A Ditch Runs Through It: How Complex Systems Develop from Constructed Waterworks
Channel: Karmen Franklin
Date: 2011-11-06

Humans construct their water supply as well as adapt to it. As they advance
in size and complexity, hydraulic societies face increasingly complex water
distribution problems. However, the adaptive development of human
waterworks allows for sustainable, equitable solutions. With a look at the
philosophies, cultural landscapes, and waterworks of the American West, this paper discusses the development of dynamic hydraulic societies, and the potential water crises that they face in the 21st century. This paper examines the processes societies use to solve complex water problems. Dynamic hydraulic societies behave like natural water systems in form and function. The principles guiding the form and function of a dynamic hydraulic society offer practical, sustainable solutions for emerging water problems.

Karmen Lee Franklin, University of Colorado at Boulder

Presented at the International Conference on the Constructed Environment  in Chicago, IL on October 29, 2011.

This presentation presents my thesis on water use in society. The term "hydromimcry" describes the dynamic flow of interactions between the users of a shared, recyclable natural resource. I coined this phrase in 2011 as the basis of my undergraduate honors thesis, and a potential approach for my doctoral dissertation. I have since stopped using the term after I discovered someone else was already using it in a slightly different context.