Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the making of heterogeneous water infrastructures along with two case studies of urban water supply in Khartoum and a rural hydro-development scheme in Kenya. It interprets heterogeneity in relation to ‚travelling models of development’.

Paper long abstract:

The paper contributes to ongoing debates about heterogeneous infrastructure in the Global South by scrutinizing the process of configuration, i.e., the planning and implementation of hydro-development schemes. It builds upon two case studies of water-related development projects. In the city of Khartoum, a newly constructed central water supply system for two million inhabitants improves access to clean water, but forces consumers to pay for the services. The case of Tana river in Kenya presents a cascade of multi-purpose dams which improve water supply for urban areas, irrigation schemes and national energy security, but at the price of large-scale land acquisitions, social unrest, and evictions. Both cases raise the question who benefits from large hydro-development projects, and how trade-offs between urban and rural areas are managed. Furthermore, the paper asks for the meaning of ‚heterogeneity’ and transformation.

We propose to look at the transformation of heterogeneous water infrastructures by understanding them as ‚travelling models‘, i.e., as blueprints which have been designed as standard technical solutions and are then transferred into specific environments in the Global South where they are locally negotiated, appropriated, modified, or resisted. The paper addresses three aspects in the process of configuration: First, the localization and place-making practices that go along with the configuration of heterogeneous infrastructure. Secondly, the impact of large ‚modern‘ infrastructure on the risk and robustness of local livelihoods. Thirdly, the role of the state and global capital as drivers of these processes.