ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines five frameworks for understanding urban water sustainability that are evident in research, practice, policy and activism. The five conceptual frameworks are sustainable development, ecological modernisation, socio-technical systems, political ecology, and radical ecology. Sustainable development is the familiar framing of the need to deliver the benefits of development to the global population within ecological and resource limits. Ecological modernisation promises that environmental problems can be resolved by reforming the underlying institutions of modern society, with a central role for technological innovation. Socio-technical systems emphasise the co-evolution of technology and society in identifying opportunities to transition towards more sustainable infrastructure. Political ecology frames sustainability as a socio-environmental problem and highlights the connections between social inequality and ecological degradation. Radical ecology makes the case for fundamentally reconfiguring relationships between nature and society, emphasising the value of nature in its own right and as an active constituent of cities.
