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" London's changing waterscapes : "
Van Lieshout, Carry
Green, David Ralph ; Gurnell, Angela Mary ; Alex, Werner
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1100539
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TLets634157
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| Main Entry
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Van Lieshout, Carry
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| Title & Author
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London's changing waterscapes :\ Van Lieshout, CarryGreen, David Ralph ; Gurnell, Angela Mary ; Alex, Werner
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| College
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King's College London (University of London)
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| Date
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2013
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2013
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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This thesis explores the relationships between the natural environment, urbanisation, and the market economy, in the context of water supply and drainage in eighteenth-century London. It argues that, as a result of the expansion of the built-up area, the institutions that managed London's water became increasingly vital as the main mediators of the growing distance between the city's inhabitants and water. In particular, it focuses on the growth of a commercial water supply, and analyses how the allocation of a natural resource became increasingly refracted through the market. As such, the thesis addresses the emergence of a political economy of water and its social and economic ramifications. The thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach, integrating social and environmental history, and it argues that geography should be incorporated in the analysis of the institutions that controlled water. It considers London's drainage system and its water supply together, as changes in the drainage of surface water played a crucial role in creating the conditions for the privatisation of London's water supply. The expansion of the supply network, in turn, depended heavily on London's social geography as well as its topography, as the difference in elevation between a water company's intake and its customer base proved influential for its failure or success. The increased role of commercial water supply had important consequences as to how eighteenth-century Londoners accessed water. A new analysis of the water companies' level of market penetration adds context to contemporary debates surrounding the way the water market was structured. Finally, an investigation of the provision of free water in emergencies explores the role of private companies in the provision of public goods. The thesis adds to our knowledge about the growing role for institutions in an expanding city. More specifically, it explores how the market mediated relationships between society and nature.
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Alex, Werner
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Green, David Ralph
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Gurnell, Angela Mary
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King's College London (University of London)
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