The last two decades have seen much improvement to drinking water supplies to the urban poor across the developing world. However, potential benefits of improved water supply are severely compromised by faecal contamination at a critical zone around the point of use – regarded here as the ‘Last 100 Metres’ – where water is taken from the community standpipes to people’s homes. Global architectures for sustainable development are falling short – just metres before the ‘finish line’, with severe consequences for public health. In an era of Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), having access to safe water without safe sanitation means development remains unsustainable. Click here to find out more about the project.
Dr Manoj Roy is Lecturer of Sustainability at Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, UK. His research interests include: urban poverty analysis; linkages between urban poverty with ecosystem services; climate change adaptation; and development coalitions for creative urban planning. In the pursuit of policy relevant findings, he practices novel interdisciplinary methods combining technical analysis (e.g. architectural, planning, and spatial analysis & modelling) with a social (e.g. livelihoods, wellbeing) and political (governance, institutional) analysis. His recent books include: Bangladesh Confronts Climate Change: Keeping our Heads above Water (with Hanlon and Hulme) and Urban Poverty and Climate Change: Life in the Slums of Asia, Africa and Latin America (eds. with Cawood, Hordijk and Hulme).
The presentation from the seminar can be accessed here.
This is the 14th in the series of the Community of Research and Practice (CORP) seminars planned by the Scaling City Institutions for India: Sanitation (SCI-FI: Sanitation) initiative.