Urban affluence and the evolving social contract: insights from adaptation to drought in South Africa

Abstract Climate shocks challenge the imagined social contracts between urban residents and city administrators, potentially resulting in declining public trust and a reluctance to engage in collaborative adaptation. Drawing from interviews and questionnaire responses, this study explores how relatively affluent residents of Cape Town, South Africa, responded to the severe 2017–2018 drought. The study illustrates how climate-induced stresses can serve as inflection points in urban social contracts, mediated by the availability of modular technologies and infrastructure, with implications for governance, equity, and the future of public trust in service delivery. For cities seeking to maintain the terms of established social contracts, these findings underscore a need to communicate roles and responsibilities clearly, ensure fair cost distributions, and to invest in public trust to ensure continued collaborative engagement, even among those who can afford autonomy.