Water Cools
Dominant thermal imaginaries and heat-health governance discourses often obscure the significance of water as one of the most fundamental materials and technologies for sustainable cooling.
Yet water is vital to the human body’s ability to thermoregulate. Bodies can be cooled by drinking water, bathing or showering in water, or being covering with wet cloths and clothing. Indeed, the hydrated body is the embodiment of sustainable cooling.
Across all four Global Cities covered by the Cool Infrastructures project, we are exploring how a focus on hydro-practices and water infrastructures in low-income contexts can significantly expand current debates about cooling.
Project updates
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Water insecurity
The Cool Infrastructures team in Jakarta are currently conducting a longitudinal study of household water insecurity experienced by poor families in the city. The team are using quantitative indicators such as the HWISE (Household Water Insecurity Experience) scale, as well as community mapping and in-depth interviews as qualitative methods. The aim of the project is to provide recommendations for policymakers to reduce the water insecurities experienced by the urban poor.