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Contaminant, Commodity and Fuel: A Multi‐sited Study of Waste's roles in Urban Transformations from Italy to Austria

Behrsin, Ingrid and De Rosa, Salvatore Paolo LU orcid (2020) In International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 44(1). p.90-107
Abstract
This article traces the flow of municipal solid waste from southern Italy through a waste‐to‐energy facility and district heating system in Austria, examining the roles that waste's transformation from contaminant to commodity to fuel plays in interconnected, distributed, and contested urbanization processes. It contends that, while metabolic circulation hides socioecological costs in one place to facilitate valorization in another, specific spatial configurations emerge through territorialization—of waste economies, in this case—providing the spatial base to realize metabolic flows and to anchor political narratives. A decisive effect is that certain patterns of urbanization become locked‐in, impeding alternative metabolic transitions and... (More)
This article traces the flow of municipal solid waste from southern Italy through a waste‐to‐energy facility and district heating system in Austria, examining the roles that waste's transformation from contaminant to commodity to fuel plays in interconnected, distributed, and contested urbanization processes. It contends that, while metabolic circulation hides socioecological costs in one place to facilitate valorization in another, specific spatial configurations emerge through territorialization—of waste economies, in this case—providing the spatial base to realize metabolic flows and to anchor political narratives. A decisive effect is that certain patterns of urbanization become locked‐in, impeding alternative metabolic transitions and spatial configurations. Attending to the coproduction of three sites—Naples, Italy; Zwentendorf, Austria; and St Pölten, Austria—through the circulation and transformation of waste and energy the article provides an empirical multi‐sited case study of a political ecology of urbanization.
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
volume
44
issue
1
pages
90 - 107
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85077897238
ISSN
0309-1317
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3906fc66-0713-4d37-8b6a-1904424e1ab9
date added to LUP
2021-02-19 11:03:48
date last changed
2022-04-19 04:35:27
@article{3906fc66-0713-4d37-8b6a-1904424e1ab9,
  abstract     = {{This article traces the flow of municipal solid waste from southern Italy through a waste‐to‐energy facility and district heating system in Austria, examining the roles that waste's transformation from contaminant to commodity to fuel plays in interconnected, distributed, and contested urbanization processes. It contends that, while metabolic circulation hides socioecological costs in one place to facilitate valorization in another, specific spatial configurations emerge through territorialization—of waste economies, in this case—providing the spatial base to realize metabolic flows and to anchor political narratives. A decisive effect is that certain patterns of urbanization become locked‐in, impeding alternative metabolic transitions and spatial configurations. Attending to the coproduction of three sites—Naples, Italy; Zwentendorf, Austria; and St Pölten, Austria—through the circulation and transformation of waste and energy the article provides an empirical multi‐sited case study of a political ecology of urbanization.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Behrsin, Ingrid and De Rosa, Salvatore Paolo}},
  issn         = {{0309-1317}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{90--107}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Urban and Regional Research}},
  title        = {{Contaminant, Commodity and Fuel: A Multi‐sited Study of Waste's roles in Urban Transformations from Italy to Austria}},
  volume       = {{44}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}