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Accepted Paper:
Negotiating sensitivities: unveiling emotional responses to cold in the context of energy poverty and urban dynamics
Paz Araya
(IRI THEsys - HU Berlin)
Exploring warmth deprivation in Chilean urban contexts, this study unveils the nuanced dynamics of "friolento/a" (cold-sensitive) experiences within energy poverty. Insights from Araucania underscore the intersection of gender, stigma, and urban planning, revealing hidden facets of energy precarity.
Long abstract:
My work delves into sensitivities and emotional responses to cold within the contexts of energy poverty, specifically focusing on warmth deprivation. Grounded in extensive ethnographic work conducted during the prolonged cold seasons in medium-sized cities of the Araucania region, southern Chile, the study explores the concept of being "friolento" or "friolenta" (excessively sensitive to the cold). It unveils thresholds of tolerance in everyday life and urban planning, examining how gender norms, stigma, and shame intersect with rural memories, shaping diverse experiences of the cold. The argument posits that sensitivity to the cold, coupled with emotional and physical responses, is constructed within social relationships entwined with gender dynamics, socioeconomic relations, and connections to the territory. These sensitivities appear dislocated from those typically considered in urban planning processes, offering nuanced insights into the often-overlooked dimensions of cold vulnerability specific to Araucania, Southern Chile.