Global climate change is having increasingly localized impacts, forcing city governments to manage unprecedented threats to livelihoods and survival that can overwhelm state capacity. Continued reliance on fossil fuels for energy production hastens this crisis. Often examined in the context of global-scale adoption of renewable sources, energy transition is now moving to the policy purview of local governments. Through smart cities initiatives for electricity grid management, building efficiency, transport, and other urban service domains, many city governments are considering how to better support global energy transition while also addressing resident needs at a local scale. Going beyond the well-researched angle of technical feasibility, this chapter investigates urban energy transition through the underexplored perspective of political and administrative accountability. Focusing on the interplay among actors, ideas, and institutions, the chapter examines the case of Jakarta, Indonesia, to explore areas in which accountability for smart city interventions, of which technology-based energy transition is an example, is strong or weak. The chapter concludes with policy recommendations for smart city management, including improved monitoring and transparency and strengthening of legal and regulatory mechanisms to confront malfeasance and ineffectiveness. The chapter establishes the basis for new scholarly conversations about governance reforms needed for city governments to support global environmental management through smart systems and urban technology.
Reshetova, Elena and Hartley, Kris. (2025). “Strengthening Governance Accountability in Smart Cities: the Case of Urban Energy Transition in Jakarta, Indonesia.” In Zaidan, E., Ibrahim, I. A., and Azar, E. (eds.), Smart Cities to Smart Societies: Moving Beyond Technology. London: Routledge Press.