Liquid Politics: Water and the Politics of Everyday Life in the Modern City

International Journal of Social Research Methodology

Pullinger

Medd

et al. 2013

Understanding the nature of current household water use is important for forecasting future demand and for designing effective water efficiency interventions. This paper argues that to develop this understanding further it is necessary to shift away from the current focus on sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of litres used towards the everyday practices of household members through which water is consumed, i.e. routine and often habitual activities such as watering the garden, showering and clothes washing. It presents selected results from a survey of water using practices undertaken in southern England in 2011, focusing on garden watering as an example which demonstrates some of the added understanding that such a "practices approach" brings to how water is being used. These serve to illustrate that how individuals water the garden varies, often with little relationship to their sociodemographic characteristics. Further results demonstrate too that how individuals perform different practices varies with little relationship between the practices, so that even a set of households with similar levels of daily per capita water use can be using it in widely different ways. We end with some examples of how this understanding could help in demand forecasting and in designing more effective approaches to interventions.

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of practice: a reflection on the development of quantitative/mixed methodologies capturing everyday life related to water consumption in the UK

International Journal of Social Research Methodology

Pullinger

Medd

et al. 2013

“…Current policy and research frameworks, even when prioritising the twin track of demand management in combination with supply, consider demand as a figure that can be extrapolated and expanded according to population projections (Memon and Butler 2006). The perspective of demand as something that simply draws on supply, and that the supply system will expand to meet the water demanded on all occasions sits in opposition to literatures which highlight the way supply and demand are co-produced; that is, that supply development sets an assumed trajectory of consumption patterns and volumes (Taylor and Trentmann 2011;Moss 2000;Shove 2003;Van Vilet et al 2005). In this article we draw on the latest social science debates to suggest two significant conceptual shifts that are required to get beyond the current impasse.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Novel Approaches to Tracking Domestic Water Demand Under Uncertainty—A Reflection on the “Up Scaling” of Social Science Approaches in the United Kingdom

Medd

Anderson

2012

Water Resour Manage

Climate change, socio-demographic change and changing patterns of ordinary consumption are creating new and unpredictable pressures on urban water resources in the UK. While demand management is currently offered as a first option for managing supply/ demand deficit, the uncertainties around demand and its' potential trajectories are problematic for water resources research, planning and policy. In this article we review the ways in which particular branches of social science come together to offer a model of 'distributed demand' that helps explain these current and future uncertainties. We also identify potential strategies for tracking where the drivers of change for demand may lie. Rather than suggest an alternative 'demand forecasting' technique, we propose methodological approaches that 'stretch out' and 'scale up' proxy measures of demand to inform water resources planning and policy. These proxy measurements could act as 'indictors of change' to water demand at a population level that could then be used to inform research and policy strategies. We conclude by arguing for the need to recognise the co-production of demand futures and supply trajectories.

“…Current demand emerges from institutional and infrastructural development of water resources designed to accelerate the public health agenda throughout the twentieth century [13][14][15][16]. While privatization in 1989 may have shifted responsibility for service provision into the hands of water companies, the presiding strength of structural engineering logics and the modern regulatory structure reinforces this history.…”

Section: What Are the Collective Drivers Of Demand?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reframing Water Efficiency: Determining Collective Approaches to Change Water Use in the Home

Hoolohan

2016

BJECC

Aims: This paper explores the collective ordering of domestic water use, shaped through shared social, technical and natural relations, and outlines how this understanding can be used to inform water efficiency initiatives in order achieve sustainable domestic water consumption. Study Design: Literature review, focus group and qualitative data analysis. Place and Duration of Study: South of England; December 2013. Methodology: Three focus groups were held with consumers in the south of England. Each group comprised of 5-8 participants, strategically sampled for a mix of genders and metered/ unmetered customers, and split by life-stage (where age was used as a proxy; 21-35, 36-50, 50+). In-depth, semi-structured discussion techniques were used to investigate the collective drivers of everyday water use and the impact of water efficiency initiatives in changing patterns of water use in the home. Results: Four key drivers are identified: 1) expectations of service and supply; 2) decision making 3) social norms and networks and 4) socio-technical practices. The findings reveal that while evidence of all drivers are identified in focus group discussions, some offer greater value for intervening in household consumption than others. The discussion uses the example of household laundry to explore the implications of this research for informing water efficiency activities. Conclusion: Achieving sustainable domestic water consumption requires fresh thinking about water use as a collectively ordered activity. The approach taken highlights alternative spaces for intervention and the findings of this research sheds light on the efficacy of existing water efficiency Hoolohan and Browne; BJECC, 6(3): 179-191, 2016; Article no.BJECC.2016.018 180 activities in bringing about more sustainable domestic consumption. The implications of this research are a shift away from providing information and incentives, toward building a more transparent and open relationship with consumers about water resources and developing the resources to identify and address broad social and technological trends that inhibit behavior change. Original Research Article