Why water security matters to cities under extreme heat in the Global North

This study argues that household water security is far from universal in the urban Global North, resulting in uneven capacities and strategies to adapt to heat, outside and within the home. The authors synthesise key insights to advance water security as a central plank of urban heat justice.

Household water security — safe, affordable, reliable, and acceptable water for a thriving life — is a key avenue for adapting to extreme and chronic heat, particularly in cities. Without secure access to water, adaptive actions like staying hydrated or cooling the body become inaccessible, exacerbating health risks, deepening inequality, and threatening lives. Even in so-called “advanced” capitalist economies like the USA, household water security is not universal¹⁵ and is unevenly experienced across lines of class, race, and social differences