Poética y sostenibilidad de los bebederos públicos

Drinking fountains and fountains have been part of the urban landscape for hun dreds of years. They have not only contributed to beautifying cities and giving them color and a particular character, but they are also a characteristic element that makes life more livable for passersby, demonstrating hospitality toward pedestrians and, in some cases, constituting meeting and gathering points, allowing for the narrative and history of neighborhoods in cities. The disappearance of drinking fountains in many cities and their recent reincorporation in some semi-public places such as schools and universities, raises a reflection on the relevance or not of bringing drinking fountains back to the city as an aesthetic element of the urban landscape and the conformation of more livable cities. In order to get closer to an answer to this question, a study was carried out on the use of drinking fountains installed in Higher Education Institutions, specifically at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (Autonomous University of the State of Mexico), which shed some light on the current customs and habits regarding the consumption of water from drinking fountains, their design, the quality of the water in drinking fountains, topics that allow us to explore the possibility and relevance of incorporating drinking fountains back into cities.