Not a ‘Petro Metro’: challenging fossil fuel expansion

ABSTRACT

In this article, we draw on archival research, participant observation and content analysis to examine urban sustainability, networked infrastructures and environmental justice movements. We do this by focusing on proposal to develop Philadelphia into a natural gas energy hub. The proposal aimed to fully utilize fracking in the Marcellus Shale by privatizing the city’s gas utility (PGW) and expanding gas infrastructure such as petrochemical complexes and large gas transmission pipelines. The proposed development was enabled by federal and state-level legislation favorable to corporate interests, and by support for selling PGW by the Mayor of Philadelphia. Resistance by local- and national-scale environmental and climate justice coalitions and local labor unions soon drew the attention of Philadelphia City Council members, who refused to authorize the sale. This resistance put in motion several important developments that effectively blocked re-making Philadelphia into the next energy capitol. While it should be seen as just one chapter in an ongoing struggle against the complete utilization of fracking in the Marcellus Shale, this case illustrates the power of local resistance to block the flow of fracked gas through cities, and to push for less environmentally destructive economic expansion plans.

KEYWORDS:

• Environmental justice
• energy transition
• climate justice
• natural gas
• pipelines

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our capable research assistants Kristy Birchard, Kerry Yandrich, and Sumita Gangwani. Special thanks to the Department of Sociology and the Star Scholars Project at Drexel University for funding this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Sociology, Drexel University.

Notes on contributors

Diane M. Sicotte

Diane Sicotte is an associate professor of Sociology at Drexel University. Her research investigates environmental inequality and injustice. She is the author of From Workshop to Waste Magnet: Environmental Inequality in the Philadelphia Region http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/product/From-Workshop-to-Waste-Magnet,6098.aspx

Kelly A Joyce

Kelly Joyce is a professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Drexel University. Her research investigates the social, economic, and political dimensions of medical technology development and use.