Geographies of Transition: Energy and Transport

Urban environments often display marked spatial disparities that create accessibility barriers for vulnerable social groups, particularly older adults and people with disabilities. These barriers are embedded in the spatial structure of the city and shape uneven mobility patterns, limiting access to essential services and reducing quality of life. Understanding how such inequalities are distributed and manifested across urban space is critical for promoting more inclusive and sustainable mobility systems. Identifying these issues requires both quantitative evaluation to determine their extent and qualitative spatial analysis to capture their geographical expression and distribution. This study examines accessibility conditions in Athens through GIS-based analysis, focusing on how they vary across urban space. Accessibility indicators are used as analytical inputs to support the interpretation of spatial patterns of pedestrian mobility and inequality. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of urban structure, including the spatial concentration of activities, central land uses, and the organisation of the sidewalk network, in shaping differentiated geographies of access. Three population groups – the general population, older adults, and people with disabilities – are examined to reveal distinct spatial experiences of mobility. The methodology combines geospatial data, GIS analysis, and detailed information on pedestrian infrastructure and land-use patterns. Indicator evaluations are integrated into the spatial analysis to identify patterns, concentrations, gradients, and discontinuities in accessibility across the city. The findings reveal significant spatial inequalities in Athens, with fragmented and unevenly distributed pedestrian infrastructure disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups.

The European Green Deal (EGD) seeks to transform the EU into a climate neutral economy by 2050, offering both a new growth strategy for the continent and being a ‘just transition’ that leaves no place or person behind. Moreover, from a regional development perspective, the EGD claims potential for regional development through a promise of growth opportunities for these places through renewable energy infrastructure projects. Critiques of the EGD criticize its green growth agenda that focuses on technological improvement which fails to address the root causes of climate change and does not consider the extractivist and ecologically destructive nature of large-scale renewable energy projects. We aim to add to this critique through a political geographical economy perspective. By taking into account the critique of the EGD and its claims of regional development, we argue the EGD is a socio-ecological fix that aims to solve the problem of climate change and uneven development through a capitalist growth strategy. Through the case study of Greece, we aim to demonstrate how the European Green deal policy conceptualizes peripheral areas in an extractivist manner that operates from the European to the national level. We argue that this growth focused approach offers little benefit for regional development, as it is entrenched in the very logics that created their current problems. We conclude by proposing how renewable energy can be implemented for neo-endogenous regional development, drawing on current debates on post- development energies and community renewable energy ecologies.

The shortage of Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers constitutes one of the most critical challenges for the road freight transport sector in Europe and, more intensively, in Greece, where labor shortages intersect with broader processes of transport transition, regional inequality, and economic restructuring. The ageing workforce, relatively low wages compared to the responsibility and intensity of the profession, prolonged absence from home base, and increased operational pressures related to an ageing vehicle fleet and stricter regulatory controls have significantly reduced the attractiveness of the profession for younger generations. This study examines the shortage of HGV drivers in Greece through a geographical perspective, focusing on how labor scarcity is distributed across space and how it reflects wider transformations in freight mobility systems. Emphasis is given to spatial disparities between main logistics hubs and peripheral areas where transport accessibility, labor availability, and economic dependence on road freight differ substantially. These spatial inequalities shape both the intensity of driver shortages and the resilience of regional supply chains. The methodology combines primary data collected through questionnaires addressed to professional drivers, transport company executives, and sector stakeholders, with quantitative spatial analysis of transport activity and regional labor patterns. The objective is to identify the structural causes of the reduced attractiveness of the profession, evaluate their geographical dimensions, and examine whether autonomous driving technologies could function as a strategic response within the ongoing transition of the transport sector. By linking labor shortages with automation, regional inequalities, and the political economy of freight mobility, the study contributes to the broader discussion on the geographies of transport transition and the future restructuring of transport employment in Greece.

In the north-eastern regions of Brazil, wind power has become a priority under the country’s energy policy, with development being driven by private energy companies. As a result, every land suitable for wind power generation is turning into a new El Dorado for capitalism. For the state of Rio Grande do Norte, it represents 3,122 wind turbines located across 302 wind farms. Therefore, we are witnessing a massification of wind parks, with energy companies that are building more and more wind farms, reproducing the extraction model already used for fossil fuels. They exploit the power imbalance in their favor by signing purchase agreements or tenancy contracts directly with local communities, facilitated by a Brazilian state that justifies its lack of regulation for wind farms as part of its energy transition policy and its fight against climate change. At the local level, the consequences of these policies lead to enclosed areas that leave increasingly less room for communal spaces. As a result, in some cases, communities are confined to their villages, connected only by roads that run between barbed-wire fences. The privatization of these spaces alters how people use the land and move around, while also depriving them of their symbolic and cultural values. These landmarks of the territory are now inaccessible to the people. Furthermore, the financial compensation provided under Brazilian law is slow to materialize, as are the public investments expected to accompany a flourishing economy. In conclusion, over the past 20 years, the Northeast region has become a benchmark for the energy transition in Brazil, partly thanks to the purchase and privatization of land that is essential to the survival of local communities.

This paper examines the strategic interplay between geopolitics and the energy sector in Central Asia. It focuses on how regional actors navigate great power competition while managing infrastructural, regulatory, and institutional constraints. Drawing on a synthesis of studies and policy analyses from 1999 to 2026, with historical context from the post-Soviet period. It integrates insights on Russia–China dynamics, pipeline politics, and energy diplomacy. It also addresses institutional and governance barriers, as well as emerging energy transition pathways in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Methodologically, the paper employs a comparative meta-analysis of the selected literature. First, geopolitical frameworks from international relations are applied to evaluate the multi-vector foreign policies of Central Asian states and their responses to Russia, China, the EU, and the United States. Second, it develops an infrastructural assessment by synthesizing technical and economic analyses of oil, gas, and pipeline systems, including transit bottlenecks, outdated transmission networks, and capacity constraints. Third, it conducts an institutional review to assess the impact of corruption, regulatory instability, and governance deficits on energy reform and investor confidence. Finally, it performs a cross-sectoral analysis of renewable energy policies and deployment trends, drawing on studies of hydropower, solar potential, green fiscal policy, and legal barriers to decarbonization. Findings indicate that Central Asia’s fossil-fuel wealth continues to drive geopolitical rivalries, particularly between Russia and China, with pipeline politics reshaping regional alignments. However, infrastructural decay and governance challenges significantly constrain energy security and export diversification. Renewable energy presents growing opportunities but remains hindered by fragmented regulation, insufficient investment, and limited institutional capacity. The results underscore that achieving long-term energy security will require coordinated governance reforms, modernization of energy systems, and balanced engagement with external powers.

The accelerated deployment of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) across Europe is widely framed as a necessary pathway toward decarbonization. However, its spatial manifestation reveals a growing tension between climate mitigation goals and the integrity of landscapes, ecosystems, and local communities. This paper critically examines the “de facto” industrialization of open and mountainous landscapes in Central Greece, adopting a planning-oriented and critical human geography perspective. A geospatially explicit framework is proposed to assess the cumulative impacts of wind energy on what are conceptualized as Natural-Historical Landscape Ensembles, i.e. spatial entities integrating ecological, archaeological, and perceptual dimensions of space. The methodological approach integrates multiple dimensions of landscape change through a combinatory geospatial framework. Environmental dynamics are monitored using remote sensing indicators, capturing both vegetation/forest condition, land use patterns and structural change; combined with spatial data on renewable energy infrastructure, protected areas (Natura 2000), and cultural heritage sites. Additional layers include elevation-based analysis to isolate impacts on mountain systems, and socio-demographic and qualitative data reflecting local perceptions and responses. Together, these components enable a multi-scalar assessment of landscape transformation, linking biophysical changes with spatial planning processes and socio-political dynamics. Findings indicate that in several cases, particularly within protected areas, infrastructure development is associated with land-cover change, habitat fragmentation, and localized vegetation degradation. These processes unfold in parallel with broader Climate Change pressures, producing compounded risks for already vulnerable ecosystems. Alongside these spatial transformations, a growing number of grassroots movements have emerged across Central Greece These initiatives move beyond generic opposition to renewable energy, foregrounding concerns over landscape degradation, loss of biodiversity, and the erosion of cultural identity and local livelihoods. We need a shift toward place-based, landscape-sensitive planning approaches that recognize the socio-ecological value of rural mountainous regions.

Athens’ transport network is under increasing pressure, in part due to its poor public transport provision. The construction of a fourth Metro line, already in the making, is generally considered a welcome step towards improving mobility in the city. One of the stations that is to be constructed as a part of the new line is located on Exarchia Square, in the central neighbourhood of Exarchia. The placement of the station on the Square has faced resistance from the local community, has gained media attention and has been the subject of a long-drawn debate. Having a closer look at the events, however, reveals that the placement of the station is far from a case of “some people” being for and some others against it. The introduction of the new metro station provides insights into how decisions that are made as part of or linked to the transition to a more sustainable transport system can raise significant justice issues, especially in places where public deliberation and participation in decision making are limited or under threat. In the case of Exarchia, these justice issues include lack of transparency, insufficient or non-existent consultation, unclear decision-making processes, and the deployment of illegal practices in the public space. Our research uses quantitative tools to examine the location of the new metro station, and qualitative tools to document the residents’ efforts to prevent illegal interventions and maintain their right to the public space. The resulting analysis provides a critical discussion on how transitions are shaped, particularly in their early stages, and into what Mimi Sheller describes as “the unequal capabilities for movement, as well as the unequal rights to stay or dwell in a place”.

The rapid development of wind energy projects in Greece during the last decade has significantly transformed the Greek landscape, particularly mountainous and environmentally sensitive areas, intensifying the debate regarding the environmental impacts of the energy transition and the adequacy of the existing spatial planning framework. Although wind energy is promoted as a key pillar for addressing the climate crisis, its development in Greece is often associated with increasing pressure on natural ecosystems, fragmented implementation of environmental legislation, and the growing concentration of projects in areas of high ecological value. This study investigates the spatial distribution of existing and proposed wind energy projects in Greece and examines their relationship with environmentally sensitive areas through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A GIS-based spatial analysis methodology was developed to map wind energy installations and evaluate their spatial overlap with Natura 2000 sites, Important Bird Areas, roadless areas, and mountainous regions. The analysis is based on the environmental criteria of the existing spatial planning framework for Renewable Energy Sources, while also exploring alternative approaches to spatial restrictions and the protection of sensitive ecosystems. The results indicate that a significant number of wind energy projects are located within or in close proximity to areas of high environmental importance, revealing limitations both in the planning framework and in its implementation. The study contributes to the broader discussion on the spatial limits of wind energy development and the need to strengthen the protection of mountainous and environmentally sensitive areas.