Newly published book by Nikki Luke examines Atlanta’s urban growth and increased use of electricity.
Nikki Luke, assistant professor in the Department of Geography, recently published Electric Life: Utility Regulation and the Fight for Energy Democracy through MIT Press.
Luke’s book traces the interwoven history of Atlanta’s racialized, uneven urban development and its ever-increasing electricity use to show how everyday life is shaped by the infrastructure of electrical systems. She examines how daily relationships with the electric utility affect energy democracy across communities and investigates the legal and material construction of the investor-owned utility as a regulated monopoly—and the state public service commission that regulates it.
As an urban geographer, Luke studies the effects of urban energy governance for workers and communities, with a regional focus on the southern US. She tracks how uneven power relations rooted in race, gender, class, and ability shape energy policy and organizing for energy justice.
Learn more about Electric Life.