Where will the water come from? Verifying the urban water crisis through drought issue framing

Thesis

Three prominent narratives exist within urban drought literature: that there is a global impending urban water crisis; that water will be reallocated from rural to urban uses; and that water scarcity is a socially constructed, rather than natural, problem. Many of these claims arise from studies which do not use primary data from cities at scale. In response, this study uses qualitative content analysis to investigate urban drought issue framing within 123 city planning documents in 30 cities globally. Results indicate that cities are acutely aware of climate impacts on the extent and frequency of drought in their bounds, yet that global models are insufficient for local needs. Cities also have more holistic conceptions of drought and water scarcity than presented within global models. Additionally, rural-urban water transfers are not planned in this cohort of cities, and urban areas support agriculture during drought in ways that blur the idea of urban-rural competition. Finally, the connection between problem definition and solution is found to be nonlinear within urban drought planning, but that several inputs—including formal drought definitions—have little bearing on resultant drought mitigation strategies. Overall, this study reveals the wide gap between research and practice in regard to drought management, and implores researchers and organisations alike to engage with primary data from cities.

Authors: Rugland, E

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-b7vzzkndo
• Type of award: MPhil
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: water; drought; planning
• Subjects: City planning; Water; Geography