Infrastructures in Practice. The Dynamics of Demand in Networked Societies

Description

Infrastructures in Practice shows how infrastructures and daily life shape each other. Power grids, roads and broadband make modern lifestyles possible – at the same time, their design and day-to-day operation depends on what people do at home and at work. This volume investigates the entanglement of supply and demand. It explains how standards and 'normal' ways of living have changed over time and how infrastructures have changed with them. Studies of grid expansion and disruption, heating systems, the internet, urban planning and office standards, smart meters and demand management reveal this dynamic interdependence. This is the first book to examine the interdependence between infrastructures and the practices of daily life. It offers an analysis of how new technologies, lifestyles and standards become normalised and fall out of use. It brings together diverse disciplines – history, sociology, science studies – to develop social theories and accounts of how infrastructures and practices constitute each other at different scales and over time. It shows how networks and demands are steered and shaped, and how social and political visions are woven into infrastructures, past, present and future. Original, wide-ranging and theoretically informed, this book puts the many practices of daily life back into the study of infrastructures. The result is a fresh understanding of how resource-intensive forms of consumption and energy demand have come about and what is needed to move towards a more sustainable lower carbon future. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Acknowledgements Part I: Evolving infrastructures Chapter 1: Introduction – infrastructures in practice: The evolution of demand in networked societies Conceptualising infrastructures in practice Investigating infrastructures in practice The structure of the book References Chapter 2: Infrastructures, practices and the dynamics of demand Introduction Conceptualising infrastructural configurations Extending infrastructures: transforming practices and increasing demand for resources Adapting or shrinking infrastructures: stabilising practices Reconfiguring infrastructures, appliances and practices Configuring the future? Notes References Part II: Varieties of infrastructures Reference Chapter 3: Wires Introduction High voltage transmission Interior wiring Wiring the future References Chapter 4: Situating electrification: Examples of infrastructure-practice dynamics from Thailand and Laos Introduction Introducing case studies of infrastructure-practice dynamics in Thailand and Laos Infrastructures, appliances and practices The dynamics of supply and demand The politics of provision Discussion and conclusion Note References Chapter 5: Chopping, stacking and burning wood: Rhythms and variations in provision Rhythms of provision and material-practice relations Note References Chapter 6: Self-sufficiency in architectural and urban projects: Toward small-pipe engineering? Autonomous or self-sufficient Making autonomy ‘normal’: Autonomous Housing Program, Cambridge UK, 1971–1979 Autonomous architecture within urban networks Beyond autonomy: linking small and large-scale provision Conclusion References Part III: Standards, planning, adaptation Chapter 7: The office: How standards define ‘normal’ design practices and work infrastructures Introduction Offices and standards Conceptualising the effects of standards on office infrastructures Commercial offices in London Standardising effects Lock in, ratcheting and standardisation Conclusions Notes References Chapter 8: The construction of central heating in Britain Introduction An early but stop-start ‘transition’: the case of Stocksbridge The Parker Morris standards and retrofitting: Stevenage New Town Experiments and responses: experiences and expectations in London Discussion Note References Chapter 9: District heating in Belgrade: The politics of provision Introduction Shaping institutions and practices through territory and technology Shared heating and shared practices Liberalisation: creating autonomy and locating risk Conclusion Notes References Chapter 10: Unleashing the internet: The normalisation of wireless connectivity The growth of Wi-Fi Normalisation junctions Wi-Fi at home: shifting wireless internet assemblies in UK households Conclusion Note References Chapter 11: Making space for the car at home: Planning, priorities and practices Introduction Infrastructure, practices and space Exploring histories of parking space Making space for the car in residential neighbourhoods Conclusion References Part IV: Drawing boundaries and managing networks: State, market and designers Chapter 12: Contentious interfaces: Exploring the junction between collective provision and individual consumption Introduction Independence and interdependence: conceptualising collective provision and individual consumption Plugging-in the electric car Positioning smart meters and in-home displays Connecting and disconnecting Notes References Chapter 13: The French electricity smart meter: Reconfiguring consumers and providers Introduction Creating an informed consumer Keeping the customer at a distance Conclusion Notes References Part V: Steering, managing and disrupting demand Chapter 14: Co-constituting supply and demand: Managing electricity in two neighbouring control rooms Introduction Introducing the two control rooms What happens in the electricity network room? The energy market centre Links between the two control rooms Unbundling electricity markets from networks: political visions How the unbundled electricity infrastructure works in practice Acknowledgments References Chapter 15: Prices as instruments of demand management: Interpreting the signals Introduction Pricing the peaks: reinterpreting the signals Time-of-use tariffs: routine (dis)lodgement Critical peak pricing: occasional disruption Variable pricing without price: critical peak alerts Reinterpreting the signals References Chapter 16: Disruption in and across time Introduction Disruption in time Macro structuring of disruption at different points in time Connections between disruptions across time Connecting the present to the past Conclusion Acknowledgements References Chapter 17: Infrastructures in practice: Implications for the future References Index