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Urbanisation and Water Consumption: Influencing Factors in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona

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  • Elena Domene

    (Institut de Ciencia i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Edifici C Nord Campus, UAB Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona 08193, Spain, elena.domene@uab.es)

  • David Saurí

    (Institut de Ciencia i Tecnologia Ambientals and Departament de Geografia, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain, david.sauri@uab.es)

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the relationships between urbanisation and residential water consumption, taking as a case study the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona. More precisely, it investigates the influence of certain demographic, behavioural and housing factors on this consumption using descriptive statistics and a regression analysis. The data are derived from a sample of 532 households in 22 municipalities of the study area. Results show that income, housing type, members per household, the presence of outdoor uses (garden and swimming pool), the kind of species planted in the garden and consumer behaviour towards conservation practices play a significant role in explaining variations in water consumption. It is concluded that, along with prices and incomes, further research is needed on other demographic and housing variables in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the determinants of domestic water consumption in areas periodically affected by water stress.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Domene & David Saurí, 2006. "Urbanisation and Water Consumption: Influencing Factors in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(9), pages 1605-1623, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:43:y:2006:i:9:p:1605-1623
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980600749969
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    3. Valeria Bernardo & Xavier Fageda & Montserrat Termes, 2015. "Do droughts have long-term effects on water consumption? Evidence from the urban area of Barcelona," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(48), pages 5131-5146, October.
    4. Coisnon, Thomas & Rousselière, Damien & Rousselière, Samira, 2018. "Information on biodiversity and environmental behaviors: a European study of individual and institutional drivers to adopt sustainable gardening practices," Working Papers 272611, Institut National de la recherche Agronomique (INRA), Departement Sciences Sociales, Agriculture et Alimentation, Espace et Environnement (SAE2).
    5. Yitian Ren & Heng Li & Liyin Shen & Yu Zhang & Yang Chen & Jinhuan Wang, 2018. "What Is the Efficiency of Fast Urbanization? A China Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-26, September.
    6. Xavier Garcia & Melanie Muro & Anna Ribas & Albert Llausàs & Paul Jeffrey & David Saurí, 2013. "Attitudes and behaviours towards water conservation on the Mediterranean coast: the role of socio-demographic and place-attachment factors," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(3), pages 283-296, May.
    7. Pérez-Urdiales, María & García-Valiñas, María Ángeles, 2016. "Efficient water-using technologies and habits: A disaggregated analysis in the water sector," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 117-129.
    8. Jos頉. Castillo-Manzano & Lourdes Lopez-Valpuesta & Manuel Marchena-G & Diego J. Pedregal, 2013. "How much does water consumption drop when each household takes charge of its own consumption? The case of the city of Seville," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(32), pages 4465-4473, November.
    9. Madhusudan Katti & Andrew R. Jones & Derya Özgöç Çağlar & Henry D. Delcore & Kaberi Kar Gupta, 2017. "The Influence of Structural Conditions and Cultural Inertia on Water Usage and Landscape Decision-Making in a California Metropolitan Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-18, September.
    10. Saeed Ghavidelfar & Asaad Y. Shamseldin & Bruce W. Melville, 2017. "Future implications of urban intensification on residential water demand," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(10), pages 1809-1824, October.
    11. D. Manouseli & B. Anderson & M. Nagarajan, 2018. "Domestic Water Demand During Droughts in Temperate Climates: Synthesising Evidence for an Integrated Framework," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(2), pages 433-447, January.
    12. Saeed Ghavidelfar & Asaad Y. Shamseldin & Bruce W. Melville, 2017. "A Multi-Scale Analysis of Single-Unit Housing Water Demand Through Integration of Water Consumption, Land Use and Demographic Data," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(7), pages 2173-2186, May.
    13. Jean-Daniel Rinaudo, 2015. "Long-Term Water Demand Forecasting," Post-Print hal-01290178, HAL.
    14. Alberto Gianoli & Rishi Bhatnagar, 2019. "Managing the Water-Energy Nexus within a Climate Change Context—Lessons from the Experience of Cuenca, Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, October.
    15. Garcia-Valiñas, Maria A. & Athukorala, Wasantha & Wilson, Clevo & Torgler, Benno & Gifford, Robert, 2014. "Nondiscretionary residential water use: the impact of habits and water-efficient technologies," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 58(2), April.
    16. Chih-Hao Wang & Hongwei Dong, 2017. "Responding to the Drought: A Spatial Statistical Approach to Investigating Residential Water Consumption in Fresno, California," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, February.
    17. Wanjuan Zhang & Yang Yu & Xueyu Zhou & Shuai Yang & Chuan Li, 2018. "Evaluating Water Consumption Based on Water Hierarchy Structure for Sustainable Development Using Grey Relational Analysis: Case Study in Chongqing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    18. Ying Zhao & Yani Bao & Wai Ling Lee, 2019. "Barriers to Adoption of Water-Saving Habits in Residential Buildings in Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-13, April.

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