Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in Berlin
This paper sheds a long-term perspective on the politics of water infrastructure in 20th century Berlin, focusing on how water conservation became enrolled in the political agendas of very diverse regimes, from the Weimar Republic to the present day. The paper poses the following three questions: fi...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Water Alternatives Association
2016-06-01
|
| Series: | Water Alternatives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/315-a9-2-5/file |
| _version_ | 1818917555221299200 |
|---|---|
| author | Timothy Moss |
| author_facet | Timothy Moss |
| author_sort | Timothy Moss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper sheds a long-term perspective on the politics of water infrastructure in 20th century Berlin, focusing on how water conservation became enrolled in the political agendas of very diverse regimes, from the Weimar Republic to the present day. The paper poses the following three questions: firstly, in what socio-technical and political contexts have strategies of water conservation emerged (and disappeared) in Berlin? Secondly, what meanings have been attributed to these strategies and how were they politically appropriated? Thirdly, what continuities and changes to water-saving strategies can be traced across Berlin’s turbulent 20th century history? These questions are addressed with an empirical analysis of four periods of Berlin’s water infrastructure history: a) an era of expansion (1920-1935) about harnessing (regional) water for (urban) prosperity, b) an era of national autarky (1936-1945) about enrolling urban water in the Nazi cause, c) an era of division (1948-1989) about reordering truncated water flows in divided West and East Berlin, and d) an era of reunification (1990-present) in which expansionism has confronted environmentalism, giving rise to contestation over the desirability of water conservation. This empirical analysis is framed conceptually in terms of a dialogue between notions of obdurate socio-technical systems and dynamic socio-material assemblages. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T00:35:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71c80dc89bad407babc161ae0b1c4774 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1965-0175 1965-0175 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T00:35:56Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Water Alternatives Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Alternatives |
| spelling | doaj.art-71c80dc89bad407babc161ae0b1c47742022-12-21T19:59:45ZengWater Alternatives AssociationWater Alternatives1965-01751965-01752016-06-0192250271Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in BerlinTimothy Moss 0University of BerlinThis paper sheds a long-term perspective on the politics of water infrastructure in 20th century Berlin, focusing on how water conservation became enrolled in the political agendas of very diverse regimes, from the Weimar Republic to the present day. The paper poses the following three questions: firstly, in what socio-technical and political contexts have strategies of water conservation emerged (and disappeared) in Berlin? Secondly, what meanings have been attributed to these strategies and how were they politically appropriated? Thirdly, what continuities and changes to water-saving strategies can be traced across Berlin’s turbulent 20th century history? These questions are addressed with an empirical analysis of four periods of Berlin’s water infrastructure history: a) an era of expansion (1920-1935) about harnessing (regional) water for (urban) prosperity, b) an era of national autarky (1936-1945) about enrolling urban water in the Nazi cause, c) an era of division (1948-1989) about reordering truncated water flows in divided West and East Berlin, and d) an era of reunification (1990-present) in which expansionism has confronted environmentalism, giving rise to contestation over the desirability of water conservation. This empirical analysis is framed conceptually in terms of a dialogue between notions of obdurate socio-technical systems and dynamic socio-material assemblages.http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/315-a9-2-5/fileWater politicswater conservationinfrastructure historypath dependenceassemblageBerlin |
| spellingShingle | Timothy Moss Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in Berlin Water Alternatives Water politics water conservation infrastructure history path dependence assemblage Berlin |
| title | Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in Berlin |
| title_full | Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in Berlin |
| title_fullStr | Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in Berlin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in Berlin |
| title_short | Conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in Berlin |
| title_sort | conserving water and preserving infrastructures between dictatorship and democracy in berlin |
| topic | Water politics water conservation infrastructure history path dependence assemblage Berlin |
| url | http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/315-a9-2-5/file |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT timothymoss conservingwaterandpreservinginfrastructuresbetweendictatorshipanddemocracyinberlin |