Urban Water Supply

Water and cities have a complex relationship influenced by natural conditions and by the abilities of human societies to adapt and reshape them to meet their needs and desires. The challenge of providing water of sufficient quantity and quality to urban populations is significant. Demand for water is driven by population growth and changes in the ways in which societies demand water for domestic, industrial, and commercial uses. Providing water to urban settlements has involved technological and engineering innovation. Deeper, and often controversial, struggles over access to and control of water are also important. These institutional and political questions are rarely resolved in a consistent manner and reveal deep contradictions. Many of these involve conditions of scarcity. This scarcity, even though it may have origins ...