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Urban Infrastructure: Bedrock of Prosperity24/7 to its residents”. 6 On the other hand, water scarcity isunknown in Singapore, according to all local respondents tothe survey. Other cities where water shortages are perceivedto be relatively insignificant include Chongqing, Gaziantep,Kuwait City and Shenzhen.Water shortages vary a lot in Latin American cities:The UN-Habitat survey revealed that eight of the15 cities under review in this region were found to haveserious water shortages, including Havana, Panama City,Guarenas (Venezuela), Lima, Ciudad del Este (Paraguay)and Guadalajara. Cities with moderate water scarcityare Tijuana, La Paz and Valparaíso. Those cities withoutperceived water shortages are Medellín, Fort de France(French Antilles) and Montevideo.Differences in shortages across cities reflect localconditions and the state of water management. In 2011,Havana experienced its worst water shortage since 1961due to the effects of drought and depletion of freshsupplies as well as a deteriorated network (70 per cent inpoor condition).7 In contrast, regular supplies in Medellínreflect sound management by Empresas Públicas deMedellín (EPM), one of the most successful public utilitycompanies in Latin America. In 2009, EPM launchedthe Water Programme Litros de Amor to provide free-ofchargewater (a daily 25 litres per head) to economicallypoor households. 8Limited water shortages in Arab State cities: Despitetheir typical location in hyper-arid regions, Arab statecities generally do not suffer from severe water shortages.However, according to local experts, three of the surveyedcities are finding water supply a major challenge: Amman,Basra and Saida (Lebanon). In Amman, the situation isquite critical with supplies only once or twice a week. 9In Basra, the supplyfalls short of around33 per cent of the needspolicy Citiesauthorities of the population. 10need to systematicallyResidents often complainmaintain their stockabout quality (taste,of infrastructure toensure that the benefits smell and colour). 11of infrastructure are Arab cities deemed to befully capitalized. Itmeeting their water needsis in their interest to include Aqaba, Doha,improve coordinationAl-Muharrak (Bahrain),with the differentDubai and Erbil.levels of governmentin the design, provisionThere are remarkableand maintenance of inter-city differencesinfrastructure.in experts’ perceptionsfactThe success of Singapore in meeting local water demandis down to effective water governance. The specializedagency has developed a long-term strategy known as the FourNational Taps to ensure a robust and sustainable supply ofwater. The strategy entails using water from different watersources: water catchment, recycled water, desalinated water andimported water.factMany Arab cities are able to meet their waterrequirements because of the high political prioritygiven to the provision of this public good. 12 City authorities haveimproved water security through increased supplies, demandmanagement, conservation and desalination. 13Saudi Arabia: an old water tower, a well-known feature in thecity of Riyadh.© Fedor Selivanov/Shutterstock.com51
State of the World’s Cities 2012/2013Box 2.2.1Ranking of Urban InfrastructureUN-Habitat survey experts report that across all developingregions the least developed components of urban infrastructurerelate to recreation, sanitation and urban transport, while themost developed is telecommunications; all of this has importantimplications for urban prosperity. For instance, the low prioritygiven to recreational infrastructure implies that access to publicspaces in many cities is limited, as indicated in Chapter 2.3(Quality of Life). Similarly, the low priority given to urban transporthas wider-ranging implications, in this case for intra- and interurbanmobility.Ranking ranking5.04.54.03.5most developedAfrica Asia LAC Arab States All regions3.02.52.01.5least developed1.00.50WaterSanitationElectricityTelecommunicationsTransport infrastructureRecreationWaterSanitationElectricityTelecommunicationsTransport infrastructureRecreationWaterSanitationElectricityTelecommunicationsTransport infrastructureRecreationWaterSanitationElectricityTelecommunicationsTransport infrastructureRecreationWaterSanitationElectricityTelecommunicationsTransport infrastructureRecreationSource: UN-Habitat, City Monitoring Branch, Policy Survey,regarding the coverage and quality of urban infrastructure.These differences are discussed below with respect to water,roads and ICTs.Trends in Road InfrastructureThe road network will rank amongst any city’s most prizedassets, as it facilitates the movement of people and goods.Apart from access, road networks also form the basic gridfor trunk infrastructure for water, sanitation and powersupplies. Roads also contribute to effective mobility, whichis crucial for the prosperity of cities. Congested roadsand poor facilities for pedestrians are the most pervasivetransport problems affecting cities in developing countries.The UN-Habitat survey shows that to a large majorityof experts – 96 per cent in Africa; 91 per cent in Asia;88 per cent in Latin America; and 80 per cent in Arabstates – traffic congestion is the main form of infrastructuredeficiency plaguing cities in those regions, hinderingfree movement and making travel frustrating and timeconsuming.14Road infrastructure remains poor in African cities:In most African cities, roads account for less thanseven per cent of land area, compared with 25–30 per centin developed cities. 15 In cities such as Kinshasa, Kampalaand Ouagadougou, paved roads account for less than12 per cent of the whole urban network. In many cities, theroad network has barelykept pace with urbangrowth: in Douala, forinstance, it has remained fact Roadcongestion,unchanged for the past 20 poor facilities foryears despite a doubling ofpedestrians, poweroutages and floodingthe population, increasedare major infrastructuralnumbers of vehicles,deficiencies, and thusand urban sprawl. 16 Theadversely affect thedysfunctional nature ofprosperity of cities.52
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Chapter 3.2Innovating to Supportthe
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Statistical AnnexTable 1City Prospe
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Statistical AnnexUrban Slum Populat
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