ABSTRACT
This chapter unfolds the challenges of urbanization for water management and the resulting environmental pressures related to water use. The first section offers an analysis of options for urban water management with a special focus on emerging and developing economies, where most of future urbanization will take place. Second, the water supply and associated problems of major US cities are presented as examples of water supply schemes established in a developed economy and to illustrate the related environmental issues. These US city water supply examples present great opportunities for learning and avoiding mistakes in other urban areas. The third section provides an examination of population dynamics under the influence of climate change in the coming decades in order to predict the location of new urban areas and the related water consumption globally. Finally, the chapter combines this assessment with a water scarcity analysis to identify hotspots of urban water problems and to discuss consequences for agriculture and rural areas.
