ABSTRACT
When faced with experiences of water scarcity and the resulting social and environmental issues, cities worldwide have resorted to digital technologies and water datafication to help with water management and service delivery. Digital technologies such as urban dashboards, digital observatories, and indicator systems integrate multiple data sources and visualisations to assist governments, citizens, and businesses make decisions. These digital technologies help improve city planning, increase transparency in policymaking, and inspire future city possibilities. Nonetheless, they frequently depart from a technocratic and neoliberal approach to water, deprioritising issues such as justice, equity, and sustainability.
This chapter explores the role digital technologies can play in more equitable water governance in Lima, Peru. Drawing on the experience of designing a data platform based on the values of data justice and water justice, the Observatorio Metropolitano de Agua, this chapter presents a reflection on how embracing this complex and deliberative process as opposed to pursuing more technocratic approaches opens space for dialogue about fundamental conceptualisations of water, knowledge, and good governance.
