10.4122/1.1000001677
Hegger, D.L.T.
D.L.T.
Hegger
Vliet, B.J.M. Van
B.J.M. Van
Vliet
Mels, A.R.
A.R.
Mels
Radical and gradual environmental innovations in urban water management - could they be friends?
DTU Library, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
2005
Conference presentation
Wastewater Management
Ecological Sanitation
environmental innovations in urban water
management
socio-cultural aspects
strategic niche management
citizen-participation
Wageningen University, Environmental Policy Group
Environmental Policy Group
Wageningen University
Wageningen University, Sub-Department Of Environmental Engineering
Sub-Department Of Environmental Engineering
Wageningen University
2005
en
10.4122/1.1000001678
text/xml
This paper deals with the socio-cultural aspects of environmental innovations in urban water management, comparing two categories of cases: disconnection of rainwater from the sewage system and Ecological Sanitation. The former is a gradual innovation that has become official policy in The Netherlands. The latter is a radical innovation that has been implemented in several demonstration projects in Western Europe. After studying the cases, it can be concluded that gradual innovations such as disconnection of rainwater in the long run act as a stepping stone for radical innovations such as Ecological Sanitation, not only from a technical, but also from a socio-cultural viewpoint. Traditionally, demonstration projects function as stepping stones for technological change. At least as important as their technological features is the organisation of such projects. Furthermore, the role of the citizen-consumer in the planning phase of projects and the actual use phase of new technologies is crucial. To build trust in technologies, it is required to fine tune new technologies to the needs of citizen-consumers. For a successful use of stepping stones in technological development, there should be deliberate experimentation, not only with different technological solutions, but also with different social constellations.