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Sustainability transitions studies have been a dominant approach in academic literature in the last twenty years or so. However, several key shortcomings have been pointed out, among them a lack of spatial sensitivity. Therefore, this article uses the proximity approach, as developed by the French school, in the field of economic geography, to shed light on this spatial dimension. The article suggests a typology of the use of spatial processes in French-speaking literature over the last ten years. Then, it combines two approaches, the 'geography of transitions' and proximity, to investigate the case of the tensions which arose in the French region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes at the end of the 2000s regarding feed-in tariffs for biomass-based combined heat and power, and the subsequent creation of observatories producing spatial information at several levels (regional or below). Those observatories may be analyzed as a move to increase the proximity with the resource, i.e. to grasp its materiality and the weight of configurations, as well as multiscalar power struggles. In conclusion, the paper proposes some inputs on the geography of transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until the 19th century, the forest represented a very important energy resource. During the 20th century it was replaced by hydrocarbon then nuclear. Today, its reinsertion into the energy mix causes information and socio-technical issues. This paper studies how the development of regional databases, in opposition to national databases, reveals local and territorial reconfigurations. The inaccuracy of national databases appeared during the 2000s, leading regional actors to develop alternative tools to meet national bioenergy targets (fuelwood is the 1st renewable energy in France and Europe). Those information systems are not a technical innovation but renew natural resource management and highlight changes in a multi-scalar perspective. Hence, the issue of equity between resource users is implicitly asked. Behind those databases, power struggles develop between forest, energy and local authority actors to control a crucial resource for energy transition. The need for reliable and accurate data is the basis for economical and ecological issues. This paper focuses on the role of levels in the parceling of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban and energy transitions are increasingly seen as being deeply intertwined. The way this relation impacts our approach to energy transition is a current issue for research. Implementing renewable energy sources in built-up areas challenges incumbent supply chains and large technical systems, especially for electricity, gas and heat. Approaches to transition such as the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) highlight the transformation of socio-technical regimes but have been criticised for overstating stability of regime and for overlooking spatial (and consequently urban) processes. Other concepts are required in order to understand local and non-local relationships between niches and regimes. This paper suggests a constructivist and pragmatic concept for urban energy transition, the Socio-Energetic Node (SEN), thanks to which actors and artefacts can be traced within energy networks. The SEN is a group of elements, which collects, converts and/or supplies energy, built by a decision-maker interacting with stakeholders and regime rules. Having identified SENs in four French eco-districts, we observed how they took shape around continuous energy flows and across decision-making boundaries, highlighting how spatial-scale and place-specificity impact on energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]