Edward Elgar Publishing Water Supply in a Mega-City: A Political Ecology Analysis of Shanghai

With the increasing threat of depleted and contaminated water supplies around the world, this book provides a timely and much needed analysis of how cities should manage this precious resource. Integrating the environmental, economic, political and socio-cultural dimensions of water management, the authors outline how future mega-city systems can maintain a high quality of life for its residents. With the rapidly evolving and wealthy Shanghai as the key example, the paradox between the wealth of a city and the quality of its water is uncovered. With a multidisciplinary and multi-scale analysis, the supply of water to cities is discussed in the context of rivers, households, corporations, government and infrastructures. Chapters include the influence of household water use, the political economy of water management, the sources and management of pollution, catchment dynamics, and a Bayesian model for calculating future demand. This comprehensive study shows how essential water management will be to new, developing and expanding cities in the foreseeable future. Water Supply in a Mega-City will be of interest to researchers from across social, natural and engineering sciences interested in the theoretical and practical management of this essential resource in large cities, as well as those interested in the way cities respond to changing environmental conditions.