Urban Water Governance in Postcolonial Zimbabwe: A Resilience and Sustainability Perspective

This book focuses on urban water supply and governance in the Global South using urban Zimbabwe as a case study to provide insights and perspectives into the realities of the water governance. Applying a resilience and sustainability perspective, we argue that fragmentation of responsibilities between various institutions, the difficulty of coordination at various levels, and the politics centered on water supply constrain effective water governance in Zimbabwe. This has resulted in a downward spiral in urban water services in Zimbabwe's urban centers. Additionally, the innovative nature of this study is to draw from an often-neglected dimension in urban water governance, which is the political ecology which brings into perspective the varying int1erests associated with environmental contests and conflicts that influence water allocation and sharing among urban areas by the public sector. Therefore, this book dwells on understanding the politics, economic and ecology of water governance through an interdisciplinary lens. This analysis is critical for this study because Zimbabwe's current state of obsolete water infrastructure has also had a negative impact on the supply of high-quality portable water services to the public in urban areas. This book will be a critical read for academic and professionals in the fields of urban geographers, planners, sociologists and water experts. It will also be useful for undergraduate and postgraduate students from Geography, Urban and regional Planning, Political Science, Development Studies and Economics.