Understanding the Delhi Urban Waterscape Through the Actor Network Theory

Abstract

A major function of the municipal authorities in a city is ensuring a clean water supply for its inhabitants, which is achieved through a technological network, that is, the network of pipelines conveying water to various parts of the city. To understand urban technological networks such as the city water supply, the intermixing of wider social and economic realities with the transformation of such networks needs to be explored. A socio-technical approach gaining popularity with urban geographers for an understanding of social and technological development in concert is the Actor Network Theory (ANT), which focuses on the relationships between the human and the non-human. By taking the example of Delhi, the capital of India, this article explores how ANT provides a way to include material entities such as standpipes, water treatment plants, tube wells, and so on, into analyses of societal water governance networks and institutions.