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Abstract
Compared to the growing mega-cities or the languishing rural areas, small towns are generally less prioritized by governments and donors, both because they appear less immediately troublesome and because they defy easy classification. However, small towns bear the problems of both density extremes: on one hand, small towns face rapid population growth and struggle to collect revenue from the growing tax base, but on the other hand, do not have the political might or institutional capacity to lobby for services and resources from central government and as a result, must find ways of providing big-city services, with rural-area means. The Community-Led Urban Environmental Sanitation (CLUES) tool was developed to assist small towns with the planning and implementation of environmental sanitation infrastructure and services; through a participatory, action-research project, this work tested the financial, social, and technical feasibility of following the CLUES framework in Luchenza, a Malawian small town. Results obtained over the 2 year, 7-step process revealed that the high turnover of government staff affected institutional knowledge retention, acceptance and continuity and ultimately the potential to engage in a successful planning exercise. Because baseline data was outdated or non-existent, data collection activities consumed unexpected amounts of time, and the results were, because of internal movement and politics, difficult to disseminate and leverage. Most importantly, stakeholder participation was limited and relied on participation and transportation payments, which have become a permanent feature of “community development” in Malawi. Following the CLUES process was expensive, time consuming and politically fraught; it is unlikely that any small town in Malawi would be able to follow the process as outlined. A simplified version, making use of available data and followed only by small towns with a functioning planning department, adequate tax collection, organized community groups and a budget for final implementation would have a greater potential to succeed.
Highlights
Urbanization is occurring rapidly; it is estimated that 60 million people move to urban areas annually (CWIS, 2018) and most of the growth is in informal settlements and slums (Water Aid, 2016)
Steps 1 and 2 The Community-Led Urban Environmental Sanitation (CLUES) process revealed that increased access to improved environmental sanitation services was recognized by the government as important for socio-economic development
Steps 5 and 6 At planning stages 5 and 6, we developed an environmental sanitation action plan: a guiding document that presents a comprehensive set of steps and recommendations for Luchenza
Summary
Urbanization is occurring rapidly; it is estimated that 60 million people move to urban areas annually (CWIS, 2018) and most of the growth is in informal settlements and slums (Water Aid, 2016). The population in Africa and Asia is predominantly rural (50 and 58%, respectively), more people will be living in urban areas by 2030 (Ikwuyatum, 2016). It is estimated that globally, city populations will increase by 50%, from 4 to 6 billion between 2016 and 2045 (Tayler, 2018). The rural-urban shift has brought increased economic growth (Ikwuyatum, 2016) but employment opportunities are increasingly difficult to come across as is land for housing or urban agriculture. Urbanization does not just affect big cities: knowing that many cities have reached their capacity to take newcomers, young migrants are diversifying their destinations and as a result, small towns are expected to double in size and number within 15 years, and double again within 30 years (Caplan and Harvey, 2010)
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