Ecological Citizenship and Social Representation of Water: Case Study in Two Argentine Cities

摘要

This article examines the social representations of water in urban cultures of Argentina, placing the subject as a matter of academic and practical interest. Some questions have guided this investigationa??What is water for the urban dweller? What are the actions that a citizen is willing to exercise?a??A qualitative research was conducted (according to Yina??s case analysis methodology) in Gualeguaych?o and Buenos Aires. Following the collected data, the authors reconstructed the dominant paradigm in both cities, which was the ecocentric model. However, the acceptance of ecological values and beliefs is not an indicator of the exercise of proecological behavior concerning water. Empirical findings have guided the authors to inquire the degree of relationship between social representations and attributes of Andrew Dobsona??s model of ecological citizenship.