From Water Injustice to the Coproduction of a New Hydrosocial Territory: Working-Class Inhabitants and University Activists Creating Alternatives in Mexico City

Abstract

This article analyzes how a coalition between working-class residents and activist academics pushed for water justice in the urban periphery of Mexico City over the course of a 10-year period. It shows how the coproduction of a water basin as a territory unsettled traditional administrative categories and empowered local residents to both better understand the place they live and to advocate for themselves. Although unequal, the alliance functioned precisely because of the complementary skills each group brought to the table.