Cities of the Future

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Water-Wise Cities through Integrated Planning and Design

For the first time in history, over half of the world’s population is living in cities. By 2050, roughly 6.4 billion people will live in a city. These people will be living in an increasingly water-scarce world at a time when demand for water is projected to increase by 55 per cent by 2050. Rapid population growth, industrialisation, climate change, water pollution, and maintaining, renewing and expanding urban water infrastructure are just some of the unprecedented challenges facing urban water management and systems.

Cities are the future for humanity, but the failure to manage higher population density or climate change can result in a threat to resources – water, energy, food – and have a profound impact on human health and well-being, the environment and the economy.

Water sensitive cities are great places to live, where innovation, social cohesion, creativity and culture flourish. To create sustainable water in cities, all stakeholders need to act to avoid the looming water crisis. We need to share experience and knowledge, and track progress. The Cities of the Future agenda harnesses the power of the IWA network to co-create solutions and join efforts to manage a city’s many waters in a sustainable and resilient manner, an approach endorsed by the IWA Principles for Water-Wise Cities.

The Principles for Water-Wise Cities are a framework to support water and urban professionals implementing the water and cities related Sustainable Development Goals. This framework is extended through the Action Agenda for Basin-Connected Cities articulating how cities can be active water stewards in their wider water basins.

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Related IWA Specialist Groups

Urban Water Management

 

 

Wastewater Systems

 

 

Drinking-Water Systems

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Programmes and Communities
Daniela Bemfica
Strategic Programmes & Engagement Director

Initiatives

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Blog Posts

Latest opinions and insights relevant to the water sector

January 11, 2021
By Catarina Morais & Zach White of GSMA In Sub-Saharan Africa there are more unique mobile subscribers (477 million) than there are people with access to sa...
December 8, 2020
[For French version, please scroll down / Pour la version française, veuillez faire défiler vers le bas] One experience that lives with me to this day was the...
September 1, 2020
Utilities are starting to adapt as they observe the first impacts of climate change on their operation… but not so many feel the urgency to contribute to redu...
March 6, 2020
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News / Events

September 2, 2022
Digital Water is a key theme that will be uncovered at the upcoming World Water Congress & Exhibition taking place on 11-15 September. We are pleased to ann...
August 22, 2022
Sanitation project in Warangal City, India, courtesy ASCI The International Water Association is launching a dedicated campaign – SanitAction – calling for ...
September 2, 2021
This month IWA’s Daniela Bemfica, Director of Strategic Programmes and Engagement, spoke to the Innovation News Network about IWA’s work and why it is c...
November 12, 2020
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SDGs
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Adam Lovell started his career in the water sector over 20 years ago as a Chemist at Anglian Water and is now the Executive Director of the Water Service Associ...
Africa
February 28, 2020
Africa is going through a major transformation spacially in the water sector. Rapid urbanisation requires access to the latest technology and know-how of the wa...
December 3, 2019
From providers to protectors: water utilities as catchment protection leaders From enforcers to partners: engaged regulators are more important than wise regula...
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September 28, 2019
Top international and local leaders will meet this week in Guayaquil, Ecuador to build consensual actions to address some of the most critical issues confrontin...
September 11, 2019
On the initiative Berlin’s water utility Berliner Wasserbetriebe and the Berlin Center of Competence for Water (KWB), the City of Berlin has now endorsed the ...
August 15, 2019
  ANA, ADASA, IWA joined efforts on the Portuguese edition of the Action Agenda for Basin-Connected Cities   Maceio, Brazil, 15 August 2019. The Acti...
June 11, 2019
IWA President, Diane d’Arras, jury of the FAMAE PRECIOUS WATER competition, unboxes the winner Hydrao shower head. The FAMAE Foundation launched the PRECI...
23 Aug - 25 Aug 2021 China/Nanjing (Virtual Conference)
23 Aug 2021 12:00:00 25 Aug 2021 18:00:00 Europe/London Virtual Conference: IWA Water in Industry 2021 Conference IWA Event Nanjing (Virtual Conference) - China International Water Association contact@iwa.net
April 5, 2019
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March 3, 2019
Gavà becomes the first city in Spain, and number thirty in the world, to take the first step to become a water-wise city. The signing of the Principles for Wat...
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