The challenge of system change: an historical analysis of Sydney's sewer systems

Fam, DM; Mellick-Lopes, A; Willetts, JR; Mitchell, CA

The challenge of system change: an historical analysis of Sydney's sewer systems

Fam, DM

Mellick-Lopes, A Willetts, JR

Mitchell, CA

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Publisher:: Team D/E/S
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Design Philosophy Papers, 2009, 3/2009 pp. 1 - 14
Issue Date:: 2009-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Fam, DM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5549-5034	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mellick-Lopes, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Willetts, JR https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3975-9642	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mitchell, CA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9842-540X	en_US
dc.date.issued	2009-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Design Philosophy Papers, 2009, 3/2009 pp. 1 - 14	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1448-7136	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/12814
dc.description.abstract	Despite the obvious health benefits of the sanitary revolution and construction of sewered systems, there are increasing doubts about the long term sustainability of centralised, water-based sanitation. Growing uncertainties such as rapid population growth, emergence of new pollutants, changing hydrological conditions in relation to climate change and global economic instability will require systems to be more open to `flexible and reflexive approaches1 in meeting future sanitation needs. The highly inflexible nature of existing sanitation systems burdened with over a century of capital infrastructure investment and assets that require 30-50 years to pay back, make centralised sanitation both economically unsustainable and institutionally rigid. Social practices associated with water borne sanitation have been embedded within western society for over a century making `radicalï½ system change and the introduction of alternative technologies and habits of practice challenging.	en_US
dc.publisher	Team D/E/S	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Design Philosophy Papers	en_US
dc.title	The challenge of system change: an historical analysis of Sydney's sewer systems	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3/2009	en_US
utslib.for	1205 Urban and Regional Planning	en_US
utslib.for	1203 Design Practice and Management	en_US
utslib.for	2203 Philosophy	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.volume	3/2009	en_US

Abstract:

Despite the obvious health benefits of the sanitary revolution and construction of sewered systems, there are increasing doubts about the long term sustainability of centralised, water-based sanitation. Growing uncertainties such as rapid population growth, emergence of new pollutants, changing hydrological conditions in relation to climate change and global economic instability will require systems to be more open to `flexible and reflexive approaches1 in meeting future sanitation needs. The highly inflexible nature of existing sanitation systems burdened with over a century of capital infrastructure investment and assets that require 30-50 years to pay back, make centralised sanitation both economically unsustainable and institutionally rigid. Social practices associated with water borne sanitation have been embedded within western society for over a century making `radicalï½ system change and the introduction of alternative technologies and habits of practice challenging.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/12814