Paper short abstract:

This paper uses the concept of heterogeneous infrastructure configurations to raise lines of inquiry on broader questions of temporality, multiplicity of designs and actors as part of the urban sanitation configurations from two toilet cases in Kampala city, Uganda.

Paper long abstract:

The goal of this paper is to raise lines of inquiry on broader questions of temporality, multiplicity of designs and actors as part of the urban sanitation configurations. Using two cases from Kampala, we demonstrate technological diversity, connect this diversity to the preferences of users by showing linkages between toilets that are proximate to each other, and the importance of considering these relations between toilets over time. Our line of thought is motivated by studies recognizing the importance of off-grid sanitation technologies in cities where networked sanitation by publicly managed sewers is insufficient. However, we argue that such studies consider toilets as static, where technologies are chosen once at the project onset and in isolation from each other. We analyze our cases as heterogenous infrastructure configurations, emphasizing that there are relationships that vary over time and space between the different parts of infrastructure. Our analysis demonstrates how operations, cultural orientations, payment mechanisms and limitations have a significant bearing on feasibility, scalability, and integration into city-wide sanitation which is often not foreseen in planning phases. We thus conclude that sanitation configurations that enable flexibility rather than trying to predict needs may well enable more reliable infrastructure.