First Advisor

Idowu (Jola) Ajibade

Date of Award

6-7-2021

Document Type

Paper

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Geography

Department

Geography

Language

English

DOI

10.15760/geomaster.27

Abstract

Broader governance challenges driving water insecurity globally are well documented in the literature, however the power-laden relationships and emotions that shape water access at the household and community levels are yet to be fully investigated, especially in the context of water consolidation projects. In this article, we examine the role of emotions in mediating access to water and in the production of resource struggles among marginalized communities existing outside of conventional regulatory frameworks. We bring together two relational approaches – the hydro-social cycle and emotional political ecology – to examine water insecurity and how it manifests in the historically disadvantaged Latinx community of East Porterville, California; an unincorporated community faced with seven years of prolonged drought and widespread dry wells. Findings from qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with residents and local experts and participant observation revealed that the emotions of fear, suffering, embarrassment, shame, and compassion facilitated the reproduction of water insecurity in certain households while engendering access in others. Social hierarchy and horizontal relationships mattered, particularly in how emotions were mobilized and contested and the effects they produced for households. Furthermore, this article shows that water struggles and solutions are emotional processes with political and livelihood implications and thus require attention beyond engineering solutions.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

A research paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geography.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40744

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