Resumen de A phenomenological approach to water in the city: : towards a policy of letting water appear
Ivan Illich and Jamie Linton have both argued that our current technological relation to water constitutes an abstraction. Developing this insight in the context of phenomenology, I draw on Michel Haar�s French translation of Gestell�the essence of technology, according to Heidegger�as �consommation� (consumption), to put forward a criticism of the abstract status of water in postindustrial, consumer societies. I propose in its place a concrete, phenomenological approach, according to which a policy of �letting water appear� can not only play a significant role in the unconcealment of poie-sis�Heidegger�s response to the question concerning technology�but also form the basis of a renewed urban water policy. Four key examples of letting water appear are examined: daylighting urban rivers and streams; harvesting local rain and ground water; treating wastewater on-site using �living machines�; and attuning demand to local water flows. I conclude by suggesting that urban water policy cannot be reduced to integrated water resource management, for the transition to sustainability also requires a fuller understanding of the phenomenological issue of �letting appear� (poie-sis).
