Fluid experiences: Comparing local adaptations to water inaccessibility in two disadvantaged neighborhoods in Niamey, Niger

Bontianti, Abdou; Hungerford, H. B.; Younsa, H.; Noma, Ali

doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.04.002

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Present-day problems are traced to the colonial development of piped water networks that supplied urban residents unequally (for example see Bell, 2015; Gandy, 2008; Kooy and Bakker, 2008). Inequalities between urban fringes and the urban core also contribute to these unjust landscapes as these areas are not fully incorporated into political systems (for example see Bontianti et al., 2014; Ranganathan, 2014). These water inequalities and injustices are explained through unequal power relations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous water provision in Dar es Salaam: The role of networked infrastructures and alternative systems in informal areas

Smiley

2020

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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Urban waterscapes in developing world cities are notoriously fragmented, resembling archipelagos rather than continuous networks. Graham and Marvin’s concept of splintering urbanism links the collapse of infrastructure networks to this fragmentation. Yet this idea has been criticized for suggesting the absence of these networks is a sign of failed modernity in Southern cities such as Dar es Salaam. Urban political ecology illustrates how social, historical, political, and ecological processes work together to create uneven and unjust landscapes and waterscapes. In Dar es Salaam, the colonial policy of segregation and unequal service provision helped to create the fragmented system seen today. As a result, many residents—especially those in informal and peripheral areas—rely on heterogeneous water provision systems. These systems provide innovative ways to deliver water but do so at a high cost. This paper uses case studies of two informal areas—Buguruni and Vingunguti—to illustrate the divergent trajectories of seemingly similar places. One is more connected to the piped water network while the other relies almost exclusively on informal water delivery providers. In explaining these differences, this paper offers an intra-urban comparison that highlights inequities at a smaller scale. It also acknowledges the role of networked infrastructure in these heterogeneous systems by giving voice to residents who consider the piped water network their ideal source.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous water provision in Dar es Salaam: The role of networked infrastructures and alternative systems in informal areas

Smiley

2020

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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“…Reforms in 2001, aimed at both increasing the urban water supply and establishing a financially sustainable water sector, resulted in a private–public partnership for water delivery (Bontianti et al . 2014: 285). Vivendi Water (now Veolia Water) purchased a 51 per cent share of the water utility in Niamey in 2001.…”

Section: Water Privatization and The Rise Of Sachet Water In Niameymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Pure water’ in Niamey, Niger: the backstory of sachet water in a landscape of waste

Keough¹,

Youngstedt²

2018

Africa

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This article examines the commodity chain and value chain of half-litre water bags (referred to as ‘pure water’ or ‘sachet water’) in Niamey, Niger. We begin with a focus on the discarded bag and work backwards through the commodity chain to consumers, vendors and finally producers of ‘pure water’ to reveal the underlying power structures, cultural perceptions and assumptions that ultimately resulted in the discarded bag and landscapes of waste. We assert that the economic value of the plastic bag, largely assigned during the stages of its production, is based on four characteristics: the label, the temperature of the water, the time of year it is sold, and the apparent ‘purity’ of the water. We further demonstrate how characteristics of economic value are steeped in cultural perceptions and social relationships in Niamey. Using interviews with agents and actors at all levels of the commodity chain, we reveal how this local, hybrid system is connected to and affected by larger, global economic and political forces.

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“…An emergent body of research examines the hybrid nature of water and sanitation provision, exploring how informal providers are intertwined with and produced by the formal, state‐owned or ‐operated system of pipes in countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Mexico City, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Philippines and Venezuela (Allen et al ., ; Spencer, ; ; Acey, ; Carolini, ; Hossain, ; Cheng, ; Bontianti et al ., ; Burt and Ray, ; Gonzalez Rivas, ; Kooy, ; Adams and Zulu, ; Adams, ). This scholarship is part of a growing body of work in planning and urban studies that looks at hybridity in urban infrastructure (Gandy, ), as well as what Garth Myers () has termed ‘hybrid governance’.…”

Section: Hybrid Water Provision and Urban Citizenship In African Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silence and Voice in Nigeria's Hybrid Urban Water Markets: Implications for Local Governance of Public Goods

Acey¹

2018

Int J Urban Regional Res

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This article highlights how the governance of the water sector affects the strategies and tactics urban residents use to gain improved access to water for household consumption in cities with limited networked infrastructure. A framework of exit, voice and loyalty (EVL) is used to characterize the actions household decision makers take in neighborhoods across metropolitan areas. In Nigeria, Lagos and Benin City are rapidly growing metropolitan regions with urban water markets competing with a state‐run utility. Scholars have documented informality and hybridity between state and non‐state actors, but there is less understanding of variables associated with citizen behavior in urban water markets across different types of households and communities. This article places Nigeria in the context of African mobilization around water provision, using interviews, observation and findings from fieldwork, household interviews and surveys undertaken between 2008 and 2015 to show how access to water is shaped by the interplay between state and non‐state sources of water. This access is filtered through differently regulated service providers and the perceived authority of each actor involved in water delivery, which can lead to what I call structural silence. Findings show the need for a grounded understanding of factors influencing voice and participation in local governance.

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Fluid experiences: Comparing local adaptations to water inaccessibility in two disadvantaged neighborhoods in Niamey, Niger

Cited by 9 publications

References 23 publications

Heterogeneous water provision in Dar es Salaam: The role of networked infrastructures and alternative systems in informal areas

Heterogeneous water provision in Dar es Salaam: The role of networked infrastructures and alternative systems in informal areas

‘Pure water’ in Niamey, Niger: the backstory of sachet water in a landscape of waste

Silence and Voice in Nigeria's Hybrid Urban Water Markets: Implications for Local Governance of Public Goods

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