Assessing inequalities in urban water security through geospatial analysis

Abstract

Water security, which is key for sustainable development, has been broadly investigated through different spatial scales, time frames and perspectives, as a multi-dimensional concept. Fast growth and the diversity of the urban environment add to the challenges of reaching good levels of water security in cities. Yet, few studies have focused on evaluating the heterogeneous distribution of water security in urban areas, which is a key step to highlight where inequalities in large cities are present and how to best guide interventions. The objective of this research is to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of urban water security as well as quantifying inequalities using the new assessment presented in this paper. A holistic indicator-based evaluation framework to intra-urban sectors of the city of Campinas in Brazil is applied, followed by an inequality analysis to describe the distribution of water security aspects. A spatial correlation analysis is then carried out to identify patterns for high inequality indicators. Results show that even though Campinas has established good overall water security conditions, spatial heterogeneity is still noticeable in the urban area. Quantification of inequality by the Theil index highlighted aspects, such as vegetation cover, social green areas, and wastewater collection, that are inequitably distributed in the urban area. The subsequent analysis of spatial patterns exposed areas on the outskirts of the city where infrastructure challenges and social vulnerability coincide. This novel approach has been therefore successfully validated in a city in Brazil, and it has been demonstrated that our water security assessment framework identifies what are the main water security challenges and where they are in the city. For the first time we show that associating spatial and inequality analysis with conventional evaluation of urban water security has the potential to help target areas in need and tackle specific water security issues in the urban area. This is crucial to inform urban planning and policy making for a sustainable and inclusive urban water management strategy.