Which factors are most important for understanding neighborhood-scale electrification transitions in New York City, and how do these factors interact within urban energy systems?

Authors

• Aaryan Nair, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2026

Abstract

Building electrification has emerged as a central strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from urban areas, yet its implementation remains uneven across cities due to differences in buildings, infrastructure, and local conditions. This literature review examines the factors that influence neighborhood-scale electrification transitions in New York City and explores how these factors interact within urban energy systems. Drawing on research from building science, energy systems, infrastructure planning, and sustainability transitions, the paper identifies five recurring categories of influence: building characteristics, demand characteristics, infrastructure conditions, planning and investment capacity, and socioeconomic conditions. The review finds that building age, typology, density, and occupancy patterns shape neighborhood energy demand and retrofit complexity, while electrification alters load profiles and increases the importance of peak-demand management and energy flexibility. Infrastructure factors, particularly hosting capacity and distribution-system constraints, create significant variation in electrification readiness across neighborhoods. Planning processes, investment availability, and socioeconomic conditions further influence the ability of neighborhoods to implement and sustain transitions. Rather than viewing electrification as a technological substitution occurring within individual buildings, the literature increasingly characterizes it as a systems-level transformation involving interactions among technical, institutional, and social factors. The paper argues that neighborhoods provide an appropriate analytical scale for understanding these interactions and proposes a framework for evaluating neighborhood transition capacity. The findings establish a conceptual foundation for future empirical research aimed at measuring and comparing neighborhood electrification outcomes across New York City.