Urban resilience through progressive governance: The case of the ‘One Less Nuclear Power Plant’ policy, Seoul, Korea

This article aims to examine how a metropolis like Seoul could be resilient to imminent environmental crisis in the era of climate change. To do so, it conducts a case review of the ‘One Less Nuclear Power Plant’ (OLNPP) policy adopted under the progressive leadership of Mayor Park Won-soon (2011–). The policy was launched in April 2012, with a target of cutting energy use by 2 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE), which is equivalent to the capacity of one nuclear power plant. The target was accomplished in June 2014, six months ahead of schedule. The second phase of OLNPP has been in progress since August 2014 (and is due to complete in 2020). Focusing on its first phase (2012–2014), the article looks into the OLNPP as an experiment for the city’s transition to a resilient energy regime. Following the Introduction, the article reviews the conceptual relationships between risk, resilience and governance in an urban context. This is followed by examination of the background of the OLNPP policy, which was adopted by a progressive leader, and of how the OLNPP as an energy transition project is formulated as geared to enhancing resilience in the city’s energy regime. The next section addresses the progressive mode of governing the implementation of the OLNPP, which leads to resilient energy life, giving rise to a progressive form of city. The conclusion characterises the relationship between the progressivity and resiliency of a new energy system by locating it in a framework of conceptualising a progressive city, while outlining the future of the OLNPP. 本文旨在探讨像首尔这样的大都市如何在气候变化时代、在迫在眉睫的环境危机面前保持复原力。为此，本文对进步主义领导人、市长朴元淳（2011-）治下通过的“减少一座核电站”（OLNPP）政策进行了案例研究。该政策于2012年4月启动，目标是削减200万吨石油当量（TOE）的能源使用量，相当于一座核电厂的容量。该目标于2014年6月提前6个月完成。 2014年8月以来，OLNPP处于其第二阶段，按照计划，第二阶段目标将于2020年完成。本文重点关注第一阶段（2012-2014），将OLNPP视为该市向复原性能源体制过渡的一个实验。在引言之后，本文回顾了城市背景下风险、复原力和治理之间的概念关系。接下来，本文对由一位进步主义领导人采用的OLNPP政策的背景进行了研究，并研究了OLNPP作为一个能源转型项目，其设计如何加强城市能源体制的复原力。接下来的部分探讨OLNPP实施管理的进步模式，该模式旨在实现复原性能源寿命，从而形成一种进步的城市形态。结论部分在一个将进步城市概念化的框架中表征新能源系统的进步性和复原性之间的关系，同时概述了OLNPP的未来。