Political Geographies of Rural Electrification: The Tennessee Valley Energy Region

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) played a central role in delineating the Tennessee Valley as an energy region. Utilizing mapping as critical practice, this study delves into the spatial history of the region, examining how the construction of an integrated network of hydroelectric dams by the TVA underpinned a regime of techno-environmental development. By bringing together historical cartographic information and archival sources, mapping reveals how environmental, technological, and social infrastructures intertwined to create a complex geopolitical terrain. The emergent geography of the region demonstrates the TVA's belief that techno-environmental region-building could serve as a vehicle for progressive social change and provide a substitute for existing racialized political geographies. However, despite the TVA's public intentions, the benefits of development were unevenly distributed, ultimately perpetuating racial disparities and socioeconomic inequities. As our need to rethink energy infrastructure gains urgency, the map and accompanying text hope to provide reflection on the infrastructural underpinnings of the Tennessee Valley, offering potential insight for contemporary discussion on energy transitions.