Towards “Sustainable” Sanitation: Challenges and Opportunities in Urban Areas

Kim Andersson, Sarah Dickin and Arno Rosemarin
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Kim Andersson: Stockholm Environment Institute, Linnégatan 87D, 115 23 Stockholm, Sweden
Sarah Dickin: Stockholm Environment Institute, Linnégatan 87D, 115 23 Stockholm, Sweden
Arno Rosemarin: Stockholm Environment Institute, Linnégatan 87D, 115 23 Stockholm, Sweden

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: While sanitation is fundamental for health and wellbeing, cities of all sizes face growing challenges in providing safe, affordable and functional sanitation systems that are also sustainable. Factors such as limited political will, inadequate technical, financial and institutional capacities and failure to integrate safe sanitation systems into broader urban development have led to a persistence of unsustainable systems and missed opportunities to tackle overlapping and interacting urban challenges. This paper reviews challenges associated with providing sanitation systems in urban areas and explores ways to promote sustainable sanitation in cities. It focuses on opportunities to stimulate sustainable sanitation approaches from a resource recovery perspective, generating added value to society while protecting human and ecosystem health. We show how, if integrated within urban development, sustainable sanitation has great potential to catalyse action and contribute to multiple sustainable development goals.

Keywords: urbanization; sustainable sanitation; resource recovery; urban planning and development; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:12:p:1289-:d:84700

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