Rapid urbanization in many parts of the developing world is putting increasing strain on the ability of municipalities to deliver critical services, such as water and sanitation. Peri-urban areas surrounding cities in the developing world are often at the fringes of urban planning, both physically and politically, making service provision an even greater challenge. In addition, these areas face a variety of challenges related to poverty, environmental degradation, shifting cultures and unclear social boundaries.

Water plays a fundamental role in people’s lives. Access to safe water is a basic human need and a key factor in the development and sustainability...

The world is being shaped by urbanization. Cities in the developing world are expanding at an enormous rate, and Africa in particular is predicted to urbanize the fastest. UN-HABITAT predicts that 50% of the continent’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, which equates to a total of 1.2 billion people (UN-HABITAT, 2008). Formal procedures and mechanisms for urban services and infrastructure development cannot keep pace with this unprecedented growth, and the result is a fast growing number of transition areas at the periphery of cities – so-called peri-urban areas (PUAs).

It is a challenge to define the term...

Today, one rural dweller provides food for two persons. If the urbanisation trends continue, within a lifetime, the same rural dweller will have to feed 6-7 people. Efficiency of food production has to improve manifold, and there is also a scope for urban food production by using recycled nutrients. Peri-urban areas at the cross-roads of rural and urban are a logical starting point for this transition.

The OECD (2013) estimates that at the end of this century 1.5 billion people will reside in rural areas, providing food for the 8.5 billion living in cities. Urbanization implies that a shrinking rural...

Using water and energy efficiently plays a vital role in water supplies and sanitation services in middle- and low-income peri-urban areas. On the one hand, provision of water and sanitation services depends on a reliable water supply of an acceptable quality, either based on centralized or decentralized systems. On the other hand, energy is required for water and sanitation services, for instance for treatment and delivery.

In order to develop water- and energy-efficient water supply and sanitation systems, it is first of all necessary to better understand various links between water and energy from a broader systems perspective. Figure 1...

Hygiene is a complex issue that is linked to medical questions, like preventing the spread of contagious diseases, as well as a range of social considerations. The concept of hygiene varies from society to society; what is customary in one society could be unacceptable in another.

A very basic aspect of personal hygiene is hand washing, which is very efficient in restricting the spread of germs and parasites. The Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis showed in practice a radical decrease in mortality in delivery wards by introducing hand washing. His findings were rejected by the medical community and some doctors even...

Providing sanitation and water supply is not just a question of building infrastructure. There are a number of social, cultural, and economic issues that impact on service delivery and the quality of people’s lives, particularly in peri-urban areas.

The socio-economic condition of households often defines the type of infrastructures available for water and sanitation and therefore, determines exposure to waterborne diseases and pathogens in human faeces (Figure 1). For example, coverage of piped water and sanitation networks is generally low in poor areas. To meet their need the poor must resort to alternatives such as water vendors and open defecation....

Solutions to the complex problems facing peri-urban areas require a structured planning approach that is adapted to the heterogeneous nature of these areas and the diverse needs of the inhabitants. Achieving this means using innovative planning approaches that are more inclusive, participatory, open-ended and multi-disciplinary.

Peri-urban areas are faced with a number of complex and interconnected development problems which make delivery of sanitation and water services very difficult (see Chapter 1). Specifically, unclear regulations, mixed settlements and rapidly changing populations make it difficult to define visions and service standards that will meet current and future needs. To overcome these challenges,...

New solutions are needed to meet the sanitation and water supply needs of peri-urban areas. Creating these solutions will mean taking a more dynamic and creative approach to planning, designing and communicating information. The SanWatPUA Network has been working with gaming as a tool.

Gaming is an increasingly popular way to improve decision-making and raise awareness. Games have been designed to support scientific exploration, scenario management and city planning, among other tasks. Using the format of a game helps to create an open and creative learning environment, which can stimulate problem-solving and sharing.

The SanWatPUA network has developed a role-playing...