This is the first book to explore ways of conceptualizing Germany's ongoing energy transition. Although widely acclaimed in policy and research circles worldwide, the Energiewende is poorly understood in terms of social science scholarship. There is an urgent need to delve beyond descriptive accounts of policy implementation and contestation in order to unpack the deeper issues at play in what has been termed a 'grand societal transformation.' The authors approach this in three ways: First, they select and characterize conceptual approaches suited to interpreting the reordering of institutional arrangements, socio-material configurations, power relations and spatial structures of energy systems in Germany and beyond. Second, they assess the value of these concepts in describing and explaining energy transitions, pinpointing their relative strengths and weaknesses and exploring areas of complementarity and incompatibility. Third, they illustrate how these concepts can be applied - individually and in combination - to enrich empirical research of Germany's energy transition.

Cities can only exist because of the highly developed systems which underlie them, ensuring that energy, clean water, etc. are moved efficiently from producer to user, and that waste is removed. The urgent need to make the way that these services are provided more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable means that these systems are in a state of transition; from centralized to decentralized energy; from passive to smart infrastructure; from toll-free to road pricing. Such transitions are widely studied in the context of the influence of service providers, users, and regulators. Until now, however, relatively little attention has been given to the growing role of intermediaries in these systems. These consist of institutions and organizations acting in-between production and consumption, for example; NGOs who develop green energy labelling schemes in collaboration with producers and regulators to guide the user; consultants who advise businesses on how to save resources; and travel agents who match users with providers. Such intermediaries are in a position to shape the direction that technological transitions take, and ultimately the sustainability of urban networks. This book presents the first authoritative collection of research and analysis of the intermediaries that underpin the transitions that are taking place within urban infrastructures, showing how intermediaries emerge, the role that they play in key sectors - including energy, water, waste and building - and what impact they have on the governance of urban socio-technical networks.

Cities can only exist because of the highly developed systems which underlie them, ensuring that energy, clean water, etc. are moved efficiently from producer to user, and that waste is removed. The urgent need to make the way that these services are provided more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable means that these systems are in a state of transition; from centralized to decentralized energy; from passive to smart infrastructure; from toll-free to road pricing. Such transitions are widely studied in the context of the influence of service providers, users, and regulators.

Until now, however, relatively little attention has been given to the growing role of intermediaries in these systems. These consist of institutions and organizations acting in-between production and consumption, for example; NGOs who develop green energy labelling schemes in collaboration with producers and regulators to guide the user; consultants who advise businesses on how to save resources; and travel agents who match users with providers. Such intermediaries are in a position to shape the direction that technological transitions take, and ultimately the sustainability of urban networks.

This book presents the first authoritative collection of research and analysis of the intermediaries that underpin the transitions that are taking place within urban infrastructures, showing how intermediaries emerge, the role that they play in key sectors - including energy, water, waste and building - and what impact they have on the governance of urban socio-technical networks.

This book addresses the complex institutional dimensions to restoring floodplains. Despite the recent surge of interest in restoring floodplains among policy and research circles, as well as in the public domain, very few schemes for restoring functional floodplains have been put into practice in Europe to date. The book explores the reasons behind this discrepancy between interest and applications with an original, comparative analysis of the institutional drivers and constraints of floodplain restoration in Europe. It explains why so few projects have been successfully implemented, how recent policy shifts are creating new opportunities for floodplain restoration and what lessons for policy development and project management can be drawn from in-depth analysis of past and present schemes. At a time of rapidly growing interest in restoring floodplains as an important component of efforts to improve flood protection, enhance riparian habitats, strengthen catchment management, raise water quality and pursue integrated rural development, the book critically appraises the relationship between macro-level policy development and enforcement and micro-level project design and implementation. The book begins with two chapters setting out the case for floodplain restoration and assessing the relevant drivers and constraints of EU policy. The next three chapters analyse the policy contexts of floodplain restoration in France, Germany and Britain, addressing the principal drivers and constraints in the fields of water management, flood protection, nature conservation, spatial planning and agriculture. This is followed by six case studies of schemes to restore floodplains, divided between early schemes of the mid-1990s (Rheinvorland-Sud on the Upper Rhine, Bourret on the Garonne and the Long Eau project in England) and ongoing schemes of today (Lenzen on the Elbe, La Basse on the Seine and the Parrett Catchment Project). The book concludes by drawing lessons from the principal findings and providing recommendations for ways of developing policy and designing projects for restoring floodplains in the future.

Achieving sustainable energy and resource use is vital if cities are to thrive or even function in the long term. Focusing on cities in the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark, this book examines the mounting pressures for changes in the management style of utility services in Europe, pressures that stem from a wide range of sources such as liberalization and privatization of markets, tighter environmental standards, new economic incentives, competing technologies and changing consumption patterns. The authors show how changes in the management of utility services can contribute to achieving greater sustainability in urban regions. Whilst more efficient technology has a part to play, truly significant improvements in quality of life will be delivered only when the flow of material and energy through cities is focused on the goal of sustainability in each local context.

How do institutions change? What can we learn about possibilities of and barriers to induced institutional changes? Where are potentials for more reflexive and more enduring processes of social learning? Die englischsprachigen Beitrage gehen der Frage nach institutionellem Wandel in lokalen und globalen uweltrelevanten Kontexten nach.

Achieving sustainable energy and resource use is vital if cities are to thrive or even function in the long term. Focusing on cities in the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark, this book examines the mounting pressures for changes in the management style of utility services in Europe, pressures that stem from a wide range of sources such as liberalization and privatization of markets, tighter environmental standards, new economic incentives, competing technologies and changing consumption patterns. The authors show how changes in the management of utility services can contribute to achieving greater sustainability in urban regions. Whilst more efficient technology has a part to play, truly significant improvements in quality of life will be delivered only when the flow of material and energy through cities is focused on the goal of sustainability in each local context.