Remaking stormwater as a resource: Technology, law, and citizenship

Abstract

This review examines how stormwater is being rethought of as a resource in urban planning and governance. No longer administered simply as a conveyance problem, a range of actors are progressively repurposing stormwater as an underutilized resource that can resolve water quality and quantity challenges. I suggest this transition emerged out of the need to address a host of problems rooted in the institutional and infrastructural legacy of treating stormwater as a waste and flood control problem, as well as a new set of concerns associated with climate change, continued urbanization, and fiscal and administrative cuts. As a response, a number of technical and political mechanisms are looking to remake stormwater as a resource. In particular, the review focuses on the role of green infrastructure and technological change, legal structures, and incentives to enroll citizens into the governance process. These practices assemble stormwater as a resource by configuring diverse forms of knowledge, technology, and relations that meet political goals to build smart, resilient, and sustainable cities.This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water Human Water > Water Governance Science of Water > Water Quality