doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2026.17.1.1566
Beyond Technology: Governance, Policy and Equity Roadmap for Sustainable Urban Water Security Worldwide
Hafiz Abdul Wajid1,*
,
Muhammad Abid2,3 ,
Zaineb Abid4
- 1Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah 42351, Saudi Arabia
- 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus, G T Road, Wah Cantt, Pakistan
- 3Interdisciplinary Research Center, COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus, G T Road, Wah Cantt, Pakistan
- 4Institute for Sustainable Resources, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Manuscript receivedSeptember 9, 2025
- revisedOctober 14, 2025
- acceptedDecember 9, 2025
- publishedFebruary 5, 2026
Abstract
Cities worldwide are using smart technologiessuch as sensors, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things(IoT) to address growing water demand and shortages. Thisstudy analyzes 14 urban water security initiative implementedduring 2014 to 2024 in the cities of different regions globallyincluding Singapore, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Cape Town,Copenhagen, Israel, Bengaluru, Lima, Melbourne, Mexico City,California, Michigan and Chennai. Selected initiatives areclassified into seven focus dimensions to analyze their success orfailure. Flint and Chennai initiatives conclude that in case ofrigid policies or ignored communities the use of technologyalone often fails. Initiatives taken by Singapore and Tokyo areobserved successful and impactful as they utilized moderntechnology with a strong support from the government. Overallsuccess of the urban water security initiatives is concludedbased on the implementation of the technology that fits the localcontext, supportive and adaptable policies and strongcommitment to fairness. Findings of this study provide aroadmap for urban water security worldwide by integratinggovernance, policies and equity with modern technology. Thisstudy directly addresses and contributes to two SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) for water (SDG-6) and sustainablecities (SDG-11).
Keywords
- smart water management
- water governance
- urban water security
- equity
- climate resilience
- sustainable development goals (SDGs)
- digital water
How to Cite
Hafiz Abdul Wajid, Muhammad Abid, and Zaineb Abid, "Beyond Technology: Governance, Policy and Equity Roadmap for Sustainable Urban Water Security Worldwide," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 71-76, 2026. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijesd.2026.17.1.1566
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).