Environmental
Strategies for Cities
A Framework for Urban Environmental
Planning and Management
Course on Urban and City Management, Goa, 9-21 January 2000
“Sustainable Cities”

Cities that, as they develop,
– meet the social and economic needs of the
present population
– while balancing broader environmental and
energy concerns now and in the future
 As
nature of environmental problems
changes with city development
– capacity for environmental governance also
grows
– environmental institution building sustained
over time
New Policy Framework Needed
 more
strategic in nature, linking
interventions to environmental outcomes
 more focused on market incentives and
service pricing than regulations
 more flexible in matching political and
natural boundaries
 more visionary regarding role of private
sector
 more oriented towards need of citizens and
involving them in solutions
Environmental Management
Strategies for Cities
 The
broad question:
– Cities -- opportunity or crisis?
 The
basic questions:
– Is there an urban environmental crisis? Whose
environment?
– What is the nature and extent of urban
environmental degradation?
– What are the underlying causes?
– What options exist to improve the urban
environment?
– How to choose among and implement options?
Urban Environment

Pressure (Growth)
Factors
– Population
– Poverty
– Economic Activity


wastes & emissions
resource use & degradation

Enabling/Disenabling
Factors
– Awareness
– Regulations & Pricing
Policies
– Property Rights/Land Use
– Institutional Failures

political and ecosystem
boundaries don’t coincide
The Challenge of Urban
Environmental Management
 To
safeguard the health, productivity and
quality of life of urban populations:
– in the face of rapid urbanization and economic
growth
– resulting from their interactions with the physical
(built) and natural environments that surround them
– and from changes in those environments induced by
human activities
 To
build sustainable cities
– balancing the 3 Es -- Economics, Equity,
Environment
Approaches to Sustainable
Development
Economic
 Efficiency
 Growth
 Stability
Equity
 Poverty
Biodiversity/Resilience 
 Consultation/
Natural Resources 
Empowerment
Pollution 
 Culture/Heritage
*Inter-generational equity
*Popular participation
Environmental
Priority Environmental
Issues Facing Cities
 Protecting
human health from
environmental threats through a variety of
interventions
– Providing basic environmental services to
protect health, especially for the poor
– Identifying and implementing integrated
approaches to urban air quality and watershed
management
» pollution, resource depletion or degradation
– Dealing with environmental disasters
 Emerging
global environmental challenges
such as climate change
Variability in Urban
Environmental Problems
Unique natural features of urban areas
(ecosystem setting)
 Dynamics of the urbanization process -pace and intensity
 Diverse spatial dimensions of the problems
 Levels of income and economic development
 Range and roles of local stakeholders

Complexity of Urban and
Regional Ecosystems
Coastal regions
 Arid regions
 Humid tropical regions
 Cold regions
 Mountainous regions


Multiple combinations of these ecological
features
Spatial Scale of Urban
Environmental Problems
Spatial
Scale
Key
Infrastructure
and Services
Characteristic
Problems
Household/
Workplace
Community
Metropolitan
Area
Region
Shelter
Water Storage
Onsite Sanitation
Garbage Storage
Stove
Ventilation
Piped Water
Sewerage
Garbage Collection
Drainage
Streets/Lanes
Industrial Parks
Roads
Interceptors
Treatment Plants
Outfalls
Landfills
Highways
Water Sources
Power Plants
Substandard
Housing
Lack of Water
No Sanitation
Disease Vectors
Indoor Air Pollution
Substandard
Housing
Lack of Water
No Sanitation
Disease Vectors
Indoor Air Pollution
Traffic Congestion
Accidents
Ambient Air
Pollution
Toxic Dumps
Water Pollution
Ecological
Areas Lost
Continent/
Planet
Acid Rain
Global Warming
Ozone Layer
Urbanization in Developing
Countries
Within a decade the world will be half
urban
 In the developing world:

- urban population will double, adding 700 million
new city dwellers
- 1 of every 4 persons will live in cities greater
than 500,000 population
- 1 in every 10 persons will live in cities greater
than 10 million population
Urban Population in Developing Countries
by City Size Class, 1950-2010
>10M
5-10M
2500
1-5M
0.5-1M
2000
<0.5M
1500
1000
500
Year
2010
2005
2000
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
1970
1965
1960
1955
0
1950
Urban Population (millions)
3000
Number of Large Cities in Developing Countries
by City Size Class, 1950-2010
700
>10M
5-10M
500
1-5M
400
0.5-1M
300
200
Year
2010
2005
2000
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
1970
1965
1960
0
1955
100
1950
Number of Cities
600
Economic/Environmental
Typology of Cities
Access to basic
services
Lower-income
countries
(<$650/cap)
Lower-middleincome countries
($650-2,500/cap)
Upper-middleincome countries
($2,500-6,500/cap)
Upper-income
countries
(>$6,500/cap)

Water supply
and sanitation
Low coverage and
Low access for
quality, especially for urban poor
urban poor
Generally
acceptable water
supply, reasonable
sewerage
Good; concern with
trace substances

Drainage
Low coverage;
frequent flooding
Inadequate;
frequent flooding
Reasonable
Good

Solid waste
collection
Low coverage,
especially for urban
poor
Inadequate
Reasonable
Good
Typology...
Urban Pollution
Lower-income
countries
(<$650/cap)
Lower-middleincome countries
($650-2,500/cap)
Upper-middleincome countries
($2,500-6,500/cap)
Upper-income
countries
(>$6,500/cap)

Water pollution
Problems from
inadequate
sanitation and raw
domestic sewage
Severe problems
Severe problems
from untreated
from poorly treated
municipal discharges M&I discharges
High levels of
treatment; concern
with amenity values
and toxics

Air pollution
Severe problems in
some cities using
soft coal; indoor
exposure for poor
Severe problems in
some cities from soft
coal use and/or
vehicle emissions
Severe problems in
many cities from soft
coal use and/or
vehicle emissions
Problems in some
cities from vehicle
emissions; health
priority

Solid waste
disposal
Open dumping of
mixed wastes
Mostly uncontrolled
landfills, mixed
wastes
Semi-controlled
landfills
Controlled landfills,
incineration,
resource recovery

Hazardous
waste
management
Non-existent
capacity
Severe problems,
little capacity
Severe problems,
growing capacity
Moving from
remediation to
prevention
Typology...
Problems
Resource
losses

Land
management
Lower-income
countries
(<$650/cap)
Lower-middleincome countries
($650-2,500/cap)
Upper-middleincome countries
($2,500-6,500/cap)
Upper-income
countries
(>$6,500/cap)
Uncontrolled land
development and
use; pressure from
squatter settlements
Ineffective land us
controls
Some environmental
zoning practiced
Environmental
zoning
commonplace
Recurrent disasters
with severe damage
and loss of life
Recurrent disasters
with damage and
loss of life
High risk from
industrial disasters
Good emergency
response capacity
Environmental
hazards

Natural and
man-made
hazards
Critical Policy Linkages for Urban
Environmental Management
Urban Environmental
Management Issue
Underlying
Causes
Relevant Policy
Reforms
Access to basic services:
 Serviced land and shelter
Poorly functioning urban land
and housing markets;
Highly regulated prices;
Lack of affordable housing for
the poor
Reform property rights;
Develop mortgage financing;
Introduce affordable standards
and target subsidies to the
poor;
Reduce unneeded regulations,
government interventions and
indiscriminate subsidies
 Water supply, sanitation,
drainage, solid waste
collection, transport
Supply side dominated by
government monopoly;
Prices highly regulated;
Heavy subsidies
Introduce pricing and demand
management;
Reduce subsidies;
Move toward decentralization,
privatization, participation
Critical Policy Linkages...
Urban Environmental
Management Issue
Pollution from urban wastes
and emissions:
 Water pollution
Underlying
Causes
Relevant Policy
Reforms
Introduce water pricing and
effluent charges;
Uncontrolled municipal and
Subsidize sewage treatment;
industrial discharges;
Strengthen regulations and
Excessive water use and waste capacity for monitoring and
generation;
enforcement;
Failure to link water quantity
Prepare comprehensive basin
and quality issues
plans
 Energy use, industrial
emissions and air pollution
- ambient air pollution
- indoor air pollution
Increased Motorization and
transport congestion;
Energy supply side dominated
by government monopoly;
Heavy energy subsidies;
Household and cottage
industry use of low quality fuels
Introduce energy and fuel
pricing;
Reduce automobile subsidies,
fuel subsidies;
Integrate transport and land
use planning;
Promote clean technologies,
fuel substitution, vehicle
maintenance
 Solid and hazardous waste
management
Poor municipal ;management;
Lack of disposal facilities;
Inadequate regulation and
enforcement
Introduce regulations, licensing
and charges;
Stimulate waste minimization;
Strengthen municipal
management and operations;
Privatize disposal operations
Critical Policy Linkages...
Urban Environmental
Management Issue
Underlying
Causes
Relevant Policy
Reforms
Resource losses:
 Ground water depletion
Unsustainable extraction
linked to unclear property
rights and perception as free
resource
Clarify property rights;
Introduce extraction charges
 Land and ecosystem
degradation
Low-income settlement
“pushed” onto fragile lands by
lack of access to affordable
serviced land;
Lack of controls over
damaging economic activities
Coordinate land development;
Remove artificial shortages of
land;
Develop sustainable uses of
sensitive areas;
Monitor and enforce land use
controls
 Loss of cultural and historic
property
Lack of property rights,
regulations, enforcement,
maintenance;
Failure to reflect social values
in land prices
Introduce tax incentives for
preservation;
Use redevelopment planning,
zoning and building codes;
Develop property rights
Critical Policy Linkages...
Urban Environmental
Management Issue
Underlying
Causes
Relevant Policy
Reforms
Environmental hazards:
 Natural hazards
(e.g., floods, hurricanes,
earthquakes, landslides)
Poorly functioning land
markets;
Ineffective land policies;
Poor construction practices
 Man-made hazards
(e.g., chemical spills,
industrial accidents, chronic
exposure)
Inadequate regulation and
enforcement;
Low income settlements
alongside hazardous activities
Enable land markets;
Provide disincentives to
occupation of high-risk areas,
incentives for using disasterresistant construction
techniques;
Introduce and enforce
environmental zoning;
Formulate urban disaster
preparedness plans and
strengthen response capacity
Key Policy Messages
Mobilize public support and participation
 Look for “win-win” situations
 Assess tradeoffs carefully
 Use incentives whenever possible
 Strengthen local institutional capacity
 Encourage public-private partnerships
 Close knowledge gap
 “Think globally, act locally” -- that is, plan
strategically

Priority Actions
1 Emphasize 3 environmental problem areas
common to all cities:
improve management of local environmental
infrastructure and services for which cities
are directly responsible
correct external policies (national and
subnational) that introduce distortions in
cities
form cooperative arrangements for dealing
with environmental spillovers that cities
cause
Priority Actions
2 Stress “win-win” situations
strengthen general urban management to
improve the urban environment and reduce
health risks, especially for the urban poor who
are without basic services and who form a
broad-based constituency
better pricing of environmental resources and
services is an essential element of better
operational management
Priority Actions
3 Look for allies to build capacity for better
environmental governance:
deal with urban spillovers through
- cooperation with neighboring municipalities
and metropolitan, regional and sector
authorities
- water-basin and air-basin management
coordination mechanisms and regional
approaches to pollution management
build coalitions with CBOs and NGOs for
effective participation in improving services for
urban poor
Priority Actions
4 Avoid excessive reliance on integration and
regulation as approaches to urban
environmental management:
look for instruments and incentives that will
- change behavior
- relieve conflicts
- encourage cooperative arrangements
Priority Actions
5 Start building up the needed institutions -the complexity of environmental problems
grows with city size and economic
development, but so too should the
capacity to respond
focus on the simple, immediate priority
interventions that can succeed and will lay the
groundwork for solving future environmental
problems
give priority to sustained strengthening of
incipient urban institutions
Key Stakeholders

Those whose interests are affected problems,
strategies, plans
– concerned residents and community groups, especially the urban poor
– private and informal sector enterprises
– politicians

Those who control relevant implementation instruments
–
–
–
–

politicians
environmental protection agencies
planning agencies
sector agencies (public and parastatal)
Those who possess relevant information and knowledge
–
–
–
–
NGOs
scientific and engineering community
news media
external support agencies
Key Stakeholder Involvement

Each of these stakeholders will have different
– roles
– concerns
– expectations

Therefore, effective solutions require:
– participation
– consensus building
– difficult political and economic tradeoffs
Formulating Environmental
Strategies for Cities
Be city specific
 Determine local environmental priorities
 Develop an urban environmental
management strategy
 Formulate issue-specific action plans
 Implement and consolidate strategies and
action plans

Phase 1: Informed Consultation
Carry out rapid environmental assessment
and prepare urban environmental profile
Build consensus on issues and priorities
through informed consultation
Get political commitment
Phase 2: Formulate Strategy
and Action Plan
Urban Environmental Management Strategy
(EMS)
– negotiate issue-specific strategies for priority problems
– set long-term environmental objectives
– agree on phased implementation of targets
Urban Environmental Action Plan (EAP)
– formulate actor-specific action plans that cut across
issues
– develop capital investment program
– agree institutional strengthening actions and policy
reforms
Phase 3: Implement and
Consolidate EMS/EAP
Concentrate on priority investments
Initiate institutional and policy reforms on
the critical path
Establish sustainable basis for achieving
phased targets
– capacity for routine strategic planning
– monitoring and evaluation
Sustainable Cities Program:
Environmental Planning and
Management Process
Clarify environmental
issues to be addressed
Involve those whose
cooperation is needed
Set Priorities
Negotiate Issue-specific
strategies
Coordinate overall
management strategy
Agree on environmental
action plans
Initiate priority projects and
programs
Strengthen EPM capacities
Assessment
and start-up
Strategy and
Follow-up and
action planning consolidation
3 Sources of Tension
(False Dichotomies)

“Integrated” versus “sector specific”
approaches

“Analysis” versus “process”

“Centralization” versus “decentralization”
The Track Record (1)
 Tried
and proven approaches
– USEPA Comparative Risk Assessment in US
cities and counties + USAID supported cities
– EU Sustainable Cities Program
– ICLEI - Local Agenda 21
– UNCHS/SCP - Sustainable Cities Programme
 Bank
–
–
–
–
experience
UMP/MEIP/MEDCITIES
Rapid Environmental Assessment & EMS/EAP
Strategic Sanitation Planning in Africa
Strategic Solid Waste Planning in LAC & Asia
The Track Record (2)
 Variations
on a theme
– Metropolitan areas
(eg, Colombo Environmental Improvement Project)
– Urban river basins
(eg, Guarapiranga Basin in Sao Paulo)
– Urban air sheds
(eg, URBAIR, LAC Clean Air Initiative)
– Intermediate and small cities
(eg, Mexico “100 Cities” Projects)
– Sectoral strategic planning
(eg, Philippines SWEEP Project - MSWM)