When is Water 'Just Water'? Living In-Between and Accessing Water in Periurban Can Tho', Vietnam

I examine the relationships between periurbanization, local water systems, and different forms of water access in three of Cn Ths periurban districts. Periurban Cn Th has a long history of landscape and waterscape change. My research looks back to the period of French colonization to investigate how todays Delta waterscape was produced through struggles and wars among colonizers, peasants, and postcolonial governments. The canals, streams, and rivers have been shaped over time by the Deltas residents and have become deeply engrained in the residents cultures, traditions, and lifestyles. I examine how periurban residents use these same canals to access wa ter alongside rainwater, groundwater, piped water, and bottled water. While conducting extensive fieldwork in Cn Th, I asked questions about how residents have adapted to the changing landscape, what factors influence residents perceptions of their landscape, and how residents to maintain their individual water security. To address these questions I bring together work in urban political ecology and feminist geography to understand periurbanization in secondary cities. I have developed three main arguments that run through my dissertation. First, I argue that water scarcity discourses create the impression of water scarcity at all levels despite the availability of informal water sources at the local level. Ultimately, it is often the lack of access to formal water systems in periurban spaces that create the perception of scarcity. Secondly, I argue that residents ability to access and manage water using both formal and informal sources contributes to their ability to be resilient against the threat of water insecurity. Residents use the local periurban environment to their advantages. Finally, I argue that the Mekong Delta is a unique landscape with unique historical processes. Just as not all analyses are translatable across sites, not all water types are the same. Furthermore, the non-homogeneity of the Delta speaks to the non-homogeneity of waterdifferent kinds of water can be appropriate, or not, for different uses and thus ensures water security for many residents.