Beyond Day Zero: Tracing the Institutional Framing of Water Scarcity in Cape Town
(2026) UTVK03 20261Sociology
- Abstract
- Growing concerns around resource depletion and climate change has made freshwater scarcity an increasingly urgent issue for cities around the world. In Cape Town, this became especially visible during the 2018 Day Zero crisis, when the City of Cape Town faced the possibility of its municipal water supply systems reaching a critical failure point. This thesis examines how freshwater scarcity in Cape Town has been framed within public institutions over time. Focusing on five official City of Cape Town documents published between 2018 and 2025, the study uses reflexive thematic analysis and framing theory to analyse shifts in institutional discourse following the drought crisis. The analysis identifies a shift from framing water scarcity as... (More)
- Growing concerns around resource depletion and climate change has made freshwater scarcity an increasingly urgent issue for cities around the world. In Cape Town, this became especially visible during the 2018 Day Zero crisis, when the City of Cape Town faced the possibility of its municipal water supply systems reaching a critical failure point. This thesis examines how freshwater scarcity in Cape Town has been framed within public institutions over time. Focusing on five official City of Cape Town documents published between 2018 and 2025, the study uses reflexive thematic analysis and framing theory to analyse shifts in institutional discourse following the drought crisis. The analysis identifies a shift from framing water scarcity as an immediate crisis requiring behavioural compliance toward a broader understanding of water scarcity as a long-term governance and resilience challenge. The analysis is structured by four themes: the shift from emergency to permanent governance risk, the shift from behavioural compliance to collective adaptive governance, the institutionalism of climate uncertainty, and the framing of water scarcity as a systemic urban resilience challenge. The findings show that crisis language does not disappear, but rather used as a reference point for future preparedness. Similarly, behavioural compliance from residents shifts and residents remain part of the responsibility framework, but the City takes on a bigger role in planning, infrastructure, diversification, and long-term governance. The thesis argues that institutional framing matters because it shapes how water scarcity is understood, who is positioned as responsible, and what responses appear necessary and legitimate. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9244829
- author
- Engkvist, Wilma LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- UTVK03 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- water scarcity, framing, water governance, Cape Town, Day Zero, climate uncertainty, resilience
- language
- English
- id
- 9244829
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-29 09:31:24
- date last changed
- 2026-06-29 09:31:24
@misc{9244829,
abstract = {{Growing concerns around resource depletion and climate change has made freshwater scarcity an increasingly urgent issue for cities around the world. In Cape Town, this became especially visible during the 2018 Day Zero crisis, when the City of Cape Town faced the possibility of its municipal water supply systems reaching a critical failure point. This thesis examines how freshwater scarcity in Cape Town has been framed within public institutions over time. Focusing on five official City of Cape Town documents published between 2018 and 2025, the study uses reflexive thematic analysis and framing theory to analyse shifts in institutional discourse following the drought crisis. The analysis identifies a shift from framing water scarcity as an immediate crisis requiring behavioural compliance toward a broader understanding of water scarcity as a long-term governance and resilience challenge. The analysis is structured by four themes: the shift from emergency to permanent governance risk, the shift from behavioural compliance to collective adaptive governance, the institutionalism of climate uncertainty, and the framing of water scarcity as a systemic urban resilience challenge. The findings show that crisis language does not disappear, but rather used as a reference point for future preparedness. Similarly, behavioural compliance from residents shifts and residents remain part of the responsibility framework, but the City takes on a bigger role in planning, infrastructure, diversification, and long-term governance. The thesis argues that institutional framing matters because it shapes how water scarcity is understood, who is positioned as responsible, and what responses appear necessary and legitimate.}},
author = {{Engkvist, Wilma}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Beyond Day Zero: Tracing the Institutional Framing of Water Scarcity in Cape Town}},
year = {{2026}},
}