The geography of water inequality in Cape Town

Cape Town’s water crisis reveals that broken pipes are symptoms of broken governance, where apartheid’s spatial legacy, rapid urban densification, and the commodification of water create cascading environmental and social injustices that can only be solved through inclusive, community-centred approaches that treat water as life rather than a resource.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Human Science Research Council SA
Published
2026-01-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14749/31055842
Primary Topic
Water Governance and Infrastructure
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

The geography of water inequality in Cape Town

Human Sciences Research Council
Human Science Research Council SA
Water Governance and Infrastructure
article

The geography of water inequality in Cape Town

Human Sciences Research Council
article en

Abstract

Cape Town’s water crisis reveals that broken pipes are symptoms of broken governance, where apartheid’s spatial legacy, rapid urban densification, and the commodification of water create cascading environmental and social injustices that can only be solved through inclusive, community-centred approaches that treat water as life rather than a resource.

Human Science Research Council SA
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 91%
Water Governance and Infrastructure
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

The geography of water inequality in Cape Town — Human Sciences Research Council · Human Science Research Council SA (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS