Water and sanitation

IIED’s Human Settlements Programme has been working on urban environmental issues since the mid-1970s. Both our topics and our ways of working are informed by our poverty focus. People on very low incomes, living in slums or squatter settlements, tend to be the most vulnerable to all three types of environmental burdens, but are particularly susceptible to the local environmental hazards in and around their home.

Water was a Dream is a film describing IIED-America Latina's involvement in the improvement of water supply and sanitation services in three low-income urban settlements of Buenos Aires. It illustrates the challenges and strategies, and examines the key issues related to working in collaboration, using information as a driver for change, finance mechanisms, and scaling up.