Sociospatial understanding of water politics: Tracing the multidimensionality of water reuse

Beveridge, R. , Moss, T. and Naumann, M. (2017) Sociospatial understanding of water politics: Tracing the multidimensionality of water reuse. Water Alternatives, 10(1), pp. 22-40.

Abstract

Much social science literature on water reuse focuses on the problems of acceptance and economic problems, while the spatial and political dimensions remain under-researched. This paper addresses this deficit by reformulating the issue in terms of sociospatial politics of water reuse. It does this by drawing on the work of Mollinga (2008) and the ‘Territory Place Scale Network’ (TPSN) framework (Jessop et al., 2008) to develop an analytical approach to the sociospatial politics of water in general, and water reuse in particular. The paper argues that Mollinga’s understanding of water politics as contested – technical/physical, organisational/managerial and regulatory/socioeconomic – planes of human interventions can be deepened through further reflection on their implications for the four sociospatial dimensions of the TPSN framework. Such a comprehensive, multidimensional approach re-imagines the politics of water reuse, providing researchers with a heuristic device to trace the interventions through which water reuse plans disrupt existing arrangements, and avoid a concern for individual preferences and simplified notions of barriers and enablers. The potential of the analytical framework is explored using an empirical illustration of water reuse politics in the Berlin–Brandenburg region in Germany.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Beveridge, Dr Ross
• Authors: Beveridge, R., Moss, T., and Naumann, M.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Water Alternatives
• Publisher: Water Alternatives Association
• ISSN: 1965-0175
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Water Alternatives 10(1):22-40
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License