Alternatives for safe water provision in urban and peri-urban slums
Abstract
In response to rapid urbanization throughout the global South, urban and peri-urban slums are
expanding at an alarming rate. Owing to inadequate financial and institutional resources at the
municipal level, conventional approaches for safe water provision with centralized treatment and
distribution infrastructure have been unable to keep pace with rapidly growing demand. In the
absence of alternatives to centralized systems, a global public health emergency of infectious
water-related diseases has developed. Alternative decentralized water treatment systems have
been promoted in recent years as a means of achieving rapid health gains among vulnerable
populations. Though much work with decentralized systems, especially in urban environments,
has been at the household level, there is also considerable potential for development at the
community level. Both levels of approach have unique sets of advantages and disadvantages that,
just as with treatment technologies, may make certain options more appropriate than others in a
particular setting. Integrating community, government and other relevant stakeholders into the
process of systems development and implementation is essential if the outcome is to be
appropriate to local circumstances and sustainable in the long term.
Description
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Abstract
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Keywords
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY, POINT-OF-USE, SLUM REHABILITATION, URBAN SERVICES, WATER TREATMENT, WATER BORNE DISEASES, URBAN RENEWAL, URBAN POVERTY, INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
Citation
Ali, S. I. (2010). Alternatives for safe water provision in urban and peri-urban slums. Journal of Water and Health, 8(4), 720-734. doi:10.2166/wh.2010.141