Le compteur d’électricité aux favelas : l’espace public entre normes et défiance

International audiencePerçue comme un « problème urbain », la favela fait historiquement l'objet d'un processus de différenciation socio-politique du reste de la ville qui repose simultanément sur la non-conformité aux normes relatives à la production physico-spatiale de l'habitat, sur l'irrégularité du statut foncier et sur des représentations sociales stigmatisantes qui contribuent à perpétuer de véritables « dogmes » à leur égard (Valladares, 2006). Les réseaux techniques urbains participent doublement de la définition de ce processus de différenciation. En même temps que la précarité visible des réseaux urbains est un élément de définition de cette catégorie de quartier ou de forme urbain(e) 1 , les pratiques des branchements clandestins participent de surcroît à la construction d'un processus d'étiquetage (Becker, 1 L'IBGE, l'institut brésilien de géographie et statistique définit les favelas comme des agglomérats « hors normes » (aglomerados subnormais) constitués d'un minimum de 51 habitations caractérisées par l'absence de titre de propriété et ayant l'une des caractéristiques suivantes : irrégularité du tracé urbanistique et/ou précarité des services publics essentiels (collecte de déchets, eau et assainissement, électricité et éclairage public)

O tecido tecno-político do Rio de Janeiro: reflexões sobre a infraestrutura de eletricidade

Taking infrastructural changes in favelas as a starting point, this article investigates how the electricity infrastructure contributes to understanding the production of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It builds on the “infrastructural turnaround” in urban studies, and on the notion of techno-politics to bring a new perspective to the role of urban infrastructures in mediating everyday life, in shaping the form of the city - both materially and symbolically - and in managing differences and urban inequalities. In particular, the article sets out three different ways by which electricity infrastructures contribute to the urban fabric of Rio de Janeiro: 1) the reordering of urban space; 2) urban fragmentation; and 3) everyday practices. Through this analysis, the article seeks to investigate the relationship between infrastructure and urban fabric by considering the technological, material, and symbolic aspects of infrastructures that shape space and everyday practices.Tomando a mudança infraestrutural nas favelas como ponto de partida, este artigo investiga como a infraestrutura elétrica contribui para o entendimento da produção da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Baseia-se na “virada infraestrutural” nos estudos urbanos e na noção de tecnopolítica para trazer uma nova perspectiva para o papel das infraestruturas urbanas na mediação da vida cotidiana, na formação da forma da cidade - tanto material quanto simbolicamente - e na gestão da diferença e das desigualdades urbanas. Em particular, o artigo expõe três formas diferentes pelas quais as infraestruturas elétricas contribuem para a produção o tecido urbano do Rio de Janeiro: 1) reordenamento do espaço urbano; 2) fragmentação urbana; e 3) práticas cotidianas. Por meio dessa análise, o artigo busca investigar a relação entre infraestrutura e tecido urbano, considerando os aspectos tecnológicos, materiais e simbólicos das infraestruturas que configuram o espaço e as práticas cotidianas

The techno-political fabric of Rio de Janeiro: insights from electricity infrastructure

Taking infrastructural changes in favelas as a starting point, this article investigates how the electricity infrastructure contributes to understanding the production of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It builds on the “infrastructural turnaround” in urban studies, and on the notion of techno-politics to bring a new perspective to the role of urban infrastructures in mediating everyday life, in shaping the form of the city - both materially and symbolically - and in managing differences and urban inequalities. In particular, the article sets out three different ways by which electricity infrastructures contribute to the urban fabric of Rio de Janeiro: 1) the reordering of urban space; 2) urban fragmentation; and 3) everyday practices. Through this analysis, the article seeks to investigate the relationship between infrastructure and urban fabric by considering the technological, material, and symbolic aspects of infrastructures that shape space and everyday practices

Infrastructural Heterogeneity: Energy Transition, Power Relations and Solidarity in Kingston, Jamaica

In cities of the Global South, socio-technical heterogeneity in electricity provision is a reality that has partially shifted debates to the diversity of arrangements beyond the grid. Building on the case of Kingston in Jamaica, this article focuses on the relationship between the grid and such heterogeneous configurations and considers how heterogeneity transforms existing power relations. By analyzing the different strategies that actors (the government, the electricity provider, different types of consumers) have developed to address different challenges (energy transition, non-technical losses, affordability, etc.), the article shows how this heterogeneity entails a political process that reshapes possibilities and constraints for governing, and being governed by, the electricity grid. This analysis suggests taking solidarity as a central dimension when considering how to govern heterogeneous configurations, including the relationships between consumers, types of socio-technical systems and neighborhoods

Security planning, citizenship, and the political temporalities of electricity infrastructure

Urban infrastructures are now widely viewed as eminently political socio-technical systems that can govern cities and reorder urban space, but their temporal dimension has only recently been considered as central to this political work. By exploring the transformations of electricity infrastructures in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas over the past ten years (2009-2020), this article examines how infrastructural change is governed through multiple temporal processes. It considers how different urban infrastructure development-related temporal aspects and experiences (simultaneity, speeds, progressivity, and waiting) are connected to the temporality of planning, urban intervention, security, and infrastructure-related rights. Through this analysis, the article aims to theoretically expand our understanding of infrastructures as technologies of government, and to unpack the relationship between planning, infrastructures, and citizenship, beyond the state; a relationship that is not only spatially framed but also temporally governed and experienced

O tecido tecno-político do Rio de Janeiro: reflexões sobre a infraestrutura de eletricidade

RESUMO Tomando a mudança infraestrutural nas favelas como ponto de partida, este artigo investiga como a infraestrutura elétrica contribui para o entendimento da produção da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Baseia-se na “virada infraestrutural” nos estudos urbanos e na noção de tecnopolítica para trazer uma nova perspectiva para o papel das infraestruturas urbanas na mediação da vida cotidiana, na formação da forma da cidade - tanto material quanto simbolicamente - e na gestão da diferença e das desigualdades urbanas. Em particular, o artigo expõe três formas diferentes pelas quais as infraestruturas elétricas contribuem para a produção o tecido urbano do Rio de Janeiro: 1) reordenamento do espaço urbano; 2) fragmentação urbana; e 3) práticas cotidianas. Por meio dessa análise, o artigo busca investigar a relação entre infraestrutura e tecido urbano, considerando os aspectos tecnológicos, materiais e simbólicos das infraestruturas que configuram o espaço e as práticas cotidianas

The techno-political fabric of Rio de Janeiro: insights from electricity infrastructure

Taking infrastructural changes in favelas as a starting point, this article investigates how the electricity infrastructure contributes to understanding the production of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It builds on the “infrastructural turnaround” in urban studies, and on the notion of techno-politics to bring a new perspective to the role of urban infrastructures in mediating everyday life, in shaping the form of the city - both materially and symbolically - and in managing differences and urban inequalities. In particular, the article sets out three different ways by which electricity infrastructures contribute to the urban fabric of Rio de Janeiro: 1) the reordering of urban space; 2) urban fragmentation; and 3) everyday practices. Through this analysis, the article seeks to investigate the relationship between infrastructure and urban fabric by considering the technological, material, and symbolic aspects of infrastructures that shape space and everyday practices

Security technology, urban prototyping, and the politics of failure

In response to broader political and corporate tendencies towards ‘techno-solutionism’, critical studies of security technology highlight the threat that security technologies pose to civil rights and democratic accountability. This article argues for a slightly different perspective: rather than taking claims of technological efficacy at face value, it explores the multiple ways in which security-related technology so frequently fails to deliver its – confidently anticipated or feared – effects. A focus on sociotechnical failure can offer more comprehensive, on-the-ground understanding of the technopolitics of security. We suggest that these politics may lie precisely in the blurring of concepts of failure and success, as ‘prototyping’ and experimentation become an increasingly powerful logic of urban governance. This argument is developed through an analysis of security interventions in Jamaica, a context characterized by high levels of violent crime. The article focuses on three technologies that have been adapted to security-related purposes: a communication channel connecting police and private security guards, a public–private CCTV network, and a smart electricity grid. Drawing on approaches from science and technology studies, the article adopts a process-oriented approach, attending to both the discourses surrounding the introduction of these technologies and their everyday interactions with their social and built environments

Co-producing maintenance and repair: Hybrid labor relations in water supply in Accra, Ghana

Access to water supply is still a problem in African cities. This has sparked discussions about how small-scale private actors could collaborate with the state to improve water supply. However, scholarly discussions on water supply have hardly examined the role of such actors in maintenance and repair. This paper shows how water infrastructures are maintained and repaired through hybrid labor relations between private and public actors where formal and informal practices are combined. These findings allow us to shift conceptualization in maintenance and repair beyond the state and explain how private actors enact and challenge the state’s power through maintenance and repair practices

Urban electricity governance and the (re)production of heterogeneous electricity constellations in Dar es Salaam

Background: Electricity infrastructures in sub-Saharan African cities are characterized by heterogeneous socio-technical constellations, including alternative grid access channels and off-grid systems. These constellations secure access beyond conventional grids but also produce adverse social, environmental, and economic outcomes affecting sustainable energy transition efforts. In fact, interventions aiming to promote energy transitions may be restricted by institutional mechanisms that produce and maintain these heterogeneous constellations. This article explores these institutional mechanisms by focusing on the governance of heterogeneous electricity constellations in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It develops a novel framework on governance modalities to understand and explain the logics, mechanisms, and actors that govern different constellations across diverse neighborhoods as well as to unpack how they limit the potential of sustainable energy transitions and offer specific opportunities for them. Results: This article is based on a qualitative case study covering three diverse neighborhood types in Dar es Salaam (i.e., low-income, peri-urban, and affluent areas) that reflect heterogeneous user demands. The research draws on interviews with residents and community leaders to understand local modes of coordination, the participatory observation of technical features and user practices, as well as document sources and semi-structured expert interviews to analyze institutional aspects. Our study demonstrates that heterogeneous electricity constellations in Dar es Salaam are governed by the place-based interplay of four governance modalities: hierarchical, market-based, network-based, and managerial governance. Based on this conceptualization, we identified critical barriers for interventions toward urban energy transitions in the context of infrastructural heterogeneity, namely, conflicting logics that shape conventional grid services, complex and fragmented actor constellations, and diverging, place-based interests among various actors, including different state actors. Conclusions: Our study indicates that heterogeneous urban infrastructure constellations are not merely a response to the considerable socio-spatial inequalities within Southern cities. Rather, their prevailing importance and (re)production must be understood as resulting from the interplay of various governance modalities. The study contributes to debates on urban energy transitions in sub-Sahara Africa by explaining the institutional complexity associated with infrastructural heterogeneity, which can restrict interventions aiming to improve and universalize service provision through heterogeneous urban electricity constellations