This open access book explores the implications of urbanization in South Asia for water (in-) security in the peri-urban spaces of Dhaka and Khulna in Bangladesh, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune in India, and Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The book looks into specifically peri-urban water security issues in a context of rapid urbanization and social-environmental changes, including the changing climate and its emerging impacts. It demonstrates how urbanization processes change water flows between rural and urban areas, the implications of this processes for the water security of peri-urban populations, and how new institutions and technologies develop to mediate the relationships between peri-urban communities and water. The book seeks to further the debate on peri-urban water security, including what constitutes the peri-urban, socially differentiated access to water in peri-urban spaces, interventions for improving water access, and emerging forms of cooperation and conflict related to water access in a context of urbanization and climate change. As such, this book is an interesting read for academics with various disciplinary backgrounds, professionals working in the worlds of national and international policy, NGOs, activist groups, research and development institutes, and individual readers interested in water security and urbanization.

This open access book explores the implications of urbanization in South Asia for water (in-) security in the peri-urban spaces of Dhaka and Khulna in Bangladesh, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune in India, and Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The book looks into specifically peri-urban water security issues in a context of rapid urbanization and social-environmental changes, including the changing climate and its emerging impacts. It demonstrates how urbanization processes change water flows between rural and urban areas, the implications of this processes for the water security of peri-urban populations, and how new institutions and technologies develop to mediate the relationships between peri-urban communities and water. The book seeks to further the debate on peri-urban water security, including what constitutes the peri-urban, socially differentiated access to water in peri-urban spaces, interventions for improving water access, and emerging forms of cooperation and conflict related to water access in a context of urbanization and climate change. As such, this book is an interesting read for academics with various disciplinary backgrounds, professionals working in the worlds of national and international policy, NGOs, activist groups, research and development institutes, and individual readers interested in water security and urbanization.

Water management plays an increasingly critical role in national and international policy agendas. Growing scarcity, overuse, and pollution, combined with burgeoning demand, have made socio-political and economic conflicts almost unavoidable. Proposals to address water shortages are usually based on two key assumptions: (1) water is a commodity that can be bought and sold and (2) ""states,"" or other centralized entities, should control access to water. Liquid Relations criticizes these assumptions from a socio-legal perspective. Eleven case studies examine laws, distribution, and irrigation in regions around the world, including the United States, Nepal, Indonesia, Chile, Ecuador, India, and South Africa. In each case, problems are shown to be both ecological and human-made-the locally specific outcomes of social, political, and environmental histories. The essays also consider the ways that gender, ethnicity, and class differences influence water rights and control. In the concluding chapter, the editors draw on the essays' findings to offer an alternative approach to water rights and water governance issues. By showing how issues like water scarcity and competition are embedded in specific resource use and management histories, this volume highlights the need for analyses and solutions that are context-specific rather than universal.