Transition Pathways for Sustainable Urban Water Management

Abstract

Climate change causes more and more extreme weather events such as increased frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall and at the same time longer periods of drought. Together with the growing population of urban areas these extreme weather events are putting a high pressure on water resources and infrastructures, as well as on water management in cities. In particular, green infrastructures for sport and recreation require a significant amount of water for irrigation to ensure a sufficient quality in periods of drought. The need for sustainable urban water management is recognized and understood on a broad scale. In order to realise a transition multiple stakeholders are involved, leading to fragmented knowledge. Communication and knowledge boundaries hamper joint action. Using Q methodology, distinguishing visions and perspectives of nineteen relevant stakeholders towards circular water management are identified, analysed and validated in a focus group. To realise change, a consortium should be established to exchange knowledge. Policy makers seem to be the most equipped to initiate a transition. The scientific contribution of this study is the integration of boundary spanning theory, the Pestel framework and Q methodology. The societal contribution focuses on promising future pathways towards long term circular water availability for the green urban infrastructure functions sport and recreation.