Sophie Schramm gives a lecture for the SchnupperUni on the topic "Urban Water Landscapes of Africa: Diverse Infrastructures, Technologies and Practises Beyond Planning"
Dates
Registration starts on 12/05
Lecture: 21/08/2025 from 13:00–14:00
Lecture description:
The water supply in many (East) African cities is shaped by diverse infrastructures, technologies, and practices. As a result, unique urban water landscapes emerge that differ significantly from conventional approaches and ideas of urban water provision. To access water, people tap into city pipelines, manipulate water meters, and use alternative sources for various purposes. These practices—as well as the associated technologies and infrastructures—vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and even from household to household. They are as commonplace as they are precarious. The COVID-19 pandemic made this especially clear: while some apartment residents barely had enough water to live, some inhabitants of informal settlements had access to free water. The interplay between crisis and normalcy shapes urban life in (East) Africa and challenges simplistic assumptions and traditional perceptions of what infrastructures are, how they function spatially, and what purposes they serve.