Advancing a More-Than-Human Governance of Disasters: Insights from a Drought Management Controversy on Urban Gardens in Barcelona (Spain)

The escalating impacts of multifaceted climate-related disasters create increasing challenges for cities and call for enlarged understandings of the entanglements between human and more-than-human worlds in the Anthropocene. There are pressing reasons to develop more responsive governance frameworks that bolster the resilience of all urban inhabitants and their environments. Drawing on Action Network Theory (ANT), this paper seeks to examine a controversy about Barcelona's urban gardens involving a dispute about the criteria for establishing water restrictions during a severe drought in the region of Catalonia (Spain). Results from this slow emergency case show how specific institutions, regulations, and practices can undermine environmental governance and resilience during the unfolding of disasters. They also shed light on the emergence of multispecies solidarity, and new community practices as a response to, and a preparation for new urban threats. These adaptative practices lay the foundation for a framework for more-than-human governance of disasters to be applied in urban settings and beyond. By incorporating shared vulnerabilities into disaster governance, we can enhance social and environmental resilience in the face of increasingly severe weather events. Advancing more-than-human governance in disaster prevention, management, and regeneration is crucial for creating sustainable and resilient futures in a rapidly changing world.