Nudging the city and residents of Cape Town to save water
Cape Town could become the worlds first major city to run out of water whats been termed Day Zero. Sao Paulo faced similar difficulties in 2015 leading to significant social unrest.
On Day Zero which could be in mid-July if theres no significant rain residents of the city will have to travel to one of 200 city-wide collection points to get the allocated 25 litres per person, per day, under the watchful eye of an armed guard.
The city has done a great deal of work to manage water use, even winning multiple awards, although equity concerns have frequently been raised in relation to these efforts. In light of the ongoing drought, the city is now trying to encourage even stricter targets of 50 litres of water per person per day a difficult goal that continues to raise issues of equity and justice.
To its credit, the city has worked with researchers at the University of Cape Town to test strategies to nudge domestic users into reducing their water use. Nudges are interventions to encourage behaviour change for better outcomes, or in this context, to achieve environmental or conservation goals.
What key insights could help inform the citys strategies? Research from psychology and behavioural economics could prove useful to refine efforts and help to achieve further water savings.
Much more: https://theconversation.com/nudging-the-city-and-residents-of-cape-town-to-save-water-92192
The dangerously low Threewaterskloof dam, a major supplier of water to the city.