Rethinking Networks in Times of Transition (eBook)

Ecological, Energy and Social Issues

Laure Dobigny, Benoît Robyns (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
433 Seiten
Wiley-Iste (Verlag)
978-1-394-42754-3 (ISBN)

Infos

The contemporary world is characterized by the interweaving of various networks, including biological, ecological, social, technological and energy-related networks. We are constantly engaged in interactions with these networks. In the context of energy and ecological and social transitions, it is essential to examine the positive or negative effects of these interactions. Additionally, it is crucial to explore the influence of the growing role that networks will play and the open or closed futures they will shape.

To address these issues, a multidisciplinary approach is essential, particularly between the technological sciences, humanities and life sciences. Rethinking Networks in Times of Transition analyzes and discusses four major themes: ecological networks in biodiversity and ecological transition; socio-technical changes related to energy networks; how social and controversy networks are transforming lifestyles, representations and modes of action; and finally, how academic networks can play a leading role in the transition

Laure Dobigny is Associate Professor in socio-anthropology of technology at the ETHICS Laboratory (ETH+ research team) at the Universite Catholique de Lille, France.

Benoît Robyns is Deputy Director of Research at JUNIA (Lille), Vice-President for Energy and Societal Transition at Universite Catholique de Lille, and a member of the Power Systems Team at L2EP, France.

Textauszug

Introduction

Our planet and society are governed by networks, whether biological, ecological, related to energy, transportation, climate or technology. We are continually engaged in interactions with these networks. In the context of energy or ecological and societal transitions, it is essential to examine the positive or negative effects of these interactions. Additionally, it is crucial to explore the influence of the growing role that networks will play and the futures they will shape, open or close.

To address these issues, a multidisciplinary approach is essential, particularly between the technological sciences, the humanities and life sciences. This book is organized around four major themes:

• Ecological networks: biodiversity and ecological transition.
• Energy networks: what socio-technical changes for what futures?
• Social and controversy networks: what dynamics are transforming lifestyles, representations and modes of action? Are multiple transitions/transformations at play?
• Networks of universities in transition: role, impact, difficulties, drivers?

Each theme constitutes a part of this book.

Part 1 deals with the ecological networks for biodiversity and ecological transition. Ecosystems are facing global changes, which is a major challenge for our future. These ecosystems have intrinsic dynamics that we need to integrate into the functioning of our society. It is therefore important to adapt our behaviors in order to preserve biodiversity. Ecosystems function through a multitude of connections between living organisms and their environment. Their protection thus requires a heuristic understanding of how these ecological networks work.

The five contributions of this part of the book in various domains and contexts converge around a central question: how can we rethink our relationship with the living world in environments transformed by human activity?

They all plead for a deeper reintegration of the living (human and non-human) into our political, social and spatial models. Only then can we start to move toward a more sustainable world. Each contribution challenges dominant paradigms and calls for human activity to be re-embedded within ecological realities. Whether considering freshwater ecosystems, agricultural landscapes, reforested areas, urban interstitial spaces or university institutions, these contributions reveal the richness and complexity of anthropized ecosystems. They are not only spaces to be restored through technical solution, but are also grounds for experimenting and understanding new forms of coexistence between humans’ activities and the “living” or biodiversity.

First, in Chapter 1, Rossano Bolpagni, from the University of Parma, highlights the crucial role of macrophytes in freshwater ecosystems, emphasizing their importance as key contributors to both ecological functioning and resilience in the face of global pressures such as climate change and biological invasions. He argues that understanding the multifunctionality expressed by macrophytes is essential for any effective strategy aimed at preserving inland aquatic environments.

In Chapter 2, Florian Kletty, from the Catholic University of Lille, reminds us how intensive farming practices in temperate regions have significantly reshaped landscapes and severely impacted biodiversity, affecting ecosystem services and human well-being. In response to these challenges, alternative agricultural models exist, offering more sustainable approaches across multiple scales. This chapter explores both the potential benefits and the practical barriers to implementing such models, advocating for a holistic rethinking of agriculture that prioritizes sustainability.

In Chapter 3, Kevin Cianfaglione, from the Catholic University of Lille, and his co-authors from Università della Tuscia, Università di Camerino and Nottingham Trent University, examine the large-scale reforestation efforts carried out in Italy from the late 19th to the 20th century, which played a key role in restoring ecological and territorial balance in response to growing environmental degradation. Today, these forest formations are at the center of heated debates, caught between ideological criticisms and economic interests. This chapter argues for moving beyond these polarizations by acknowledging the historical, ecological and social significance of these landscapes, and by rethinking their management through a sustainable perspective.

In Chapter 4, Agathe Douchet and Sadia Benamrouz-Vanneste, from the Catholic University of Lille, examine how individuals perceive and use small urban interstices. Focusing on the sociological dimension, the study aims to assess how citizens and municipal staff perceive these urban areas, considering the temporal dynamics of this perception in relation to their level of knowledge about the biodiversity these places host. Despite their limited size, the findings emphasize the significant social importance of these informal green spaces, providing valuable insights for urban planners and green space managers looking to improve the perception and use of these spaces.

Finally, in Chapter 5, Alice Fouillouze, from the Catholic University of Lille, proposes in a rethink of socio-ecological transition strategies that goes beyond techno-solutionist approaches centered solely on CO₂ emissions to a vivo-centric approach. This contribution defends a model based on reducing unnecessary activities and reconnecting with life, within a paradigm of strong sustainability. The university is seen as a place to experiment with this transition by changing the way it operates, teaches and conducts research. The author advocates a model that calls for action and commitment, while at the same time being ethical, systemic and humanist.

Together, these contributions call for a holistic and transdisciplinary approach to the socio-ecological transition of our human-modified ecosystems, as a necessary condition for building a sustainable world.

Part 2 deals with the energy networks. What socio-technical changes for what futures? The objective of this part is to question, from a transdisciplinary perspective, the evolution and futures of energy networks. Through the increase in local renewable energy production, legislative changes (e.g. energy communities), the growing electrification of consumption (e.g. electric vehicles) and new technological possibilities (smart grids), these networks are moving toward decentralization, with increasing involvement of all stakeholders to enable more flexibility in both production and consumption. These changes cannot occur without considering the role of the user in these networks and the interactions between them. Indeed, by initiating long-term developments, these networks contribute to the (re)construction of social and spatial relationships as well as the representations related to energy. In particular, it is examined how these networks influence choices between alternatives, thus contributing to shaping possible futures.

In order to address both the technical and social challenges of the energy transition, the development of transdisciplinary approaches and indicators is therefore fundamental to make the transition sustainable both environmentally and socially, and to chart directions for the future of these networks.

In Chapter 6, Lucas Lopez, from Bordeaux Montaigne University, discusses the fact that electricity transmission networks are the keystone of neo-electrification and are at the crossroads of multiple issues, including nuclear electricity production and conflicting European and French energy policies.

In order to reconcile the power grid with a form of human scale that allows us to think collectively about sufficiency, Jonathan Coignard, from Grenoble Alpes University, questions the size of power grids in Chapter 7. He highlights the relevance and lessons to be learned from scale issues outside of the strict domain of power grids. Then, the concept of scale is defined specifically for the power grid. The implications of changing scales in the different dimensions of a power system are analyzed. Several research avenues are explored to imagine what a human-scale power grid might look like.

In Chapter 8, Baptiste Beguinet, from INSA Lyon, analyzes the characteristics and role of user networks in the appropriation of self-built complex technologies, using wind turbines manufactured locally in France as a case study. This characterizes French users constituting a network of people engaged in the manufacture of self-built wind turbines, by creating a typology with four profiles. Then, he underlines the core role of the network in the appropriation, through three key moments of a small wind turbine of the Piggott-type life cycle. Particular attention is given to the common representations of users and how new practices emerge, interwoven with the technology and infrastructure specific to the Piggott wind turbine.

Self-production and self-consumption are becoming more common in renewable energy use. In Chapter 9, Jessica Zaphiropoulo, from Grenoble Alpes University, considers collective self-consumption (CSC) and its local limits from a socio-technical approach to energy flexibility. She examines the challenges posed at a transcalar level by renewable energy in order to grasp the flexibility script embedded in the CSC framework. Then, two CSC projects are presented to understand how limits of renewable energy are “scripted” in the relation between demand and supply, giving a specific sense of local flexibility for each...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.12.2025
• Reihe/Serie: ISTE Invoiced
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Elektrotechnik / Energietechnik
• Schlagworte: biodiversity • Ecological transition • ecological transitions • Energy transitions • Networks • social transitions
• ISBN-10: 1-394-42754-9 / 1394427549
• ISBN-13: 978-1-394-42754-3 / 9781394427543