Tacit knowledge in water management: a case study of Sponge City.

Zeyu Yao,Sarah Bell

doi:10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000031

Zeyu Yao, Sarah Bell

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000031

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Abstract

Sustainable, resilient urban water management is fundamental to good environmental and public health. As an interdisciplinary task, it faces enormous challenges from project complexity, network dynamics and the tacit nature of knowledge being communicated between actors involved in design, decisions and delivery. Among others, some critical and persistent challenges to the implementation of sustainable urban water management include the lack of knowledge and expertise, lack of effective communication and collaboration, and lack of shared understanding and context. Using the Chinese Sponge City programme as a case study, this paper draws on the perspectives of Polanyi and Collins to investigate the extent to which knowledge can be used and exchanged between actors. Using Collins' conceptualisation of the terrain of tacit knowledge, the study identifies the use of relational, somatic and collective tacit knowledge (CTK) in the Sponge City pilot project. Structured interviews with 38 people working on a Sponge City pilot project provided data that was rigorously analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. The paper is original in identifying different types of tacit knowledge in urban water management, and the potential pathways for information and messages being communicated between actors. The methods and results provide the groundwork for analysing the access and mobilisation of tacit knowledge in the Sponge City pilot project, with relevance for other complex, interdisciplinary environmental projects and programmes.

Highlights

Sustainable urban water management aims to deliver safe, reliable and secure water and sanitation services, by mobilising stakeholders to ensure good public health and improve social, economic and ecological outcomes [1,2,3]
The integrated management of urban water relies on a collective network of such tacit knowledge, and this study focuses on China’s Sponge City initiative to investigate the factors that influence the access and mobilisation of the knowledge resources
The tasks involve all three components of tacit knowledge, which require some from Relational tacit knowledge (RTK), some from Somatic tacit knowledge (STK) and some from collective tacit knowledge (CTK)

Summary

Introduction

Sustainable urban water management aims to deliver safe, reliable and secure water and sanitation services, by mobilising stakeholders to ensure good public health and improve social, economic and ecological outcomes [1,2,3]. Sustainable approaches encourage integrated management of water supply, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, and stronger integration of water with urban design and decision making. More than a decade ago, Brown et al [5] found that planning for stormwater management in Australian local government was dominated by engineering consultants, and project implementers did not have the skills, expertise or mentality required to work with non-technical communities. It has a set of focused objectives targeting water management in urban areas. The foundation of the Sponge City concept is similar to international models such as low impact development (LID) and best management practices (BMP) in the United States, sustainable urban drainage (SUDS) in the United Kingdom and water sensitive urban design (WSUD) in Australia [1]

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