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WATER CONSERVATION IN DESERT CITIES: FROM THE SOCIOECOLOGICAL FIX TO GESTURES OF ENDURANCE1 1 . The authors would especially like to thank Franck Poupeau and the joint, French-American UMI-iGlobes research unit for their continued support of environmental social studies. Earlier versions of this research were presented and discussed at a 2017 conference - “Transversal Issues in the Struggles for Blue Gold” - from November 5-11, 2017 at the University of Sao Paulo, in partnership with the CNRS, ANR and the University of Sao Paulo, which was graciously supported by their faculty, especially Pedro Jacobi, and students. We also want to recognize the 2019 conference “Water in the Americas” held in Paris with the support of the Sorbonne-Nouvelle (Paris-3) and the CREDA (Center for Research and Documentation on the Americas) and the useful comments we received there.

CONSERVAÇAO DA AGUA EM CIDADES DO DESERTO: DESDE UM CONSERTO SOCIOECOLOGICO AO GESTOS DE RESISTENCIA

CONSERVACION DEL AGUA EN CIUDADES DESÉRTICAS: DESDE LA REPARACIÓN SOCIOECOLÓGICA HASTA LOS GESTOS DE RESISTENCIA

Abstract

Urban water provision is the archetypal case for the recent wave of urban political ecology, using the concept of “fix” to illustrate belief in technical forms to solve socioecological problems like uneven water distribution and environmental degradation. On the one hand, this paper shows that the risks of water shortages in Arizona, USA are a technical concern. Professionals are dedicated to the promotion of water conservation to “fix” a dysfunctional hydro-social cycle. Yet, environmental organizations raise a critical approach to this “hydrocracy”. They defend local water supplies, river regeneration, and reuse as promoting a low water-use “desert lifestyle”. Building on the intellectual history of “fixes”, we apply Giorgio Agamben’s concept of “gesture”, signaling how, in places of deep water scarcity, water conservation policies remain within notions of growth, such that pauses in water availability leave open future promises of resource abundance so the moment of scarcity can be endured.

Keywords:
Water Conservation; Socioecological Fix; Gesture; Desert Cities; Political Ecology

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