Vinita Rodrigues, Vivek Mustafa Gilani, Saranya Acharya, Maya Seshagiri
Extended abstract 3-240-26 Urban Poor Women in India, living in heat-trapping buildings in conditions of cooling-energy poverty (i.e. inadequate energy access for operating active cooling appliances and no access to passive cooling solutions) are inequitably impacted by climate-crisis induced extreme heat which causes health issues stemming from homes being too hot to sleep in before midnight and social reproduction roles which require them to wake up hours before other family members. Paradoxically, women are under-represented in the ‘green economy’ response to extreme heat (eg. cool roof programmes). The paper presents insights from, and the way forward from the field-test phase of a Women's Heat Action Cooperative (WEHAC) programme underway in an informal settlement in Chennai, India to enhance access to passive cooling solutions co-created with the community. The WEHAC offers cooling products and services to residents who pay an affordable estimated monthly-installments (EMI) to the WEHAC to maintain a revolving fund that serves as future investment capital. The paper presents learnings related to structure of financial/social incentives for initial mobilization of women’s entrepreneurial interests, outcomes of testing solutions to underwrite risk of residents not paying EMIs, and elucidates the process of establishing an ecosystem of trades, material supply chains to foster a locally-owned decentralized response to cooling energy poverty. It also presents results of an ongoing effort to establish a One-Stop-Shop ( technical and finance assistance facility) for WEHACs where finance and in-kind assistance is derived from a multitude of sources (e.g. microfinance institutions, impact investment) and through repurposing municipal development schemes. The paper presents results from the applied policy research work of policy ‘hacking’ (i.e reinterpreting, repurposing) of existing policies (eg. heat action plans, women’s empowerment programs) and unlocking financing from under-subscribed schemes. Download presentation.
Climate change presents intensifying environmental, economic, and social challenges, particularly for developing countries such as India, where climate vulnerability intersects with pressing developmental priorities including energy access, poverty alleviation, and sustainable urbanization. While global frameworks such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement establish mitigation and adaptation targets, their effectiveness depends significantly on decentralized and community-driven implementation. In this context, community-based climate solutions (CBCS) have emerged as an important bridge between national policy commitments and localized climate action. This paper examines India’s renewable energy transition and electric mobility initiatives as examples of decentralized climate governance. Renewable energy programmes implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, especially rooftop solar expansion and the PM-KUSUM scheme, promote distributed power generation, solar irrigation, and farmer-centric energy systems. These interventions contribute not only to carbon emission reduction but also to rural income diversification, agricultural resilience, and enhanced energy security. By encouraging local ownership and participatory models, such programmes integrate climate mitigation with inclusive development objectives. Complementing these initiatives, electric mobility policies advanced by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, including the PM E-Drive scheme, support the adoption of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and public transport systems. These measures reduce urban air pollution, lower fossil fuel dependence, and create green employment opportunities within emerging clean energy value chains. The diffusion of electric mobility further demonstrates how local entrepreneurship, cooperatives, and community participation can accelerate low-carbon transitions. By situating these initiatives within a community-based governance framework, the study argues that decentralized renewable energy systems and electric mobility expansion reinforce climate mitigation and adaptation while promoting socio-economic empowerment. The analysis concludes that India’s evolving climate strategy reflects a gradual shift toward participatory and multi-level governance models. Strengthening institutional coordination, expanding climate finance access, and enhancing local capacity-building remain essential to sustaining and scaling community-based climate action in alignment with global climate commitments.
Dilli Prasad Poudel, Thaisa Comelli, Sophie Blackburn, Rojani Manandhar · 5 authors
The decentralization of authority, capability and finance is widely considered to be best practice in urban risk governance. Drawing on the concept of misframing from critical justice theory, we analyse injustices arising from the de jure decentralization of risk governance in Nepal, scrutinizing multi-scalar urban risk governance and its impact on resilient and equitable urban planning. Informed by qualitative research conducted from 2019 to 2024, we ask: How does the (mis)framing of risk governance affect local actors’ capacities to manage risks? And to what extent can inclusive, risk-informed urban planning and policy facilitate just decentralization? We identify a disconnect between risk-management responsibilities assigned to local government and its capacity to meet these expectations. Proposing a typology of misframing, we provide recommendations for the design and deployment of more equitable and contextually appropriate financial, technological and administrative decentralization as a pathway to justice that can overcome rigid scalar jurisdictions.
South Africa’s experience shows how participatory sustainability models can translate climate goals into locally led action across very different contexts. This chapter synthesizes evidence from urban Tshwane and rural Limpopo to examine how community empowerment, inclusive governance, and co-creation improve resilience while advancing multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In Tshwane, collaborative planning through the Integrated Development Plan, a climate action plan to 2050, and programmes such as the Pretoria East Urban Biosphere Reserve and school-based climate initiatives combined citizen science, green infrastructure, and nature-based solutions to restore ecosystems, strengthen water and energy security, and mainstream net-zero building standards. In Limpopo, the community-led Multiple-Use Services model and the Giyani Local-Scale Climate Resilience Programme paired Indigenous knowledge with technical support to co-design low-cost water systems, deploy solar-powered boreholes and small treatment units, and build local capacity for monitoring and maintenance. A six-step participatory framework underpinned both cases, from joint problem definition through implementation and skills transfer, with Innovation Forums enabling representation of women and youth and improving accountability. Comparative analysis highlights common enablers (trusted intermediaries, transparent budgeting, citizen science, and blended finance) and barriers (fragmented mandates, uneven data, limited digital access, and funding continuity). Policy recommendations include institutionalising community-led mechanisms in municipal processes, scaling nature-based and MUS approaches where appropriate, investing in skills and open data, and creating fit-for-purpose finance that matches local capabilities. The South African lessons offer scalable, context-sensitive pathways for empowering communities to climate-proof urban and rural systems.
Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
This study examines access to clean and sustainable energy in the city of Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of Congo. Using a mixed-method approach combining surveys of 150 households and semi-structured interviews, it highlights a strong dependence on traditional energy sources such as wood and charcoal, despite a growing adoption of solar energy. Results show that 30% of households already use solar energy for lighting, while 72% still rely on charcoal for cooking. The main barriers to energy transition are the high initial cost of equipment and the lack of information about clean technologies. The study concludes that the energy transition in Mbandaka is technically feasible and socially desirable but requires institutional support, inclusive financing mechanisms, and participatory governance. It advocates for a territorial approach based on decentralization and environmental education.
Water scarcity represents one of the most critical challenges confronting arid and semi-arid regions, particularly under the intensifying pressures of climate change. In desert environments, limited freshwater availability constrains public health, food security, and socio-economic development, while traditional funding mechanisms often prove inadequate for scaling sustainable water infrastructure. This study examines the potential of decentralized finance (DeFi) bonds, combined with desalination and atmospheric water harvesting technologies, as an innovative financing and delivery model for enhancing water resilience in desert regions. The research adopts a qualitative, exploratory case study approach, drawing on a structured review of academic and policy literature, documented blockchain-based water initiatives, and a conceptual financial analysis of DeFi bond mechanisms. The OikosNomos.world (ONW) initiative is examined as the primary case study, with attention to its proposed deployment of solar-powered desalination systems, boreholes, and atmospheric water harvesting infrastructure. The analysis indicates that existing desalination and water harvesting technologies are technically viable in arid environments, particularly when integrated with renewable energy systems. Furthermore, blockchain-enabled DeFi bonds demonstrate potential to enhance transparency, automate fund allocation through smart contracts, and attract global impact-oriented capital beyond traditional grant-based models. However, the study also identifies key challenges, including regulatory uncertainty, governance complexity, infrastructure constraints, and the need for sustained community engagement. The paper concludes that while DeFi-financed water infrastructure is not a standalone solution to water scarcity, its strategic integration with proven water technologies and inclusive governance models offers a scalable and transparent pathway for strengthening desert resilience. Future empirical research and pilot deployments are required to validate financial performance, adoption outcomes, and long-term socio-environmental impacts.
Blockchain technology is reshaping how electricity can be produced, traded, and governed, offering new possibilities for countries grappling with unreliable grids and persistent supply gaps. This paper investigates the emergence of blockchain‑enabled peer‑to‑peer (P2P) energy trading, using Nigeria as a lens to explore how decentralized digital infrastructure could redefine participation in electricity markets. Drawing on parallels with the rapid digitalization of financial services, the study examines how distributed ledger systems can support direct energy exchange between prosumers, shift utilities toward roles as market custodians, and improve system trust through transparent, tamper‑proof transaction records. The analysis evaluates regulatory readiness, technical prerequisites, and socioeconomic impacts within Nigeria's evolving energy ecosystem, where chronic shortages and grid instability create both urgency and opportunity for alternative market models. The findings highlight the potential for P2P trading to accelerate energy access, stimulate local investment, and catalyse a more resilient, consumer‑centric electricity sector.
Persistent electricity shortages and routine load shedding have long hindered social and economic development in Pakistan, with Punjab its most populous and industrialized province bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. In recent years, however, solar power has emerged as a central pillar of provincial strategies to enhance energy security and reduce dependence on conventional, fossil-fuel-based generation. This paper examines how solar energy is contributing to Punjab’s gradual shift from chronic load shedding toward greater energy independence. Adopting a qualitative, multiple-case design, the study draws on national and provincial policy documents, secondary reports, and peer-reviewed literature. It focuses on four key sectors residential, agricultural, educational, and industrial where solar initiatives have been promoted through programs such as free solar panel schemes for low-income households, school solarization, solar irrigation systems, and industrial rooftop installations. A comparative sectoral analysis evaluates these initiatives in terms of affordability, reliability, sustainability, and scalability. The findings show that solar energy has significantly improved supply reliability for many households and institutions, reduced operating costs for some farmers and industries, and opened new avenues for decentralized generation. At the same time, coverage remains uneven, key programs are still small relative to overall need, and implementation is constrained by financing barriers, bureaucratic delays, and limited technical capacity. The paper argues that Punjab’s trajectory illustrates both the transformative potential and the persistent limitations of solar-led energy transitions in developing-country contexts. It concludes that scaling up equitable, decentralized solar adoption supported by robust provincial policies, innovative financing, and institutional reforms will be essential if solar power is to move from a complementary role to a structural driver of energy independence.
This essay examines the transformative potential of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in urban environments, specifically regarding ownership structures, management processes, and civic participation. Employing a mixed-methods research approach, the study demonstrates that NFTs can support fractional ownership, increase transparency within smart cities, and promote urban renewal. Addressing legal challenges, technological limitations, and social equity concerns remains essential. The findings advocate for coordinated efforts among policymakers, urban planners, and technologists to ensure that NFTs contribute to equitable and sustainable urban development.
This paper examines the tensions between existing infrastructure and the need for transitional change in Dutch municipal wastewater collection and treatment. In the Netherlands, sanitation is primarily managed by public actors, with local government playing a major role. The paper demonstrates how local governments navigate these tensions and are both restricted and enabled by the current infrastructure and governance arrangements. Based on interviews, literature reviews, and analyses of statistical trends, it describes five attempts at reform in Dutch sanitation from 1980 to 2020: phosphorus removal; separating stormwater from combined sewers; water cycle companies; energy factories; and decentralized sanitation. The multi-level governance system, with decentralized infrastructure and financing, allows local governments to experiment with alternative practices, develop knowledge, and employ various interactions to mainstream innovations. However, the division of tasks in Dutch sanitation governance tends to optimize sub-systems rather than the entire system. For nationwide implementation, legislation and strong central coordination are essential. Additionally, New Public Management reinforces existing infrastructure lock-in. The paper enhances our understanding of the local government’s role in transitional change and offers insights into how the challenges of existing infrastructure can be mitigated in pursuit of sustainable wastewater solutions.
In the rise of authoritarianism, what can ordinary people do to resist the seemingly irreversible tide of state autocratization? The story of Hong Kong provides a global case for this question. In 2019, I stayed in a Hong Kong hotel interviewing “active” participants of street protests. Characterized by the ethos of “no big organization,” participants saw themselves as autonomous, spontaneous citizens rather than followers of a particular leader organization. Their coordination was based on online communication technology grounded in a decade-long fear of authoritarian encroachment. Ming-sho Ho’s extraordinary new book, Be Water: Collective Improvisation in Hong Kong’s Anti-Extradition Protests, examines and analyzes the fluid coordination of this anti-authoritarian resistance, aptly captured by Bruce Lee’s famous maxim, “Be Water.” The phrase—popularized by the Hong Kong-born martial-arts legend and Hollywood star—came to symbolize the protesters’ ethos of flexibility and resilience in confronting state power. With the assistance of a rigorous research team, Ho collected and analyzed an extensive dataset of 1,770 protest events, printed materials, 189 interviews, and both online and offline observations. Drawing on this rich material, he develops the concept of collective improvisation to explain how decentralized yet highly coordinated activism emerged without formal leadership or organizational hierarchy. Moving beyond journalistic romanticized portrayals of spontaneity, Ho argues that Hong Kong’s protesters exhibited an improvised rationality—a capacity to adapt, invent, and synchronize tactics under extreme repression.
ABSTRACT The Water Reserve Unit (WRU) proposes a new category of securitized, resource-backed reserve assets that integrate verified freshwater reserves into the global financial architecture.Unlike speculative digital assets, WRU represents a regulated and institutionally verified instrument designed to enhance global financial stability through linkage to real, measurable resources. The framework unites economic, legal, and technological dimensions — including distributed-ledger verification, sustainable-development principles, and international governance mechanisms — to enable transparent, compliant, and auditable issuance of water-backed value units.Technological transparency is achieved through distributed-ledger proof-of-reserve mechanisms ensuring real-time verification, accountability, and cross-border interoperability. Legally, the concept builds upon the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/292 (2010), which recognizes the human right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation, and aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), embedding this right within a financial-institutional framework. By translating normative principles of international water law — such as those articulated in the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses — into measurable reserve instruments, WRU operationalizes the linkage between resource security and financial stability. Methodologically, the WRU framework is grounded in institutional economics (Commons, North), ecological macroeconomics, and sustainability finance, integrating valuation of natural capital with modern digital auditability. It provides a conceptual and technological foundation for recognizing water as a reserve-eligible asset, comparable in function to gold or Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), yet intrinsically tied to the planet’s most vital resource. Thus, WRU is not a cryptocurrency or utility token but a sovereignly regulated, resource-anchored financial standard — a new class of sustainability-linked reserve assets that integrate environmental resilience, economic equity, and technological trust within the evolving global financial system.
James Kwame Mensah, Eugénie L. Birch, Zechariah Langnel
This study explores alternative energy sources in informal settlements in Ghana, with a focus on their contribution to achieving Sustainable Development Goal Seven (SDG 7). Drawing on qualitative data from Agbogbloshie, Chorkor, and Avenor in Accra, the research identifies solar and biogas as key emerging solutions addressing energy poverty in these underserved areas. Despite universal access claims, residents continue to rely on unsafe, polluting fuels due to high tariffs and infrastructural exclusion. Findings reveal community-driven transitions to decentralized energy systems, with solar panels and biogas digesters offering cleaner, cheaper alternatives. However, challenges related to maintenance, financing, and space persist. The study underscores the importance of tailored, inclusive energy strategies for informal settlements to achieve equitable and sustainable urban energy futures in Ghana.
Claire Cropper, Elizabeth Wulbrecht, Patrick Thomson, Aaron Dotson · 8 authors
Despite nationally reported metrics that suggest high levels of water security, approximately 12% of the United States of America (US) population is estimated to be water insecure based on the definition in United Nations (UN) SDG 6.1.1. Approximately half of these households are served by Decentralized Water Systems (DWS). In contrast, most research, engineering, innovation, and government programs are focused on Centralized Water Systems (CWS). In this perspective, we 1) characterize and define DWS using professional language common for CWS; 2) compare the social, economic, and regulatory responsibilities of stakeholders in each system; 3) outline existing strategies to professionalize this sector; and 4) propose research avenues to further professionalize DWS to ensure households served by these systems receive equitable water service. We demonstrate that while DWS share commonalities with CWS, decentralized systems are less formally structured; have more stakeholders between source and tap; and place much of the regulatory, finance, maintenance, and safety responsibilities on individual households. These responsibilities include ensuring water quantity and quality, selecting appropriate treatment technologies, finance of repairs and upgrades, and transporting water. We propose strategies for researchers to aid in codeveloping innovative DWS solutions, ensuring relevant integration and community-driven models that better support decentralized communities.
Ethereum is a multifaceted ecosystem shaped by diverse commitments and aspirations. This dissertation focuses on a relatively understudied micro-culture within Ethereum, known as “public goods” represented by a subcultural group known as “Regens”. Unlike the dominant financial use cases of blockchain, Regens aim to harness blockchain technologies for communal and participatory purposes, often through blockchain operated digital institutions known as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). I focus on Giveth - a well-known public goods DAO within the Ethereum ecosystem. Using an empirical approach grounded in ethnography, I map its culture, governance practices, and labour dynamics. Through this analysis, I examine how blockchain mediated infrastructures can both enable and constrain political life. In particular, I trace how blockchain infrastructures challenge traditional conceptions of democracy through the concept of ‘coordination,’ a central organizing principle that characterizes DAO governance. Examining how Giveth’s governance mechanisms operate in practice, I argue that while Giveth and similar public goods DAOs endeavor to address the problems inherent in existing traditional political systems, they often end up producing the same plutocratic outcomes. Drawing on Marxist theory of labour and value, I also demonstrate that despite Giveth’s noble intentions to reimagine non-profit work through blockchain, the reality is that members continue to sacrifice significant time and resources in pursuit of the project’s mission. This reveals a fundamental contradiction within such initiatives: while projects like Giveth aim to dismantle hegemonic neoliberal structures, they paradoxically reproduce and extend many of the same conditions they seek to overcome by embedding market computational logics and game-theoretic principles at the core of their operational design. Nevertheless, I emphasize on the potential of DAOs to foster alternative world-building practices, serving as spaces for the development of creative political imaginaries that can advance collective organizational efforts and greater participation when designed with intention.
This paper examines the role of hardware security as the basis for order in the decentralised metaverse. It does this by considering the infrastructural tools and governance practices at the heart of KONG Land, an example of a blockchain-based decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) and decentralised physical infrastructure network (DePIN) project. KONG Land manufactures open-source microchips to create verifiable hardware that anyone can use or integrate into their own application. KONG Land’s focus on the materiality of infrastructure led them to pursue a governance model as a digital-physical, politically decentralised polity. By foregrounding the physicality and affordances of decentralised efforts to manufacture microchips, this paper shows how rematerialising digital domains leads back to questions of statehood and its purpose and provides an explanation for emerging sovereignties. Building on Olson’s (1993. Dictatorship, democracy, and development. American Political Science Review , 87 (3), 567–576) theory of the stationary bandit, the paper positions projects like KONG Land as an attempt to create a ‘better bandit’ – one that sets out to provide its citizens with a superior level of security than that offered by either nation states or the corporate metaverse, with the intention of creating the conditions for Web3 production and expansion.
Urban water provision sits at the intersection of public administration, infrastructure policy, and social equity. In the Philippines, high aggregate access to drinking water coexists with uneven service reliability, coverage gaps, and persistent inefficiency—patterns that point to governance constraints rather than hydrological scarcity alone. This study examines how institutional structures and incentive systems shape urban water governance outcomes across five cities in the Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX): Zamboanga City, Pagadian City, Dipolog City, Dapitan City, and Isabela City. The analysis applies a multi-level governance and institutional-incentive framework to trace how authority, resources, and accountability are distributed among national regulators and sector agencies (notably the National Water Resources Board and the Local Water Utilities Administration), local government units, and city water providers. The study adopts a comparative case design using publicly verifiable secondary data from 2022–2024, including utility performance reports and administrative records on service delivery and operational efficiency. Key indicators include service coverage, continuity of supply, and non-revenue water, alongside governance features such as tariff-setting influence, access to national financing, technical capacity, and the presence of cross-agency coordination mechanisms. Findings show persistent intra-regional disparities under a common national legal framework. Zamboanga City reports the highest coverage and continuity, but also the highest system losses, while smaller systems demonstrate lower coverage and more intermittent supply with only marginally better efficiency. Across cases, outcomes align less with formal decentralization than with fragmented mandates, weak regulatory enforcement, politically constrained tariff governance, and limited performance-linked funding—conditions that weaken accountability and dilute responsibility for results. The study proposes reforms focused on (1) tighter regulatory and planning coordination across levels, (2) performance-conditioned financing tied to measurable service and efficiency targets, and (3) transparent, insulated tariff review with structured stakeholder engagement to improve equity, reliability, and sustainability in regional urban water services.
Urban water services in secondary cities across Southeast Asia are frequently shaped less by engineering constraints than by institutional design: overlapping mandates, weak regulatory leverage, and misaligned incentives across levels of government. This study analyzes the governance of urban water services in Zamboanga City, Philippines, using a multi-level institutional approach that integrates Multi-Level Governance theory with the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. Drawing on documentary and policy analysis, administrative and performance data from 2018–2023, and a review of the rules-in-use governing planning, regulation, and financing, the study maps how national agencies, the local government unit, sector regulators, and the Zamboanga City Water District interact in practice. Findings indicate persistent gaps between formal authority and operational control. Service coverage remains limited (approximately 48% of households), non-revenue water is high (exceeding 39%), and tariff recovery is insufficient to sustain capital investment for network expansion and system rehabilitation. Governance outcomes are driven by (1) regulatory overlap and unclear accountability for enforcement, (2) policy mandates that compete with local political authority over priorities and resource allocation, and (3) weak coordination mechanisms that fail to align incentives for performance, investment, and demand management across institutions. The study contributes evidence on how decentralization can reproduce fragmentation without credible coordination and accountability instruments. It identifies reform directions centered on clarifying regulatory authority, strengthening performance-based accountability, and improving the financial architecture for investment—aimed at enabling service expansion, reducing losses, and enhancing the sustainability of urban water provision in decentralized settings.
When aid professionals adopt high tech pilot projects, ignorance, blind faith, misplaced trust, and authentic expertise all come into play. Based on ethnographic research in Jordan, I examine how a refugee aid organisation produces and applies a blockchain pilot. Innovative pilots help international aid organisations attract and maintain their funding sources and reputations. I argue that The Blockchain Pilot is ‘conjured’ as a product to be promoted to a marketplace of aid donors. ‘Conjurings’ are the spectacles and magical appearances that draw an audience of investors. Ethnographic research suggests that conjurings drive capitalist markets. Rather than just requiring knowledge and expertise, I argue that conjurings entail key forms of ignorance: (i) confusion, (ii) illusion, (iii) disappearance, and (iv) misdirection. This ignorance is both strategic and inadvertent. Ignorance, just like knowledge, is shaped by hierarchical power relations. The organisation’s experimental adoption of a blockchain database system benefits some stakeholders (innovators, private partners) more than others (local aid workers and refugees). The conjuring of the pilot is what justifies the adoption of blockchain, even though a simple database would have sufficed.
Decentralized household wastewater treatment systems are gaining increasing attention as a sustainable alternative to centralized systems for managing household wastewater streams which includes the grey, black and storm water, particularly in developing countries and rural areas. Decentralized household wastewater treatment systems offer several advantages, including reduced infrastructure costs, lower environmental impact, improved local water quality, and increased adaptability to site-specific conditions. However, the widespread adoption and long-term sustainability of household wastewater treatment systems face various challenges. This review paper examines the key challenges and perspectives in the household wastewater streams. The main challenges identified include lack of awareness and education among stakeholders, institutional and regulatory barriers, financial constraints, limited technology options, and socio-cultural acceptance. The review also explores the perspectives for overcoming these challenges, such as enhancing education and awareness programs, developing standardized designs and guidelines, establishing sustainable financing mechanisms, and promoting sustainable and circular solutions, and appropriate technology development. By addressing these challenges and leveraging the opportunities, Decentralized household wastewater treatment systems can play a crucial role in improving sanitation, reducing environmental degradation, and supporting sustainable water management in diverse settings.
Water governance is critical to achieving a desirable state of sustainable water management, development and service provisioning in the Global South. However, it is a complex and multifaceted process. India is no exception, with structural deficiencies apparent in water regimes resulting from issues with dated institutional architecture impeding water sustainability transformations. This chapter refers to water governance in India as the social functions that encompass institutions, structures and processes at different levels and scales that guide the system to such a desirable state. Based on water governance literature and scholarship, this chapter discusses the relationships between water governance components to examine the state of water sustainability and challenges to expediting change in India. In this respect, it highlights the importance of legal, policy and institutional aspects of Indian water governance. The chapter then analyzes the national water policy framework and discusses the role of complexity in institutional arrangements in governing water resources by utilizing the institutional analysis and development framework. Using this analysis, the chapter highlights the necessity of implementing stronger legal, policy and institutional frameworks to expedite changes. The results emphasize the need for enhanced coordinated efforts and effective collaborations among stakeholders to develop a comprehensive and holistic water policy framework. The chapter recommends the integration of decentralized and evidence-based approaches, innovative financing, circular economy-focused policies, collaboration with private sector partners and inclusive policies to accelerate transformations towards water sustainability.
Urban populations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are confronted with significant difficulties in accessing water due to inadequate infrastructure, limited governance capabilities, and the exacerbating effects of climate change, which further exacerbate water scarcity. This article investigates the physiological, environmental, and economic hardships that arise from insufficient access to quality water and sanitation infrastructure in cities of the Global South. Available evidence suggests that more than two billion individuals living in urban areas do not have access to water sources that are appropriately maintained. This lack of access has led to the widespread occurrence of diarrhoea diseases, particularly in marginalized informal settlements. There is a cumulative impact on households, municipal authorities, and national budgets due to economic losses resulting from healthcare expenses, decreased productivity, and limitations in the industrial sector. Reports also demonstrate severe water shortages caused by distinct local circumstances while also highlighting shared challenges of contamination, intermittent supply, and affordability problems that worsen inequality. While there are promising decentralized options available, as well as water efficiency and reuse advancements, there are still significant gaps in financing. It is estimated that an annual amount of $114 billion is needed to ensure access to safe water and sanitation for the increasing urban populations in the developing nations. Effective collaboration on a global scale and local administrative changes are crucial for addressing these deficiencies in infrastructure and enhancing the ability of mega cities in the Global South to withstand the escalating hazards posed by climate change.
In Costa Rica, water supply networks provide water to over 94% of the country's population. However, only an estimated 14% of wastewater receives proper treatment. The lack of centralized sanitation infrastructure has resulted in the use of septic tanks and the discharge of untreated greywater into rivers, causing environmental degradation of surface waters. Retrofitting conventional centralized sewer networks and treatment plants into the existing urbanization presents extensive social, economic, and technical challenges. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for greywater treatment can reduce pollutant loads and improve the environmental status of water resources and represent an opportunity for technical leapfrogging towards sustainable, decentralized on-site treatment and reuse. However, the implementation of NbS in urban areas poses significant challenges due to the complex interplay of social, regulatory, and economic factors. Specifically, for on-site greywater treatment systems, meeting several criteria, including efficient pollutant removal, affordability, and public acceptance is essential for successful implementation and operation. This study assesses the technical, socio-economic, and political-regulatory dimensions relevant to implementing NbS for decentralized greywater treatment. To conduct this research, a Real-World Lab was established in the Great Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica, employing a transdisciplinary approach. This approach provided a physical space and societal context to integrate site-specific aspects and understand the various factors that influence the implementation and upscaling of NbS. As part of our methodology, we analyzed the water quality parameters and treatment performance of a NbS prototype for decentralized greywater treatment. Within the Real-World Lab framework, we conducted interviews, surveys, and field observations to investigate socio-economic and political-regulatory aspects. Our results highlight the technical potential of the NbS prototype. However, the limitation lies in the governance scheme and financing mechanisms required for upscaling the NbS as a decentralized on-site technology across the country. Our multidimensional assessment provides insights into the requirements for widespread implementation of NbS, applicable to other regions facing similar retrofitting sanitation challenges.
This project embarks on a spatial inquiry into Web3. Often hailed as the next iteration of the internet, Web3 is more than a facelift; it’s a calculated unveil that prompts us to re-examine Web2’s participatory past. Importantly, Web3’s algorithmic architecture both expands the web’s horizons and reflexively delineates its own perceptual identity. As it rises alongside digital platforms’ hegemony, we must scrutinize the territories it foregrounds — the very “wheres”— and the underlying “whys” that sculpt its distinct vantage for vested agendas. Drawing insights from media studies, critical data studies, and STS, this project focuses on influential powers sculpting the interplay between corporate developers and the Web3 landscape. The theoretical framework is primarily organized around the concepts of news cartography, architects’ gaze, and software performativity. Methodologically, this tripartite study leans on multiple ethnographic works to go beyond just studying tech structures, capturing both material and discursive forces that mold them. My empirical focus is grounded in specialist journalistic publications (in chapter 1), ethnographic observations, and aggregated data of sites (in chapters 2 and 3). Each chapter underscores its rationale for data collection, yet aliging with the ethos of infrastructure ethnography. My research pivots on the argument that Web3 gives rise to “algorithmic spatiality.” It extends beyond software’s materiality, echoing geographers’ assertions that (digital) space is programmed, assembled, and arranged. Thus, I view Web3 not just as a deliberate construct, but also as a dialogical practice of shaping and organizing its very essence. Influenced by Massey’s (1999) portrayal of power as spatial-relational dynamics, I employ “power-geometries” as a foundational lens to discern the varied influences of Web3 on sociality. This juxtaposes with the pervasive power of existing digital platforms, often termed the Web2 status quo, awaiting transition. For new media research, approaching Web3 with an algorithmic and spatial lens invites us to see sociality as a dynamic reshaping, subtly directed by coded practices, often obscuring their corporate genesis. I argue that to truly fathom our unfolding digital landscape, it’s imperative to closely scrutinize the pivotal roles of key actors. Especially, the corporate-scripted agents, in all their forms, actively molding these emerging topographies.