Neil Simcock
Biographic Data
| ID | 4617092 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Neil Simcock |
| GIVEN NAMES | Neil |
| FAMILY NAME | Simcock |
| SIGNATURE | SIMCOCK N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Liverpool John Moores University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1408-962X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 141 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
The Spatial Constitution of Domestic Energy Advice
This paper critically assesses the opportunities and challenges arising from localised forms of domestic energy advice (DEA) provision, within the context of emerging ‘place‐based’ approaches to net zero governance. DEA will play a key role in achieving net zero by facilitating the installation and usage of low‐carbon measures in homes, but there is little research that examines how the spatial configuration of advice programmes may influence the…
Precarious lives
This paper deploys the concept of ‘precariousness’ to examine the combined impacts of insecure and unaffordable housing and energy conditions on Irish households. Energy poverty is a major societal challenge as households struggle with rising energy costs and energy insecurity, which is then amplified by poor housing conditions, tenure insecurity and housing unaffordability. However, despite increasing research attention, the combined impacts of …
Energy justice intermediaries
This paper foregrounds the use of “Living Labs” as instruments for the delivery of just low carbon transformations. Living Labs are commonly understood as stakeholder-centred, iterative and open-innovation ecosystems that involve multiple forms of co-creation and engagement among different actors in a given territory. Over a period of three years, thanks to a unique pan-European action research study, three such Labs were set up in different loca…
Eating, heating or taking the bus? Lived experiences at the intersection of energy and transport poverty
Experiences of poverty can manifest in multiple aspects of everyday life, often in interlinking ways. One example is ‘double energy vulnerability’, where a household faces both energy poverty and transport poverty simultaneously. This can result in trade-offs, where prioritising one essential need (e.g., transport) makes accessing another impossible (e.g., heating). Such decisions are not easily made, and they can have distinct spatio-temporal ch…
A cure-all for energy poverty? Thinking critically about energy advice
Dramatic increases in global energy prices in 2022 have sharpened focus on the suffering experienced by people living in energy poverty – a situation where they are unable to afford the energy required to meet their basic needs. In many countries, providing energy advice to householders is part of a wider strategy to assist those who are experiencing such hardship. However, little research scrutinises whether and how energy advice can be useful i…
Understanding the multiple harms of energy poverty through Nussbaum’s theory of central capabilities
It is widely recognised that energy poverty can have serious and detrimental impacts upon multiple aspects of people’s well-being and life quality. This paper seeks to provide a multi-dimensional and theoretically-attuned account of the relations between energy poverty and well-being, through the use of the Capabilities Approach and specifically Nussbaum’s normative theory of Central Capabilities. Drawing on interviews with 109 households in 4 Eu…
Basing “Energy Justice” on Clear Terms
The Energy Justice framework provides an opportunity to reveal and reduce injustices related to unaffordable household energy and lack of residential energy access. However, little consensus exists among academic researchers, practitioners, and decision makers on the terminology to present and conceptualize problems relating to inadequate residential energy access and affordability, with terms including “fuel poverty,” “energy burden,” “energy po…
Identifying double energy vulnerability
The concept of ‘double energy vulnerability’ describes a circumstance whereby people are at heightened risk of energy poverty and transport poverty simultaneously – a particularly severe form of energy injustice. However, analysis of which people and places are most likely to experience this phenomenon remains limited. This paper begins to address this lacuna via a review of academic literature, aiming to pinpoint the overlapping socio-demographi…
Rendered invisible
This paper makes the case that a lack of political and institutional recognition underpins the (re)production of domestic energy poverty. Previous research into the drivers of energy poverty has tended to focus on household-scale material and economic factors, with relatively little attention paid to the symbolic structures that act to legitimise deprivation. To evidence our argument, we draw on a case study of Poland during the period 2010–2015,…
Energy poverty and indoor cooling
Gender and energy
Energy poverty is widely recognized as a problem that affects millions of households globally. Particularly in the ‘Global North’ context, research into this phenomenon has tended to treat households as monolithic units, with little investigation into whether and how energy poverty is differentially experienced within homes. We address this research lacuna by scrutinizing the gender dimensions of domestic energy use and deprivation. Drawing on ex…
Spatializing energy justice
This paper introduces the concept of spatial justice and inequality to understandings of energy poverty and vulnerability. By applying an explicitly spatial lens to conceptualize energy poverty as a form of injustice, it contributes to debates in the domain of ‘energy justice’, where previous examinations of energy deprivation through a justice framing have focused on inequalities between social groups and often marginalized questions of spatial …
Conceptualising energy use and energy poverty using a capabilities framework
In this article we conceptualise energy use from a capabilities perspective, informed by the work of Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum and others following them. Building on this, we suggest a corresponding definition of energy poverty, as understood in the capabilities space. We argue that such an understanding provides a theoretically coherent means of comprehending the relationship between energy and wellbeing, and thus conceptualising energy depri…
Energy demand for everyday mobility and domestic life
The consumption of energy services for everyday mobility and domestic life is a fundamental pre-condition for participating in many contemporary societies, but it can also impact upon current and future generations in ways that raise questions of equity and fairness. Whilst the field of ‘energy justice’ has become more established in recent years, much work remains to be done to further this area of study. In this lead article for a Special Issue…
Necessary energy uses and a minimum standard of living in the United Kingdom
Access to affordable energy is a core dimension of energy justice, with recent work examining the relation between energy use and well-being in these terms. However, there has been relatively little examination of exactly which energy uses should be considered basic necessities within a given cultural context and so of concern for energy justice. We examine the inclusion of energy-using necessities within the outcomes of deliberative workshops wi…
Procedural justice and the implementation of community wind energy projects
Gender and energy
Energy poverty is widely recognized as a problem that affects millions of households globally. Particularly in the ‘Global North’ context, research into this phenomenon has tended to treat households as monolithic units, with little investigation into whether and how energy poverty is differentially experienced within homes. We address this research lacuna by scrutinizing the gender dimensions of domestic energy use and deprivation. Drawing on ex…
Rendered invisible
This paper makes the case that a lack of political and institutional recognition underpins the (re)production of domestic energy poverty. Previous research into the drivers of energy poverty has tended to focus on household-scale material and economic factors, with relatively little attention paid to the symbolic structures that act to legitimise deprivation. To evidence our argument, we draw on a case study of Poland during the period 2010–2015,…
Necessary energy uses and a minimum standard of living in the United Kingdom
Access to affordable energy is a core dimension of energy justice, with recent work examining the relation between energy use and well-being in these terms. However, there has been relatively little examination of exactly which energy uses should be considered basic necessities within a given cultural context and so of concern for energy justice. We examine the inclusion of energy-using necessities within the outcomes of deliberative workshops wi…
Eating, heating or taking the bus? Lived experiences at the intersection of energy and transport poverty
Experiences of poverty can manifest in multiple aspects of everyday life, often in interlinking ways. One example is ‘double energy vulnerability’, where a household faces both energy poverty and transport poverty simultaneously. This can result in trade-offs, where prioritising one essential need (e.g., transport) makes accessing another impossible (e.g., heating). Such decisions are not easily made, and they can have distinct spatio-temporal ch…
Energy demand for everyday mobility and domestic life
The consumption of energy services for everyday mobility and domestic life is a fundamental pre-condition for participating in many contemporary societies, but it can also impact upon current and future generations in ways that raise questions of equity and fairness. Whilst the field of ‘energy justice’ has become more established in recent years, much work remains to be done to further this area of study. In this lead article for a Special Issue…
Identifying double energy vulnerability
The concept of ‘double energy vulnerability’ describes a circumstance whereby people are at heightened risk of energy poverty and transport poverty simultaneously – a particularly severe form of energy injustice. However, analysis of which people and places are most likely to experience this phenomenon remains limited. This paper begins to address this lacuna via a review of academic literature, aiming to pinpoint the overlapping socio-demographi…
Procedural justice and the implementation of community wind energy projects
A cure-all for energy poverty? Thinking critically about energy advice
Dramatic increases in global energy prices in 2022 have sharpened focus on the suffering experienced by people living in energy poverty – a situation where they are unable to afford the energy required to meet their basic needs. In many countries, providing energy advice to householders is part of a wider strategy to assist those who are experiencing such hardship. However, little research scrutinises whether and how energy advice can be useful i…
Precarious lives
This paper deploys the concept of ‘precariousness’ to examine the combined impacts of insecure and unaffordable housing and energy conditions on Irish households. Energy poverty is a major societal challenge as households struggle with rising energy costs and energy insecurity, which is then amplified by poor housing conditions, tenure insecurity and housing unaffordability. However, despite increasing research attention, the combined impacts of …
Conceptualising energy use and energy poverty using a capabilities framework
In this article we conceptualise energy use from a capabilities perspective, informed by the work of Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum and others following them. Building on this, we suggest a corresponding definition of energy poverty, as understood in the capabilities space. We argue that such an understanding provides a theoretically coherent means of comprehending the relationship between energy and wellbeing, and thus conceptualising energy depri…
Energy demand for everyday mobility and domestic life
The consumption of energy services for everyday mobility and domestic life is a fundamental pre-condition for participating in many contemporary societies, but it can also impact upon current and future generations in ways that raise questions of equity and fairness. Whilst the field of ‘energy justice’ has become more established in recent years, much work remains to be done to further this area of study. In this lead article for a Special Issue…
Necessary energy uses and a minimum standard of living in the United Kingdom
Access to affordable energy is a core dimension of energy justice, with recent work examining the relation between energy use and well-being in these terms. However, there has been relatively little examination of exactly which energy uses should be considered basic necessities within a given cultural context and so of concern for energy justice. We examine the inclusion of energy-using necessities within the outcomes of deliberative workshops wi…
Procedural justice and the implementation of community wind energy projects
Spatializing energy justice
This paper introduces the concept of spatial justice and inequality to understandings of energy poverty and vulnerability. By applying an explicitly spatial lens to conceptualize energy poverty as a form of injustice, it contributes to debates in the domain of ‘energy justice’, where previous examinations of energy deprivation through a justice framing have focused on inequalities between social groups and often marginalized questions of spatial …
Energy poverty and indoor cooling
Gender and energy
Energy poverty is widely recognized as a problem that affects millions of households globally. Particularly in the ‘Global North’ context, research into this phenomenon has tended to treat households as monolithic units, with little investigation into whether and how energy poverty is differentially experienced within homes. We address this research lacuna by scrutinizing the gender dimensions of domestic energy use and deprivation. Drawing on ex…
Understanding the multiple harms of energy poverty through Nussbaum’s theory of central capabilities
It is widely recognised that energy poverty can have serious and detrimental impacts upon multiple aspects of people’s well-being and life quality. This paper seeks to provide a multi-dimensional and theoretically-attuned account of the relations between energy poverty and well-being, through the use of the Capabilities Approach and specifically Nussbaum’s normative theory of Central Capabilities. Drawing on interviews with 109 households in 4 Eu…
Basing “Energy Justice” on Clear Terms
The Energy Justice framework provides an opportunity to reveal and reduce injustices related to unaffordable household energy and lack of residential energy access. However, little consensus exists among academic researchers, practitioners, and decision makers on the terminology to present and conceptualize problems relating to inadequate residential energy access and affordability, with terms including “fuel poverty,” “energy burden,” “energy po…
Identifying double energy vulnerability
The concept of ‘double energy vulnerability’ describes a circumstance whereby people are at heightened risk of energy poverty and transport poverty simultaneously – a particularly severe form of energy injustice. However, analysis of which people and places are most likely to experience this phenomenon remains limited. This paper begins to address this lacuna via a review of academic literature, aiming to pinpoint the overlapping socio-demographi…
Rendered invisible
This paper makes the case that a lack of political and institutional recognition underpins the (re)production of domestic energy poverty. Previous research into the drivers of energy poverty has tended to focus on household-scale material and economic factors, with relatively little attention paid to the symbolic structures that act to legitimise deprivation. To evidence our argument, we draw on a case study of Poland during the period 2010–2015,…
Energy justice intermediaries
This paper foregrounds the use of “Living Labs” as instruments for the delivery of just low carbon transformations. Living Labs are commonly understood as stakeholder-centred, iterative and open-innovation ecosystems that involve multiple forms of co-creation and engagement among different actors in a given territory. Over a period of three years, thanks to a unique pan-European action research study, three such Labs were set up in different loca…
Eating, heating or taking the bus? Lived experiences at the intersection of energy and transport poverty
Experiences of poverty can manifest in multiple aspects of everyday life, often in interlinking ways. One example is ‘double energy vulnerability’, where a household faces both energy poverty and transport poverty simultaneously. This can result in trade-offs, where prioritising one essential need (e.g., transport) makes accessing another impossible (e.g., heating). Such decisions are not easily made, and they can have distinct spatio-temporal ch…
A cure-all for energy poverty? Thinking critically about energy advice
Dramatic increases in global energy prices in 2022 have sharpened focus on the suffering experienced by people living in energy poverty – a situation where they are unable to afford the energy required to meet their basic needs. In many countries, providing energy advice to householders is part of a wider strategy to assist those who are experiencing such hardship. However, little research scrutinises whether and how energy advice can be useful i…
Precarious lives
This paper deploys the concept of ‘precariousness’ to examine the combined impacts of insecure and unaffordable housing and energy conditions on Irish households. Energy poverty is a major societal challenge as households struggle with rising energy costs and energy insecurity, which is then amplified by poor housing conditions, tenure insecurity and housing unaffordability. However, despite increasing research attention, the combined impacts of …
The Spatial Constitution of Domestic Energy Advice
This paper critically assesses the opportunities and challenges arising from localised forms of domestic energy advice (DEA) provision, within the context of emerging ‘place‐based’ approaches to net zero governance. DEA will play a key role in achieving net zero by facilitating the installation and usage of low‐carbon measures in homes, but there is little research that examines how the spatial configuration of advice programmes may influence the…
Energy and Environment Impacts (14 works) · Economics (12 works) · Political science (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Economic growth (9 works) · Energy poverty (9 works) · Poverty (8 works) · Energy (signal processing (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy (7 works)