Redacción Ciencia (EFE).- The rich of urban elites consume water in excess for their personal leisure, such as filling their pools, watering their gardens or washing their cars, according to a study that denounces that it is social inequalities, more than environmental factors or population growth, which cause water crises in cities.
The work, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, is led by researchers from Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and although it focuses on Cape Town (South Africa), it also mentions cities such as London, Miami, Barcelona, Cairo, Rome or Tokyo.
“The rich, with large swimming pools and well-kept lawns, leave the poorer areas without basic access to water.
“Wealthy elites, with large swimming pools and manicured lawns in their homes, are leaving poorer communities without basic access to water in cities around the world,” the researchers summarize.
It is social inequalities that are causing urban water crises, more than environmental factors, such as climate change or urban population growth, they warn.
The research team focused on Cape Town, where an urban water crisis is causing many disadvantaged people to live without taps or toilets, using their limited water resources for drinking and hygiene.
The research, led by Elisa Savelli of Uppsala University, together with scientists from the University of Reading, the Free University of Amsterdam and the Free University of Manchester, used mathematical models to analyze the domestic water use of urban residents of the City of Cabo in order to understand how different social classes consume water.
They identified five social groups, from the “elite” (people who live in spacious houses with large gardens and swimming pools) to the “informal dwellers” (people who often live in shacks on the outskirts of the city).
Elite and upper-middle income households represent less than 14% of Cape Town’s population, but use more than half (51%) of the water consumed by the entire city, summarizes the University of Reading in a statement.
Low-income and informal households make up 62% of the population, but consume only 27% of Cape Town’s water.
Hannah Cloke, from the University of Reading, indicates that “climate change and population growth make water an increasingly precious resource in big cities, but we have shown that social inequality is the biggest problem for the poorest people have access to water for their daily needs.
“More than 80 large cities around the world have suffered from water shortages due to droughts and unsustainable water use in the last 20 years, but our projections show that this crisis could get even worse as the gap between rich and poor grows. poor is expanding in many parts of the world.
Among the cities mentioned are London, Miami, Barcelona, Beijing, Tokyo, Melbourne, Istanbul, Cairo, Moscow, Bangalore, Chennai, Jakarta, Sydney, Maputo, Harare, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Rome.
Links between social, economic and environmental inequality
This study demonstrates the close links between social, economic and environmental inequality, the authors conclude.
The researchers point out that currently efforts to manage water supply in cities with water scarcity are mainly focused on technical solutions, such as the development of more efficient water infrastructures.
These reactive strategies, focused on maintaining and increasing the supply of water, are “insufficient and counterproductive,” the research team suggests.
Instead, a more proactive approach, aimed at reducing unsustainable water consumption among elites, would be more effective, they suggest.
“Ultimately, the whole world will suffer unless we develop fairer ways of sharing water in cities,” Cloke summarizes.