transition occurred by passing a variety of traditional energy carriers3 to fossil fuels [15]. The operating capacity of arable land facing the population growth has placed a limit from which energy sources found themselves in competition, particularly due to the increased transportation

Energy transitions and evolution of urban systems

The energy transitions contribute to spatial differences and heterogeneity of geographical space. The first industrialization marked by coal mining is associated with the phenomena of urbanization and rural exodus that have changed the spatial organizations. Similarly, the second industrialization characterized by the oil operations generated particular urban forms of urban sprawl process by the massive use of automobiles [19]. Show that the occupation of space by human activities and

Conclusion and perspectives

The evolution and the degree of hierarchical structuring of urban systems reflect the evolution of energy systems. Our work confirms the analysis of Helmut Haberl which showed that social systems are increasing in size and complexity proportionally to the increase of the overall energy consumption [12]. Urban systems also follow this dynamic. Our results provide a first support to our hypothesis and the following premise: urban systems are dissipative structures that require a constant supply

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Loïc Grasland for useful proofreading and advice, Alan McCullagh for correcting my English language, and the reviewers for their useful comments.

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