Cyborg urbanization, theorizing water and urban infrastructure: Photographs

Gandy, Matthew (2016). Cyborg urbanization, theorizing water and urban infrastructure: Photographs. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-852266

Data description (abstract)

This data collection consists of photographs of key locations used for fieldwork in Bombay(59), Lagos(10) and Los Angeles(2). In Bombay there are photographs of key districts such as Andheri, Colaba, Mahim and Mira Road, along with up-state water supply infrastructure such as Modak Sagar. In Lagos there are photographs of Ajegunle, Amukoko, Oshodi and other areas including images of inadequate water supply arrangements and poor waste collection services. In Los Angeles there are images of the LA river which was transformed in the New Deal era into a waste water channel.

This three year project investigates the relationship between water and cities in the modern era. The project explores a series of themes covering political, cultural, economic and technical dimensions to the development of urban infrastructure for water supply in large metropolitan areas.
The main outcome will be a book on the cultural history of water to be aimned across a range of disciplines including urban planners, geographers and other readers interested in the complexities of physical infrastructure and urban design.

Urban environmental themes are now the focus of vibrant international debates ranging across a whole spectrum of disciplines from architecture and civil engineering to sociology and human geography. The conceptual starting point for this project will be a critical exploration of the newly emerging concept of cyborg urbanization through the multi-faceted relationship between water and urban space.
Water possesses its own bio-physical properties but is simultaneously shaped by political , cultural and scientific aspects of its interaction with human societies. The study of water allows us rich insights into the production of urban space and the reconfiguration of relations between nature and society in the modern era.

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