Water insecurity and patchwork adaptability in Bangalore’s low-income neighbourhoods

Abstract

This paper explores the ‘patchwork adaptability’ of low-income residents living in south-eastern Bangalore in India to demonstrate the socially embedded ways that city dwellers patch their water supply gaps. Drawing upon site visits and semi-structured interviews in three neighbourhood enclaves, the discussion highlights how residents cope with difficult and water-insecure contexts despite the municipality’s resource governance failures. While we encourage appreciation of the remarkable resilience that low-income populations in Bangalore exhibit, the evidence lays bare the need for more government support to help low-income residents navigate water insecurity in ways that require less time-intensive labour and social networking.