ABSTRACT
As described in Chapter 5.1, most of the world’s urban population and most of its large cities are now in low-and middle-income nations in Latin America, Asia and Africa. 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 inf luenced by the scale and nature of these activities and in the resources they use and the pollution and wastes they generate. Urban environments are also much inf luenced by the quality and extent of provision for supplying fresh water and for collecting and disposing of solid and liquid wastes from households, enterprises and institutions.
