Constraints in providing water and sanitation services to the urban poor

Physical and technical constraints arise because the urban poor tend to settle on the most undesirable pieces of land for economic reasons. Ironically, where the cost of land goes down, the cost of bringing in services goes up. Also, informal settlements often develop haphazardly, without adequate space for installing infrastructure lines, and local engineers prefer to use service delivery modes with which they are familiar, even when these turn out to be inappropriate for the difficult topography, soils, and other conditions of slum neighborhoods. Financial constraints include both the high costs of connections in or near the house and the shortage of capital for investment. Attempts to get independent banks to finance slum upgrades have been widely unsuccessful. The major institutional constraints are ineffective public works companies. Typically, public works companies lack motivation to deliver quality services to marginal areas; nor have private service companies shown eagerness to extend infrastructure to poor neighborhoods. Structural constraints -- those involving zoning, land-use planning, land markets, building codes, and property rights -- are the most difficult to address, let alone resolve, because they involve conflicting values and policy viewpoints. The present policy of many international agencies to emphasize private sector growth over social development may present a new barrier in getting services to the poor. The greatest bottleneck, however, is indifference and even hostility, at local, national, and international levels. (Author abstract, modified)