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Pacific
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Access to sanitation facilities
South
Eastern Asia
East Asia
South Asia
West Asia
Commonwealth of
Independent States
Latin America
and Caribbean
Oceania
North
Africa
Sub-
Saharan
Africa
Type of sanitation facility
Million people
Source: JMP,
Progress in drinking water and sanitation
, 2008.
Improved
: facilities that ensure hygienic separation of
human excreta from human contact. Includes connection
to a piped sewer system, septic tank, or pit latrines.
Shared
: sanitation facilities of an otherwise
acceptable type shared between two or
more households.
Unimproved
: facilities that do not
ensure hygienic separation of
human excreta from human contact
Open defecation:
in fields, forests, bushes,
bodies of water or other open spaces, or
disposal of human faeces with solid waste.
Improved
Shared
Open
defecation
Unimproved
0 500 1 000 1 500
Pacific
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Access to sanitation facilities
South
Eastern Asia
East Asia
South Asia
West Asia
Commonwealth of
Independent States
Latin America
and Caribbean
Oceania
North
Africa
Sub-
Saharan
Africa
Type of sanitation facility
Million people
Source: JMP,
Progress in drinking water and sanitation
, 2008.
Improv
: facilities that ensure hygienic sep ration of
human excreta from human contact. Includes connection
to a piped sewer system, septic tank, or pit latrines.
Shared
: anitation facilities of an otherwise
acceptable type shared between two or
more households.
Unimproved
: facilities th t do ot
ensure hygienic separation of
human excreta from human contact
Open defecatio :
in fields, forests, bu h s,
bodies of water or other open spaces, or
disposal of human faeces with solid waste.
Improved
Shared
Open
defecation
Unimproved
0 500 1 000 1 500
Urban areas are both consumers and producers of large amounts
of wastewater. Providing good quality water and sanitation ser-
vices to densely populated areas involves significant planning
and infrastructure. Over the next 25 years the annual growth rate
WASTEWATER AND URBAN LIFE
in urban areas is predicted to be twice as high as that projected
for the total population (1.8 per cent versus almost 1 per cent).
As soon as 2030, 4.9 billion people, roughly 60 per cent of the
world’s population, will be urban dwellers (UNDESA 2006).
Global populations are growing rapidly, particularly so in urban areas where the rate of
urbanization far outstrips planning and wastewater infrastructure development. Existing
wastewater infrastructure of most cities is decaying or no longer appropriate and in slum
areas there is no planning and few facilities. Management of wastewater in the urban
context must be adapted according, not only to the size, but also to the economic develop-
ment and governance capacity of the urban area. By working together, and cooperating
across municipalities the challenges of addressing wastewater management can be met
and potential benefits realized.
Figure 6:
Access to improved sanitation remains a pressing issue in many regions.