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Innovating Urban Water Infrastructure Systems
2020-Present
In many cities in the global South where residents do not have access to water and sanitation services, they provide these services for themselves. While informal, self-provisioning fills a service gap, it has well documented risks and inefficiencies. In the global North most water and sanitation practices are unsustainable by today’s water scarcity, energy use, and GHG emissions standards. These systems are water and energy intensive, and the design and construction materials used often work against natural cycles.
This project addresses the following questions:
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What are the best urban water and wastewater management systems and practices from an environmental, economic, and equity perspective?
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How can urban water and wastewater infrastructure systems be built and/or retrofitted to be less wasteful, less resource-intensive, and more environmentally sustainable?
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How can cities in the global South, with limited fiscal resources, high rates of poverty, and widespread informal development, provide universal access to water and sanitation services in the short-, medium-, and long-term?
This project will help cities identify the key issues, such as the: social, economic, and environmental contextual factors, available management regimes, appropriate technology, governance capacity, and available finance before planning and building water and sanitation infrastructure systems.