Researcher(s):
Isabel Kuniholm
ENVS course(s): 400 Initiated: September 2012 Completed: May 2013 Go to project site
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This thesis discusses a new integrated framework for the management of water resources in three cities: Portland, London and Sao Paulo. Water resource management in urban areas is extremely important due to its vitality as a resource to the health of humans and to the fate of cities. Cities that cannot overcome pollution related challenges or that cannot efficiently and sustainably manage their freshwater resources will face many public health and water scarcity issues. Specifically, this thesis discusses how, why and on what scale the integrated water resource management framework has been implemented in each city. This will add to the current literature on integrated water resource management. Through a comparative analysis of Portland and London, this paper suggests that currently, an integrated approach to water resource management at a sub-basin scale is the most effective framework for motivating a participatory method for improving a river’s water quality, functionality and socio-economic value in urban areas. Furthermore, this analysis is extended to the third case study of Sao Paulo, in order to discuss if an integrated approach could or has been successful in the world’s rising megacities.