Water sensitive communities: a systematic review with a complex adaptive systems perspective

There have been increasing calls for a paradigm shift in urban water management to a water sensitive cities (WSC) approach. Although it is well recognised that development of water sensitive communities is key to sustainable urban water transitions, there is no established definition for the “water sensitive community.” This study conducts a systematic review to understand how water sensitive communities are characterised in the literature and applies a complex adaptive systems perspective to the findings. The review identifies 16 attributes that define water sensitive communities, involving elements of participation, collaboration, liveability, shared ownership and responsibility in transition processes, and resilience. We add to this by linking WSC research with complex adaptive systems theory and propose a new definition of the water sensitive community as a complex adaptive system. This presents a realistic framework in which to study the complex interactions and dynamic aspects of a water sensitive community.