Delivering poor-inclusive urban sanitation requires improved service delivery, rather than a focus on infrastructure. This is the core finding of this global review on challenges, trends, and approaches at the global, national and city levels to achieve viable poor-inclusive urban sanitation at scale. After presenting population density as a defining challenge for urban sanitation, the authors analyse the practice of urban sanitation, its technical challenges and the way forward for poor-inclusive service delivery. The paper highlights key observations and lessons from the original study report: “Delivering Sanitation to the Urban Poor: A Scoping Study (2012; unpublished). Although this overview of urban sanitation has shown that the current situation is far from ideal, and that widespread improvements will not occur at the present rate of progress, it also identifies initiatives that have potential for wider replication. There is no “silver bullet” that will deliver improved sanitation to the developing world’s burgeoning cities, and some key technical issues remain to be resolved, but much can be achieved by applying what is already known and proven in practice. Delivery of effective sanitation to all urban dwellers requires the whole chain of services, supported by a combination of domestic, decentralized, or fully networked infrastructure. This, in turn, requires an appropriate enabling environment that can engage the many stakeholders involved, from communities to national governments, to drive change and secure sustainable financing for services provided through both the market and the public sector, reinforced by clearly defined accountability mechanisms. Massive investments in infrastructure to address urban sanitation in developing countries have often resulted in patchy and unreliable coverage, mostly for richer users, and frequently leaving poorer communities to fend for themselves. If urban sanitation is to deliver its full potential public health, economic, social, and environmental benefits to urban dwellers, it must reach all communities, as poor excreta management in one area results in contamination that can affect all citizens in densely populated urban spaces. Even where interventions prioritize and target poor neighborhoods, they should be delivered within a citywide inclusive approach. By applying these lessons learned and addressing the technical issues yet to be resolved, significant progress can be made over the medium term, in consonance with the post- 2015 agenda of sanitation services for all.

Bibliographic information

Hawkins, P., Blackett, I., Heymans, C. (2013). Targeting the Urban Poor and Improving Services in Small Towns: Poor-Inclusive Urban Sanitation: An Overview World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), Washington, USA

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Faecal sludge treatment processesUrban (entire city)English

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