Water 4 Change

The Water 4 Change (W4C) project is jointly funded by the Department of Science Technology (Government of India) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The aim is to formulate an integrative, fit-for-purpose and situated water-sensitive urban design framework for fast-growing, liveable cities. It aspires to facilitate long-term sustainability, equality, and resilience of all water systems through a synergy between four key focus areas-society, built & natural environment, technology & infrastructure, governance & management. Water 4 Change, therefore, understands water sensitivity is the outcome of the dynamic balance between claims, capacities, patterns, and behaviours from these four identified domains of change.

The main research objective is to deliver an integrative and fit-for-purpose methodological framework and roadmap approach for the water-sensitive cities vision. This will be based on a review of current activities, techniques, and social behaviour in determining the use of instruments and technologies in urban water systems regeneration, thereby testing their limitations and potential for future development. The programme shall strategically guide the short-term actions, long-term land-use plans, and infrastructural investments for the sustainable development of secondary cities in India. For this, three Indian cities (Bhuj, Bhopal and Kozhikode) spread across the continent were selected to develop and test our water-sensitive design framework.

Participating institutions:

Project Coordinators:

• Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR)
• Delft University of Technology (TUDelft)

Indian Project Partners:

• CEPT University
• Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT)
• Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-GN)
• Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM)

Dutch Project Partners:

• Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT), Erasmus University
• University of Twente
• IHE Delft, Institute for Water Education
• Deltares
• IRC Wash