CALL FOR PAPERS :

Fuming Cities: Imaginaries and Enactments of Energy Transition in Africa’s Urban Age

A Workshop of the “African Network for Ideas on Cities and Energy,” organised by the University of Edinburgh. March 24-5, 2026, Nairobi, Kenya, British Institute in Eastern Africa

CONVENORS

  • Nelson Oppong, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh

  • Mohammad Amir Anwar, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh

  • Pius Siakwah, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.

DESCRIPTION

As African cities navigate the pressures of rapid urbanization and the global imperative for climate action, the pursuit of clean energy has emerged as both a promise and a provocation. Across the continent, efforts to transition toward net-zero carbon growth have illuminated the complex entanglements between energy infrastructures, urban imaginaries, and political contestations. From the public resistance to Ghana’s emissions levy in 2023 to the legal interventions by South African NGOs such as Earth Life, urban spaces have become focal points for negotiating the dilemmas, aspirations, and contradictions of sustainable energy transitions.

This panel invites critical reflections on the intersections of energy and urbanism as a generative entry point into broader debates on climate justice, governance, and socio-technical transformation in Africa. We seek contributions that interrogate how energy – whether fossil-based, renewable, or hybrid – shapes and is shaped by the urban experience: What temporalities and imaginaries are activated by different energy forms? How do they reconfigure the city’s past, present, and future, and what kinds of narratives – of nostalgia, hope, indifference, anxiety, spontaneity, or inclusivity - do they produce across scales? We are equally interested in empirical explorations of how energy infrastructures cohabit and collide within the aesthetic, technological, governance, and socio-economic fabric of African cities: What are the material and symbolic registers through which energy transitions are enacted, contested, and imagined? How do these processes open up or foreclose pathways for inclusive and sustainable urban futures?

We welcome papers that offer innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to these questions, drawing from disciplines such as urban studies, energy humanities, political ecology, geography, anthropology, science and technology studies, development studies, and African Studies. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Histories and futures of urban infrastructure: architecture, transport, and energy systems.

  • Governance and politics of energy transitions in urban contexts. ▪ Mobilities, networks, and innovations shaping urban energy landscapes.

  • Rhetorics and imaginaries of climate action and sustainability.

  • Intersections of energy with race, class, gender, and spatial justice.

  • Methodological innovations in studying energy and urban transformations.

This panel is part of the broader initiative Fuming Cities: African Network for Ideas on Cities and Energy (Africa-NICE), supported by the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Research Collaboration Grant. We are particularly keen on abstracts with strong publication potential and those that engage with interdisciplinary perspectives and creative methodologies.

This special issue aims to bring together innovative research that advances conceptual thinking and empirical understanding across urban, environmental, and regional studies, with particular attention to African contexts and futures-oriented inquiry.

Authors whose proposals are accepted will be invited to develop full papers in coordination with the editorial team, contributing to a cohesive thematic volume that reflects cutting-edge scholarship and interdisciplinary engagement.

Accepted proposals will contribute to a curated collection of papers, which will form basis of the special issue proposal that we aim to submit. We will decide on the journal during the workshop. Some potential names could be:

  • Environment and Urbanization

  • Global Environmental Change.

  • Urban Studies.

LIMITED FUNDING SUPPORT

Thanks to support from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, limited funding is available to support participation by Africa-based scholars. Specifically, the panel will cover the cost of economy-class airfare and three nights of accommodation in Nairobi for three selected participants based in Africa. Applicants who wish to be considered for this support should indicate this clearly in their abstract submission. Only participants with a manuscript in advanced stages of draft will be considered funding.

HOW TO APPLY

We invite submissions that showcase rigorous conceptual framing and meaningful empirical insights. Prospective authors should submit proposals of at least 1500 words, clearly articulating the paper’s central argument, anticipated contributions, and a structured development plan.

Your proposal should include the following components:

  • Introduction: Outline the core argument and the central puzzle your paper addresses.

  • Conceptual Framework and Original Interpretation: Present the theoretical lens and any novel perspectives that inform your analysis.

  • Methodology and Data: Describe the methods used and confirm whether data collection and analysis have already been completed.

  • Empirical Findings and Contributions: Summarize key findings and explain how they advance understanding in the field.

Submit your proposal via this link: https://forms.gle/pz5mFDxjvSNjJPrW6

IMPORTANT DATES:

  • New Deadline for submission: 15th January 2026.

  • Notification of selection: 25th January 2026

If you have any questions related to the conference, please contact the PI Dr Nelson Oppong (nelson.oppong [at] ed.ac.uk )

Download the document here