On the Abstraction of Water: Mapping the Construction of Crisis

This project employs a landscape-based approach to understand contemporary water crises created by large-scale infrastructure projects and their associated land use patterns. As climate change disrupts water cycles and exacerbates extremes of precipitation and drought, the fates of many regions are tied to hydrological risk, requiring a reevaluation of existing systems to inform future adaptation. This research focuses on freshwater in the American West, using the urban regions of Chicago and Los Angeles as comparative cases of freshwater abundance and scarcity. The project methodology includes archival image and map analysis, geospatial mapping, and field-based photo documentation along key transects to understand the interrelation between natural systems, engineered solutions, and constructed crises. Through this multi-format analysis, compiled in the form of an atlas, we compare the territorial and local impacts of water infrastructure on the landscape. Testing this approach on two regional geographies allows for further insight into the common risks and limitations of engineered water systems, including the roles of water-redirection infrastructure, unsustainable land-use practices, and broken hydrological boundaries in producing the water “crises” we see today. Throughout this study, opportunities for adaptation also emerged, including ecological resurgences and alternative paths to restoration and water management.

Researcher: Kai Blatt and Caroline Brodeur