Social Networks as Trojan Horses to Challenge the Dominance of Existing Hierarchies: Knowledge and Learning in the Water Governance of Volos, Greece

In context of the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, conventional hierarchies and dominant logics in the metropolitan area of Volos, Greece, are challenged indirectly, in a “Trojan-horse” like way. The basic characteristic of the water sector in Volos Urban Area is the absolute dominance of centralized services (Municipal Enterprise for Water and Sewage). However, the intense interest of new actors (private companies, NGOs, University and Research Institutes, etc.) has led to the establishment of an informal and voluntary social network. The paper evaluates the role of an informal social network as a new form of governance in the framework of spatial development that has emerged in the shadow of an existing hierarchy. The basic issues highlighted are: The challenge to hierarchical decision making structures in the water sector through an informal and voluntary social network. The learning processes and knowledge forms that new actors bring to and acquire in such forms of network practices (e.g. contribution to public awareness, mobilisation of local knowledge). Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010