Framing Sustainable Urban Water Management: A Critical Analysis of Theory and Practice

Abstract

Achieving ‘sustainable urban water management’ (SUWM) is a growing goal for many cities globally, particularly in the face of existing and emerging water threats. Water policy reveals particular ways of framing problems and possible actions. By understanding the components of sustainability, we analyse how key water policies for two major cities frame SUWM. London and Melbourne face significant future water threats, and have tried to address these through strategic water policy. However, they have different approaches to water policy, and different climatic and built-form contexts. Hence, we review the water policy context shaping London and Melbourne, and analyse to what extent their strate..