Reframing resilience-oriented urban water management: learning from social–ecological–technological system interactions and uncertainties in a water-scarce city

01.Jan.2025

​Non-technical summary. New approaches to ensure the resilience of urban water supply are urgently needed. This requires moving beyond managing water scarcity through infrastructural measures to understanding resilience as an outcome of complex interactions between people, water resources, and technological infrastructure. We conducted expert interviews and a household survey in a water scarcity ‘hotspot’ and found that water experts emphasize water system deficits and inefficiencies, while citizens complement public water service deficits through (unaccounted-for) coping mechanisms. This leads to uncertainties regarding the outcomes of management interventions. We suggest that integrating different stakeholder perspectives into water management strategies could enhance urban water resilience.Technical summary. There is limited understanding of how to address the complex dynamics shaping …

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