Mainstreaming WSUD: Indicators of institutional change

Abstract

Since the emergence of the concept of WSUD in the early 1990s (JSCWSC 2009), much progress has been made. Yet whilst WSUD is being widely encouraged across Australia (JSCWSC 2009), and in certain states and contexts is even mandated, it remains somewhere between a fringe and mainstream practice. Put another way, despite the efforts thus far to promote WSUD, there is still some way to go before the practice is fully embedded within the urban water system of Australian cities. It is increasingly recognised that some of the major barriers to the mainstreaming of WSUD are institutional in nature (Wong and Brown 2009). However, we currently have limited insight into the process of institutional change, and in particular the embedding of a new practice within a broader institutional framework. To this end, the paper begins by considering what 'institutionalisation' of a practice means and outlines a working definition of this concept. Indicators of institutionalisation are then proposed as a means of evaluating progress towards this end goal.

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