The session aims to reflect on the current experiences of urban informal and formal settlements and the inherent challenges and opportunities and share solutions to improve access to the quality of water and sanitation through appropriate innovations

Access to water and sanitation services in urban settlements is vastly unequal with formal housing providing potable water from taps and flush toilets while informal settlements may have shared or no facilities. With this status-quo having persisted over the years, how far have we come:
– are we discussing this ​and moving towards a solution of bridging the gap between the two?
– have we done enough to provide solutions?
– are we hearing equally from the have’s and have nots’?

The session aims to reflect on the current experiences of urban informal and formal settlements and the inherent challenges and opportunities and share solutions to improve access to quality of water and sanitation through appropriate innovations.

Host: ICLEI Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

The purpose of the session was to investigate potential answers to the following questions; where do we play in the space, how do we engage with the customers and how can one integrate simple technology with advanced technology and information? Emphasis was placed on the importance of resilience as a core component of work in the urban water and sanitation service delivery sphere and participants were challenged to consider ways in which innovation can be used to reimagine and regenerate cities.

The rest of the session was divided into two parts. One in which discussion was had around best practice methodologies for urban water and sanitation service delivery and a second part which introduced participants to a number of innovators in the sector. These innovations are designed to work in densely populated urban areas where formal infrastructure may be lacking such as townships. Many of them were designed to be water saving or water generating in order to serve households with limited access to fresh water as well as in water scarce areas.

This session was ultimately an insightful delve into the world of urban water and sanitation service delivery and provided some key insights into the future of this sector.