Renegotiating urban water

Abstract

Water infrastructure is essential for the functioning of modern cities. This paper analyses conventional models of water infrastructure provision and emerging alternatives in order to identify points of reform and resistance in the relationship between people, technology and water in cities. It begins with a review of recent academic contributions to understanding the relationships between people, technology and nature in cities through the analysis of urban infrastructure. The work of Andrew Feenberg, a critical philosopher of technology, is presented as the basis for analysing both the technical and discursive elements of infrastructure. Feenberg's concept of 'the technical code' is used t..