What are the challenges in providing services for the urban poor?
1. Rapid Urbanization The world is steadily becoming more urban, as people move to cities and towns. They search for employment and educational opportunities and higher standards of living, migrating from rural lands that can no longer support them. Today, almost half of humanity lives in urban areas, and the urban population is growing two and a half times faster than its rural counterpart. By the year 2025 urban areas are expected to be home to more than two-thirds of the world’s people. Already the world is largely urban, and even in rural areas life is increasingly affected by the changes created by the growth of cities. Many cities and towns in the developing world are already characterized by high levels of air and water pollution, slums, deteriorating infrastructure, and poor waste management systems. The resulting exposure to microbiological pathogens due to unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor waste management is one of the most serious environmental health t
