oa Right to repair?

Right to repair? Plumbers and the struggle for the repair of domestic water supplies in the nineteenth century

The modern high-tech water infrastructure that emerged in the nineteenth century was a tool in a power struggle that manifested itself mainly indoors. These fragile systems worked anything but flawlessly, however, so repair remained essential even in times of increasing mass production. Plumbers epitomised this, but entered into fierce competition around the right to repair (a precursor of the contemporary debate) with manufacturers, distributors and local governments, who subjected repair to strict regulations to promote public health and reduce water waste. A look at London, Paris and Brussels shows how local policy choices and socio-environmental conditions affected the regulation of repair.