Managing the Urban Environment of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic

David J Edelman

doi:10.4236/cus.2019.71005

Abstract

This article brings the contemporary thinking and practice of Urban Environmental Management (UEM) to the solution of real problems in a major city of a developing country in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Such cities face more immediate problems than the developed world and have fewer resources to deal with them. The study first considers the context of the Dominican Republic and then reviews issues of poverty alleviation, industry, sewage and sanitation, water, energy, transportation and finance in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. Finally, it proposes a 5-year plan to help solve the urban environmental problems of Metropolitan Santo Domingo, the largest city in the Caribbean, utilizing a real-world database and a limited budget.

Highlights

Urban Environmental Management has been receiving increasing attention since 1970 in both developed countries, where it has emerged as a subject of academic research and professional interest, and in developing countries where it has become increasingly an area of donor concern as well
Municipal water is sourced from two rivers, the Nizao and Haina, located northwest of the city. Water from these sources is processed at two water treatment facilities, which are operated by Santo Domingo’s public water corporation: Corporación del Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Santo Domingo (CAASD)
One may say the tidal wave of garbage on the beach of Santo Domingo in Figure 8 was a result of the cyclic return of nature; the inevitable cost for dumping all waste directly into the sea

Summary

Introduction

Urban Environmental Management has been receiving increasing attention since 1970 in both developed countries, where it has emerged as a subject of academic research and professional interest, and in developing countries where it has become increasingly an area of donor concern as well As a field, it is more like planning or engineering rather than geography, economics or sociology; and it represents an integrated view of environmental problems at city, and increasingly, regional level. It is more like planning or engineering rather than geography, economics or sociology; and it represents an integrated view of environmental problems at city, and increasingly, regional level Such problems are multi-sectoral (e.g., manufacturing, services, household, etc.), multi-system (e.g., water supply, sanitation, transport, etc.), multi-level (central, regional, local and community) and multi-actor (e.g., government, NGO, CBO and private). With a large disparity of wealth, especially within the major cities like Santo Domingo, energy theft is a major issue with nearly 8% of all connections being from illegal or illegitimate connections (World Bank, 2018)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion