Contributions of Urban Political Ecology to sustainable drainage transitions

Abstract

This article aims to demonstrate how critical urban geography and Urban Political Ecology (UPE) can provide analytical tools to fully incorporate the social dimension in Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), overcoming ageographical and depoliticized understandings of sustainable stormwater transitions. Through its socio-technical framework, Sustainability Transitions Theory (STT) has contributed significantly to the discourses around governance, infrastructure and management of the new stormwater paradigm from hazard to resource. However, the theory fails to recognise the complexities that geographical, historical and political dynamics introduce into this process, as questions arise regarding why, how and for whom stormwater becomes a resource. The article argues that UPE can offer insights into why and how drainage transitions may take place in specific contexts, considering aspects of sustainability, social equity, justice and democracy.