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Access to Water in the Slums of Sub‐Saharan Africa
Author(s) -
Dagdeviren Hulya,
Robertson Simon A.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
development policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1467-7679
pISSN - 0950-6764
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7679.2011.00543.x
Subject(s) - informal settlements , developing country , economic growth , market access , human settlement , development economics , population , scale (ratio) , business , state (computer science) , geography , economics , environmental health , medicine , cartography , archaeology , algorithm , computer science , agriculture
This article reviews the changing perspectives for improving access to water in the slums of developing countries, especially in sub‐Saharan Africa. While much of the literature continues to maintain an aversion to state‐led urban development policies, there is now increasing emphasis on the importance of informal, small‐scale providers and communitarian initiatives, following the many failures of privatisation. The article argues that market‐oriented solutions are inappropriate for sub‐Saharan African countries where over two‐thirds of the urban population live in squatter settlements with multidimensional challenges.