RT Journal Article
T1 Justice and moral economies in “Modular, Adaptive, and Decentralized” (MAD) water systems
A1 Beresford, Melissa
A1 Brewis, Alexandra
A1 Choudhary, Neetu
A1 Drew, Georgina
A1 Escobedo García, Nataly
A1 Garrick, Dustin
A1 Hossain, Mohammed Jobayer
A1 López Almada, Ernesto Luis
A1 Ilboudo Nébié, Elisabeth
A1 Pacheco Vega, Raúl
A1 Roque, Anaís
A1 Wutich, Amber
AB “MAD Water” systems (modular, adaptive, decentralized infrastructures) will expand to meet human water needs under future climate change, migration, and urbanization scenarios. Yet the use of MAD systems often undermines water justice. Here we argue that identifying and analyzing moral economies for water can allow scholars to understand—and possibly predict—when and why justice in MAD water systems is upheld, breaks down, or becomes unstable. Moral economies are institutional arrangements in which shared understandings of justice normatively regulate the distribution and exchange of basic resources. We review the moral economies concept, explain an operational framework for analyzing moral economies, and use this framework to illustrate how moral economies function to uphold justice (or not) within three types of MAD water systems today: water sharing arrangements, informal water vending markets, and small-scale water commons. We show that when moral economies are embedded and operating successfully in MAD water systems, they can create check-and-balance mechanisms against injustice. But when moral economies are absent or failing, water injustices often prevail. The moral economies framework therefore provides not only a tool for theory building and analysis, but also a possible language and pathway for communities to organize for justice. We conclude by outlining key areas for future research.
PB Elsevier
YR 2024
FD 2024-01-31
LK http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14066/4554
UL http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14066/4554
LA eng
NO Beresford, M., Brewis, A., Choudhary, N., Drew, G., Escobedo Garcia, N., Garrick, D., Hossain, M. J., López, E., Ilboudo Nébié, E., Pacheco Vega, R., Roque, A., & Wutich, A. (2024). Justice and moral economies in “Modular, Adaptive, and Decentralized” (MAD) water systems. Water Security, 21, Artículo 100148.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2023.100148
NO Corresponding author. E-mail address: melissa.beresford@sjsu.edu (M. Beresford).
NO Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
DS MINDS@UW
RD 16-abr-2025