ABSTRACT
Though cities play a positive role in human development, they can also be places of fear and isolation. Crime, violence, exploitation and inequity are also features of cities. Cities were often (and still are) places where disease was rampant. Cities are places that can be highly polluted. Though we cannot always see pollution we do know that cities consume vast amount of resources and produce high levels of waste and pollution. According to UN-Habitat (2013) cities now house more than half of the world’s population. Cities consume some 80 per cent of global energy and are responsible for the emission of more than 70 per cent of greenhouse gases. Cities also produce more than 70 per cent of the world’s waste. Between 30 to 40 per cent of urban dwellers in developing countries do not have access to modern forms of energy such as electricity and clean cooking fuels. Though there has been an increase in sanitation coverage in the developing world, some 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation facilities.
