Urbanisation without infrastructure

in African cities:

Who is filling in the gap?

Adriana Allen

(a.allen@ucl.ac.uk)

Urbanisation in [water and sanitation] poverty? Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double its

urban population between 2000 and 2030 (from

294 to 742 million) - but figures to be taken with

caution.

Urban growth rate reflects the continuing high

natural growth of population.

Urbanisation has not been (always) decoupled

from economic growth in the last two decades

but per capita income increases are far from the

level required to overcome poverty.

Spatial pattern of urban population distribution

does not differ from other regions but capacities

to address water and sanitation poverty do, both

in over cities with one 1 million and in secondary

cities.

….and so does increasing urban inequality and

segregation.

“a private estate set in delightful seclusion”

East Legon Hills, Accra

Old Fadama, Accra

Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA): Physical growth 1985-2002

Source: Yankson et al, 2004.

Trends Planning is sporadic and

non-compliant

Full-fledged informal land

market

„Alternative‟ processes

house about 60% of the

population

Tensions between

traditional „owners‟ and

„encroachers‟

An inequitable housing

environment: 3% of dwellings

in gated communities and

60% of dwellings in slums

Market forces rather spatial

planning driving Accra‟s

spatial patterns

GAMA Total population

in 1984: below 1.3 million

GAMA Total population

in 2000: 2.7 million

Globalising from above: The emergence of „globurns‟

DRIVERS

• Land and housing increasingly commodified

• Transformation of property markets by the globalisation of finance and restructuring of FDI.

• International lending and mortgage programmes

• Comparatively reasonably priced properties by international

standards (but not by local ones!) PATTERNS

Whose PRACTICES?

Real estate developers, customary land

sellers and property buyers (such as national

elite members, transnationals who wish to

avoid building through informal channels,

foreigners and wealthy returnees)

In-between globalising: Remittance senders and returnees

3 million Ghanaians

(and 30% of all highly

educated Ghanaians)

live abroad

Their investments in

Accra‟s real estate

market are sizeable

Ranging from more

affordable units in

gated communities to

incrementally built

houses

Lifestyles,

aspirations,

expectations and

status

Upper-income returnees‟

networks

Lower-income returnees‟

networks

Source: Grant (2009:102)

Source: Grant (2009:115). Based on data from GSS 2004.

Globalising from below: The geography on informal structures in 2000

Nima

Labadi

Old Fadama Old Fadama

Nima

In 2010, only about 51 percent of the population had direct access to

utility water supply services.

Water supply, GAMA 2008 S

ource: Adank et al (2011:35, based on A

VR

L GIS

Unit, 2008)

Source: Adank et al (2011), Towards integrated urban water management in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.

SWITCH / Resource Centre Network Ghana.

Population growth projections, GAMA 2030 Taking into account economic growth,

water demand will grow more than the population growth

(By 2030 more that 6.5 times the amount of treated water

that was actually produced in 2007).

Projected population served by sewerage coverage, GAMA 2030

Source: A

dank et al (2011).

A commitment deficit: From „universal provision‟ to „halving the gap‟

Some progress but…

Most alarming deficits found in the

Sub-Saharan region:

• Two-thirds of people do not have access to improved sanitation

• Water coverage remains below 60 per cent of the population

Total expenditures are less than half

of what would be required to achieve the

MDGs regionally: More than $ 16.5 billion

per year or 2.6% of the regional GDP

Rural-urban disparities

WASAN coverage in Sub-Saharan urban

areas is almost double the rural

coverage…BUT rural areas are improving

at a faster pace.

Access to improved water supply and sanitation,

in 7 Sub-Saharan countries, 1990-2008

A measurement deficit „Improved‟ facilities versus „adequate‟ access

Regularity

Sufficiency

Affordability

Quality

Contextualised Needs

Improved

Facility

Adequate

Facility

Source: A

dapted from H

ofmann (2011)

Almost half of the Sub-Saharan

households (rural and urban) that

according to WHO/UNICEF

'have access to improved water supply',

spend more than half an hour a day

collecting water

„Improved‟ access to water:

-Piped water into dwelling, yard/plot

-Public tap or standpipe

-Tubewell or borehole

-Protected dug well

-Protected spring

-Rainwater collection

Resources: what is available?

Access: what is the extent of coverage?

Use: how effectively is water used?

Capacity: what is the capacity to manage water?

Environment: what are the environmental impacts?

A conceptual deficit Bridging the gap between resource-based vs. needs-based vs.

utility-based assessments

Source: Sullivan, C.A., Meigh, J.R. and Fediw, T. (2002) Developing and

testing the Water Poverty Index: Phase 1 Final Report. Report to DFID,

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK.

A governance deficit: The „push‟ for privatisation

Fin

anci

ng

Pla

nn

ing

Reg

ula

tin

g

Legislation and

Policy-making

Operational

provision

Cap

Bu

ildin

g

Six „arenas‟ of service delivery: theory and reality

Reduced state

investment

function

State not any longer in

charge of direct

provision

Loan contractor for

infrastructure

development and

rehabilitation

Provider of legal stability

and security to ensure

that contracts are

respected and bills paid

Legitimate vehicle to enforce internationally agreed norms and standards.

Guarantor of regular

revenues and a

crucial risk bearer

Involvement of the private sector in Sub-Saharan water utilities

“The share of the urban households connected to piped water has been steadily

decreasing from 50% in 1990 to 39% in 2005”. Source: Banerjee and Morella (2011): Africa's Water and Sanitation Infrastructure. Access, Affordability, and Alternatives, World Bank, pp. 217-219

Formal and informal water tariffs in 6 Sub-Saharan Cities

Paying more for less

Source: B

anerjee and Morella (2011)

WaterAid (2010)

A governance deficit: Who will fill in the gap?

Source: Banyard (2004: 24)

WASAN services for all?

Who should manage?

Who should pay?

Right or commodity?

Public or private?

„Muddling through‟ the water wheel:

Who is filling the gap?

Citizenship and the governance of service provision

‘Authorised’ ‘Unathourised’

Reformed public-private

utilities

Small independent

providers

Community-led service provision

Service co-production platforms

Instrumentalisation or transformation?

Water user

associations Water

technical

fora

Water

committees

Impact of co-production platforms on:

bridging the infrastructure gap at scale

protecting urban-regional ecosystems

services

addressing not just practical needs but also

building citizenship and activating

entitlements

Water kiosk, Dar es Salaam

Making urban WASAN poverty history?

Reappraising needs assessment and progress: Developing and mainstreaming an urban water poverty index through water agencies

Unpacking the multiple challenges posed by contemporary „urban water transitions‟

Considering water demands for productive purposes to support sustainable livelihoods

De-linking land tenure from service rights

Working out the finances required for universal provision: Reworking „water tariffs‟ vis a vis „cross-subsidies‟

Providing direct support to grassroots initiatives (e.g: UN-Habitat Water and Sanitation Trust Fund)

Building „bridged‟ solutions through service co-production beyond instrumentalism

The problem is not deficiency of water but deficiency of entitlement.

Testing and translating research into action

Small town water and sanitation delivery: Taking a wider view

Working with Building Partnerships for Development (BPD) and WaterAid, funded

by Gates Foundation (Bangladesh, Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria, Tanzania and

Uganda)

Moving down the ladder: Governance and sanitation that works for the

urban poor. Study commissioned by the International Water and Sanitation

Centre (IRC)

Rural-Urban Transformations and wastewater management. Desk study and

online course with UNESCO-IHE

Re-conceptualisating urban water transitions

Urban water poverty halfway through the Decade of Water for Life. Interdisciplinary

dialogue and publication within UCL GCSC

Cities, Decoupling and Urban Infrastructures

Report of the International Resource Panel (IRP), commissioned by the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP)

Ecosystem services of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Accra (Ghana) ESD MSc

in partnership with International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Ghana Federation

of the Urban Poor and People‟s Dialogue

www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/dpu