Urban stormwater devices: the co-constitution of water, society and technology

Abstract

The modern city arose from a long history of urbanisation processes that marginalised nature and the infrastructure that brings it into the city. This moralised the separation of nature and culture. This research seeks to explore how this binary was troubled by decentralised urban stormwater systems. This thesis focuses on the recent shift towards decentralised urban stormwater devices as new way of constructing the urban landscape. Within Auckland, New Zealand, the main decentralised devices used are urban wetlands and rainwater tanks. A combination of surveys, photographic diaries and interviews were used with a focus on the embodied reactions, emotions and how participants understood urban infrastructure and place. The key theoretical conclusion reached is the importance of place in the construction of technical devices. The same device engaged different users differently depending on the meanings associated with place. How these devices were constructed and inserted into the landscape was key in influencing people's perception of water. However, when a techno-managerial approach is used, it marginalised the social meanings of water and place. Therefore, it inhibited the co-production of new socio-natures. The key empirical contribution is the co-constitution of water, society and technology. This has implications when thinking about how sustainability is enacted by the state where codifying 'best practice' is fundamentally flawed. By experimenting with the urban environment, it results in different ways of visualising water that affected people differently. This thesis demonstrates how it is necessary to consider the social influences of infrastructure to change the way urban places are made. Failing to do so prevents the movement towards a more water sensitive society.