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Abstract
This article examines household-level characteristics that predict water insecurity in low-income rural and periurban communities on the Texas–Mexico border. We employ two logistic regression models (binary and ordered) to identify household characteristics that are more likely to result in water insecurity. Our analyses yielded unexpected findings: Whereas socioeconomic factors are weak predictors, immigration status of household members is a significant variable that contributes to household water insecurity. Policymakers need to pay more attention to marginalized communities as “universal” water access still leaves populations without adequate, reliable, and affordable water in the Global North.
本文检视预测德州—墨西哥边界上，低收入的农村与半城市化社区用水不安全的家户层级特徵。我们运用两个罗吉特迴归模型（二元与序位），指认更有可能导致用水不安全的家户特徵。我们的分析，得到了不被预期的发现：社会经济因素是较弱的指标，反之，家户成员的移民身份，则是导致家户用水不安全的显着变项。政策制定者必须更加关注边缘化的社群，因为所谓 “普世性” 的水资源取得管道，仍然让诸多全球北方的人口未能获得适宜、可靠且可负担的用水。
Este artículo examina, en el área limítrofe Texas-México, las características que a nivel de hogares predicen problemas de inseguridad hídrica en comunidades rurales y periurbanas de bajos ingresos. Empleamos dos modelos de regresión logística (binario y ordenado) para identificar las características de los hogares más propensos a ser afectados por la inseguridad hídrica. Nuestros análisis generaron resultados inesperados: En tanto que los factores socioeconómicos son predictores débiles, el estatus de inmigración de los miembros del hogar es una variable significativa que contribuye a la inseguridad hídrica del hogar. Los encargados de formular políticas deben poner mayor atención a las comunidades marginadas, por cuanto el acceso “universal” al agua todavía deja poblaciones en el Norte Global sin agua adecuada, confiable y económicamente accesible.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Laura Treviño, research participants, community center volunteers, and promotoras for their help and support during the research process. We also want to thank David Cairns, Christian Brannstrom, Heather Lee, Vicenta Placensia, Nancy Plankey-Videla, and Adam Naito.
Funding
The research on which this article is based was funded by a grant (BSC-0924232) from the National Science Foundation (United States). The usual disclaimers apply.
Notes
1 The U.S. Census Bureau defines complete plumbing as hot and cold running water, a flush toilet, and a bathtub or shower. All three facilities must be located inside the dwelling. Housing units are classified as lacking complete plumbing when any of the three facilities is not present.
2 Fewer than nine indicators might produce a high coefficient of reproducibility by chance, but for both data sets the other measurements of acceptability far exceed guidelines.
3 Over 4.5 million U.S.-born children have parents who are undocumented and 1 million children under 18 are undocumented (Passel and Cohn Citation2011). This supports the findings that 76 percent of children in Mexican immigrant families lived in “mixed status” households between 2001 and 2011 (Kaushal et al. 2013, 205).
4 This result might be a result from a minimum N and household selection process.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Wendy Jepson
WENDY JEPSON is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include water governance, political ecology, and environmental justice with an empirical focus on Mexican-American communities on the U.S.–Mexico border.
Emily Vandewalle
EMILY VANDEWALLE is a former graduate student in the Department of Geography at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include water governance, public health, and environmental justice.