ABSTRACT
Single-storey shanty towns in the cities of developing countries may not have especially dense populations, although inner-city tenement blocks might. There is great diversity; along with established city areas some countries also have large refugee camps which display many of the characteristics of urban areas. Such camps can form suddenly and impose severe demands upon water, food and fuel supplies in a region, sometimes for decades; they also lack taxpayers to support services. While there are many very large cities, and most of these have appeared quite rapidly, much of the urban environment in developing countries consists of far smaller settlements. Mega-cities are not necessarily prone to problems, but if problems do appear considerable resources may be required to solve them. There is a huge diversity of urban environments: cities can vary a lot and within a city there are often marked differences, notably between rich and poor districts.
