Cities & Buildings
Where we live and where we work are critical to who we are. How we power, organize, and move within these spaces is a key part of our energy story.
Recent Work
The Untapped Potential of ‘Repurposed Energy’
A national policy to channel a significant number of new wind and solar projects to targeted categories of rural and post-industrial lands, or brownfield sites, could address the dual problems of clean energy opposition and economic decline.
Powering the Slum: Meeting SDG7 in Accra’s Informal Settlements
More than a billion people worldwide live in informal settlements and lack proper access to energy. This case study explores energy poverty in the slums of Accra, Ghana, where illegal electrical hookups are the norm. How can we reverse this trend while providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy to all?
Energy Efficiency
The Economics of Building Electrification
The percentage of U.S. homes heated with electricity has increased steadily from 1% in 1950 to 40% in 2020. New research explores the implications of this increase for a growing number of policies aimed at electrifying buildings.
Aligning Historic Preservation and Energy Efficiency
Behind the facades of old buildings may very well be the secret to accelerating climate progress. Learn how laws must change to unleash the potential of “the greenest buildings”—those already built.
Featured Researcher
Mark Alan Hughes
Director EmeritusMark Alan Hughes is director emeritus of the Kleinman Center. During his time as faculty director, he led the Center and wrote on topics ranging from deep decarbonization to the future of Philadelphia's energy landscape.