Persisting narratives undermine potential water scarcity solutions for informal areas of Mexico City: the case of two settlements in Xochimilco

ABSTRACT

In Global South megacities, hazards related to climate change – such as water scarcity – are exacerbated by informal urban development. Limited access to public services, particularly those such as water which are considered human rights, require alternative solutions, each with its own trade-offs and costs. Cities’ decisions are often guided by socially constructed narratives.  This research explores three existing narratives on promoting water scarcity solutions in two informal communities of the Xochimilco municipality in Mexico City: (1) ‘formalizing informality’ (e.g., promoting grey infrastructure development); (2) ‘enhancing informality’ (e.g., improving the current system of delivery by water trucks); and (3) greening informality (e.g., capturing rainwater).

KEYWORDS:

• Water scarcity
• informal urbanization
• water supply narratives
• Mexico City

Acknowledgments

The first author gratefully acknowledges the Posgrado en Ciencias de la Sostenbilidad (Graduate Program in Sustainability Sciences), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). The authors appreciate the participation of the interviewees and the time they dedicated to this research, as well as the support of Jonatan Navarro in the transcription of the qualitative data. Finally, we appreciate the comments and support of Aurora Feeney-Kleinfeldt, Chrissie Baush and Beth Tellman.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The Conservation Zone (Suelo de Conservación) is a protected area in the south of Mexico City, which represents more than half (59%) of the area of the city and was created in 1992 to stop urbanization of forested and agricultural lands, and as a source of environmental services, especially the recharge of the aquifer (Sheinbaum, 2008).

2. Each road has a person who sometimes is responsible to ‘tip’ the water trucks (piperos), and this person is responsible for seeing that all the containers are filled when the water truck arrives. In general, there is one person for each street or parada.