Geographies of energy poverty in Athens in the context of crisis

The proposed project aims to investigate the role of energy poverty in emerging socio-spatial inequalities in the City of Athens, in the context of the current crisis. We aim to shed light on this relatively under-researched topic in Greece by understanding the nexus of energy deprivation and increasing inequalities in urban space. We employ an explicit socio-spatial focus since, from our perspective, space is both a key-factor and a product of social interrelations. In this context, the objectives of the proposed project are: (a) analyzing the emergence of energy poverty and household's coping practices and (b) investigating how energy poverty and socio-spatial inequalities interrelate and reproduce each other in the local context. Our approach goes beyond established dichotomies between deprived and non-deprived places and social groups and intends to unravel the multiplicity of inequalities and energy poverty, mainly through interviews with households in specific neighborhoods in the City of Athens.

This project was evaluated and funded as part of the Foundation’s effort to support research teams with all their members being under 40 years old.