Peri-Urban Sanitation and Water Service Provision: Challenges and opportunities for developing countries, 2014.
Jennifer McConville and Hans Bertil Wittgren (eds). Stockholm Environment Institute.
The challenges facing peri-urban areas may seem daunting, especially because many of them are interlinked and subject to frequent change, which brings greater complexity. However, when problems are interconnected, there can also be opportunities for synergetic and cross-cutting solutions, and rapid change creates space for effective innovation.Thus, despite the challenges, peri-urban areas can also offer rich opportunities. Decentralization of institutional arrangements has had the effect of slowly increasing the mandates and capacity of local government in PUAs, and there is growing recognition of the role that informal and community-based sectors play in urban economics and development. The lack of services in PUAs can present market opportunities for new actors, while weak regulations and competition Anna Norströmfor resources can stimulate innovation.
PUAs can provide openings to change existing, often ineffective, approaches to service delivery. There is room to develop new regulatory procedures, approaches to planning, financing schemes and innovative governance. Many peri-urban residents are already resorting to alternative approaches to service provision, which can be improved and up-scaled to meet demands. There are also opportunities to make the most of the urban-rural divide.
