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Version retravaillée du mémoire de soutenance ; Among the studies on urban services in the southern cities, few tackle the subject of gas. And yet, it has become an increasingly necessary domestic energy in these cities. In recent years, Egypt, like several other countries (Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey), has developed a new modern urban service, industrial equipment, a city gas network. This is a major reform which entails replacing a handmade distribution of gas cylinders by this network. Such reforms have radically changed the western cities since the nineteenth century. Thus, through the implementation of this project in Cairo, we study the outlines of change in urban settings, social and political, of a metropolis in urban transition. The crucial point is the social efficiency of the reform, supported by the World Bank, in a fragmented city, characterized by socio-spatial discrimination in access to services. Actually, if this reform strengthens this discrimination, the reason lies neither in the privatization of the service, nor in the model of service organization, but rather in the unchanged outlines of public management, privatized by the regime and characterized by corruption. So, this reform only means a technical modernization of the service. These results are a means to discuss the implications of the development concept in the South, an issue less technical than fundamentally political. ; Parmi les études sur les services urbains dans les villes du Sud, rares sont celles qui s'intéressent au gaz, une énergie domestique pourtant devenue indispensable au quotidien de nombreux citadins. Or, depuis quelques années, l'Égypte, à l'instar de plusieurs autres pays (Tunisie, Algérie, Turquie), a fait le choix de développer un nouveau service urbain moderne, organisé de manière industrielle, un réseau de gaz urbain. Il s'agit d'une réforme majeure du service, le réseau se substituant à un système artisanal de distribution de bouteilles de gaz. De telles réformes ont radicalement transformé les villes occidentales depuis le dix-neuvième siècle. Ainsi, à travers le déploiement de ce projet au Caire, nous étudions les trajectoires d'évolution des configurations urbaines, sociales et politiques, d'une métropole au coeur de la transition urbaine. La question centrale est alors celle de l'efficacité sociale de cette réforme, soutenue par la Banque mondiale, dans une métropole fragmentée, gangrénée par les discriminations socio-spatiales, notamment d'accès aux services. Or, si cette réforme contribue de facto à renforcer ces discriminations, la raison n'est à chercher ni dans la privatisation du service, ni dans sa forme d'organisation, mais bien plutôt dans les termes inchangés d'une gestion publique clientéliste et privatisée par le pouvoir. Cette réforme ne constitue alors qu'une modernisation technique du service. Ces résultats nous permettent alors de revenir sur ce qu'implique le développement dans les pays du Sud, une question moins technique que fondamentalement politique.

Version retravaillée du mémoire de soutenance ; Among the studies on urban services in the southern cities, few tackle the subject of gas. And yet, it has become an increasingly necessary domestic energy in these cities. In recent years, Egypt, like several other countries (Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey), has developed a new modern urban service, industrial equipment, a city gas network. This is a major reform which entails replacing a handmade distribution of gas cylinders by this network. Such reforms have radically changed the western cities since the nineteenth century. Thus, through the implementation of this project in Cairo, we study the outlines of change in urban settings, social and political, of a metropolis in urban transition. The crucial point is the social efficiency of the reform, supported by the World Bank, in a fragmented city, characterized by socio-spatial discrimination in access to services. Actually, if this reform strengthens this discrimination, the reason lies neither in the privatization of the service, nor in the model of service organization, but rather in the unchanged outlines of public management, privatized by the regime and characterized by corruption. So, this reform only means a technical modernization of the service. These results are a means to discuss the implications of the development concept in the South, an issue less technical than fundamentally political. ; Parmi les études sur les services urbains dans les villes du Sud, rares sont celles qui s'intéressent au gaz, une énergie domestique pourtant devenue indispensable au quotidien de nombreux citadins. Or, depuis quelques années, l'Égypte, à l'instar de plusieurs autres pays (Tunisie, Algérie, Turquie), a fait le choix de développer un nouveau service urbain moderne, organisé de manière industrielle, un réseau de gaz urbain. Il s'agit d'une réforme majeure du service, le réseau se substituant à un système artisanal de distribution de bouteilles de gaz. De telles réformes ont radicalement transformé les villes occidentales depuis le dix-neuvième siècle. Ainsi, à travers le déploiement de ce projet au Caire, nous étudions les trajectoires d'évolution des configurations urbaines, sociales et politiques, d'une métropole au coeur de la transition urbaine. La question centrale est alors celle de l'efficacité sociale de cette réforme, soutenue par la Banque mondiale, dans une métropole fragmentée, gangrénée par les discriminations socio-spatiales, notamment d'accès aux services. Or, si cette réforme contribue de facto à renforcer ces discriminations, la raison n'est à chercher ni dans la privatisation du service, ni dans sa forme d'organisation, mais bien plutôt dans les termes inchangés d'une gestion publique clientéliste et privatisée par le pouvoir. Cette réforme ne constitue alors qu'une modernisation technique du service. Ces résultats nous permettent alors de revenir sur ce qu'implique le développement dans les pays du Sud, une question moins technique que fondamentalement politique.

International audience ; Considers the governance of natural gas networks in emerging cities. Adopts a geographical approach looking at interactions between natural gas infrastructure and urban space. Switch to natural gas linked to financial purpose (subsidy cuts) more than concern for climate change. Switch to natural gas shaped by policies governing other urban energy forms. Urban politics and issues of affordability impact the governance of natural gas transition. a b s t r a c t Recent scholarship on urban energy governance has focused on low carbon energy strategies seen as a response to climate change and energy pressure threats. But such approaches tend to overlook the situations of cities from the Global South and emerging countries concerned with strong energy demand growth. The development of urban natural gas networks is an understudied response to such a challenge. Focusing on three cities, Istanbul, Cairo and Sfax (Tunisia), the article analyses the factors and the governance of these energy transitions. It uses a geographical approach to such processes that highlight the mutual influence of the territory in its material and political dimensions and of the policy goals and tools in the implementation. The development of urban gas networks rests upon the proximity of gas deposits. It is determined by metropolitan strategies for economic development as well as by programs aiming to cut energy subsidies. Though urban gas networks have a strong potential for restructuring the physical and social landscapes in cities, the dominant commercial approach taken by energy utilities and morphological constraints in the urban fabric limit their universalization. Natural gas is part of a mix of energies at the urban level and often competes with other energy forms, specifically renewables (like solar water heaters). Lastly, the development of urban natural gas networks sparks heated politics in relation to unfulfilled energy demand and affordability.

International audience ; Considers the governance of natural gas networks in emerging cities. Adopts a geographical approach looking at interactions between natural gas infrastructure and urban space. Switch to natural gas linked to financial purpose (subsidy cuts) more than concern for climate change. Switch to natural gas shaped by policies governing other urban energy forms. Urban politics and issues of affordability impact the governance of natural gas transition. a b s t r a c t Recent scholarship on urban energy governance has focused on low carbon energy strategies seen as a response to climate change and energy pressure threats. But such approaches tend to overlook the situations of cities from the Global South and emerging countries concerned with strong energy demand growth. The development of urban natural gas networks is an understudied response to such a challenge. Focusing on three cities, Istanbul, Cairo and Sfax (Tunisia), the article analyses the factors and the governance of these energy transitions. It uses a geographical approach to such processes that highlight the mutual influence of the territory in its material and political dimensions and of the policy goals and tools in the implementation. The development of urban gas networks rests upon the proximity of gas deposits. It is determined by metropolitan strategies for economic development as well as by programs aiming to cut energy subsidies. Though urban gas networks have a strong potential for restructuring the physical and social landscapes in cities, the dominant commercial approach taken by energy utilities and morphological constraints in the urban fabric limit their universalization. Natural gas is part of a mix of energies at the urban level and often competes with other energy forms, specifically renewables (like solar water heaters). Lastly, the development of urban natural gas networks sparks heated politics in relation to unfulfilled energy demand and affordability.

International audience ; Considers the governance of natural gas networks in emerging cities. Adopts a geographical approach looking at interactions between natural gas infrastructure and urban space. Switch to natural gas linked to financial purpose (subsidy cuts) more than concern for climate change. Switch to natural gas shaped by policies governing other urban energy forms. Urban politics and issues of affordability impact the governance of natural gas transition. a b s t r a c t Recent scholarship on urban energy governance has focused on low carbon energy strategies seen as a response to climate change and energy pressure threats. But such approaches tend to overlook the situations of cities from the Global South and emerging countries concerned with strong energy demand growth. The development of urban natural gas networks is an understudied response to such a challenge. Focusing on three cities, Istanbul, Cairo and Sfax (Tunisia), the article analyses the factors and the governance of these energy transitions. It uses a geographical approach to such processes that highlight the mutual influence of the territory in its material and political dimensions and of the policy goals and tools in the implementation. The development of urban gas networks rests upon the proximity of gas deposits. It is determined by metropolitan strategies for economic development as well as by programs aiming to cut energy subsidies. Though urban gas networks have a strong potential for restructuring the physical and social landscapes in cities, the dominant commercial approach taken by energy utilities and morphological constraints in the urban fabric limit their universalization. Natural gas is part of a mix of energies at the urban level and often competes with other energy forms, specifically renewables (like solar water heaters). Lastly, the development of urban natural gas networks sparks heated politics in relation to unfulfilled energy demand and affordability.

International audience ; Considers the governance of natural gas networks in emerging cities. Adopts a geographical approach looking at interactions between natural gas infrastructure and urban space. Switch to natural gas linked to financial purpose (subsidy cuts) more than concern for climate change. Switch to natural gas shaped by policies governing other urban energy forms. Urban politics and issues of affordability impact the governance of natural gas transition. a b s t r a c t Recent scholarship on urban energy governance has focused on low carbon energy strategies seen as a response to climate change and energy pressure threats. But such approaches tend to overlook the situations of cities from the Global South and emerging countries concerned with strong energy demand growth. The development of urban natural gas networks is an understudied response to such a challenge. Focusing on three cities, Istanbul, Cairo and Sfax (Tunisia), the article analyses the factors and the governance of these energy transitions. It uses a geographical approach to such processes that highlight the mutual influence of the territory in its material and political dimensions and of the policy goals and tools in the implementation. The development of urban gas networks rests upon the proximity of gas deposits. It is determined by metropolitan strategies for economic development as well as by programs aiming to cut energy subsidies. Though urban gas networks have a strong potential for restructuring the physical and social landscapes in cities, the dominant commercial approach taken by energy utilities and morphological constraints in the urban fabric limit their universalization. Natural gas is part of a mix of energies at the urban level and often competes with other energy forms, specifically renewables (like solar water heaters). Lastly, the development of urban natural gas networks sparks heated politics in relation to unfulfilled energy demand and affordability.

International audience ; Considers the governance of natural gas networks in emerging cities. Adopts a geographical approach looking at interactions between natural gas infrastructure and urban space. Switch to natural gas linked to financial purpose (subsidy cuts) more than concern for climate change. Switch to natural gas shaped by policies governing other urban energy forms. Urban politics and issues of affordability impact the governance of natural gas transition. a b s t r a c t Recent scholarship on urban energy governance has focused on low carbon energy strategies seen as a response to climate change and energy pressure threats. But such approaches tend to overlook the situations of cities from the Global South and emerging countries concerned with strong energy demand growth. The development of urban natural gas networks is an understudied response to such a challenge. Focusing on three cities, Istanbul, Cairo and Sfax (Tunisia), the article analyses the factors and the governance of these energy transitions. It uses a geographical approach to such processes that highlight the mutual influence of the territory in its material and political dimensions and of the policy goals and tools in the implementation. The development of urban gas networks rests upon the proximity of gas deposits. It is determined by metropolitan strategies for economic development as well as by programs aiming to cut energy subsidies. Though urban gas networks have a strong potential for restructuring the physical and social landscapes in cities, the dominant commercial approach taken by energy utilities and morphological constraints in the urban fabric limit their universalization. Natural gas is part of a mix of energies at the urban level and often competes with other energy forms, specifically renewables (like solar water heaters). Lastly, the development of urban natural gas networks sparks heated politics in relation to unfulfilled energy demand and affordability.