ABSTRACT

As described in Chapter 5.1 (Urbanization in low-and middle-income nations), in the first decade of the twenty-first century, most of the world’s urban population and most of its large cities are in low-and middle-income nations in Latin America, Asia and Africa, and these are also likely to accommodate most of the growth in the world’s population in the next one to two decades. The quality of environmental management in these urban centres (and of the governance structures within which this management occurs) has very significant implications for development. Despite great diversity in the size and economic base of urban centres, they all share certain characteristics. All combine concentrations of human populations and a range of economic activities. Their environment is much influenced by the scale and nature of these economic activities – both directly, in the resources they use and the pollution and wastes they generate, and indirectly, in the environmental impacts of their workforce and dependants and the other enterprises on which they draw. Urban environments are also greatly influenced by the quality and extent of provision for supplying fresh water and for collecting and disposing of solid and liquid wastes.