Providing Sustainable Electricity to Urban Informal Settlements of the Global South

Event Summary

Providing basic services to informal urban settlements has been a historical challenge for cities of the global south. One of the defining features of ‘informality’ in settlements has been their lack of access to basic services. This seminar complicates that discussion by asking how to marry the concerns of sustainability and steady electricity provision in informal urban settlements. Dr. Mensah will present his research on electricity provision in Accra’s slums, while Dr. Kitio will focus on the overall macro picture of fitting sustainability into service provision in informal settlements of the global south. In particular, the seminar features research conducted by Eugenie L. Birch, co-Director of Penn’s Institute for Urban Research, and James Mensah entitled “Powering the Slum” and funded by the Kleinman Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.