SWITCH-Sustainable water management improves tomorrow’s cities health
It is now well recognised that our climate is changing and our population is increasing, particularly in cities and as a result, our demand for water is increasing. Unless we find solutions to this problem, it will only exacerbate. SWITCH is an action research project. Its main objectives are the development, application and demonstration of a range of tested scientific, technological and socio-economic approaches and solutions that contribute to sustainable and effective urban water management. SWITCH is needed as our population is increasing (with most growth occurring in urban areas), the urban population now exceeds that of the rural and although only 2% of the earth’s surface is occupied by cities, they consume 75% of the total resources. With the additional problems that a changing climate brings, there is clearly going to be water management issues with increasing pressure on our cities, due to both the climate and demographic changes. SWITCH is aiming to address these issues in order to help to resolve water issues for our cities of the future. It has 32 partners from across the globe, 10 demonstration cities and a budget of approximately €25 million. The project duration is 5 years; from 2006 to 2010.
SWITCH wants to create a paradigm change in urban water management. It aims to achieve its objectives through action led research which is being driven forward by learning alliances. It is a cross-cultural project and links stakeholders to create strategic and holistic solutions. It addresses sustainability directly and explicitly addresses the risks inherent in take-up.
Further details on the work SWITCH is involved in globally is accessible at http://www.switchurbanwater.eu/.
Birmingham Learning Alliance
In each of the demonstration cities, a learning alliance (LA) has been formed which allows the various stakeholders to actively engage, share ideas and disseminate research findings. The LA is formed of members who have an interest in water resources in the area such as water companies, water users, environmental groups and city planners to name but a few.
LAs aim to break down barriers to both horizontal and vertical information sharing and can speed up the process of identification, adaptation and adoption of innovation.
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