The suburbanization of water scarcity in the Barcelona metropolitan region: Sociodemographic and urban changes influencing domestic water consumption

The metropolitan region of Barcelona is facing change in urban development patterns, sociodemographic structures, and domestic water use and management. In recent years, several drought alerts have been enacted and water restrictions applied, uncovering the fragile equilibrium between the demand and the supply of this resource. We find the literature on determinants of domestic water consumption to be strongly biased toward the effects of economic instruments in the suburban Anglo-American world. Therefore, we widen the scope of determinants by including sociodemographic and territorial variables for the mixed urban model of the metropolitan region of Barcelona. Our results show the relevance of residential land uses for water consumption and can be taken as a guide for developing different urban water policies for different urban forms. © 2010 by Association of American Geographers.