The Links between Poverty and the Environment in Urban Areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America
By: SATTERTHWAITE, David
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ArticlePublisher: Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, November 2003Subject(s): Urban Poverty; Environmental Health; Environmental DegradationThe Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science 590, p. 73-92Abstract: This article suggests that there is little evidence of urban poverty being a significant contributor to environmental degradation but strong evidence that urban environmental hazard are major contributors to urban poverty. The article considers the link between poverty and different categories of environmental hazards (biological, pathogens, chemical pollutans, and physical hazards). It then considers the links between poverty and high use of nonrenewable resources, degradation of renewable resources such as soil and fresh water, and high levels of biodegradable waste generation. This shows how environmental degradation is more associated with the consumption patterns of middleand upper-income groups and the failure of governments to implement effective environmental policies than with urban poverty. The article also highligths how good governance is at the core of poverty reduction and how metting the environmental health needs of poorer groups need not imply greater environmental degradation
This article suggests that there is little evidence of urban poverty being a significant contributor to environmental degradation but strong evidence that urban environmental hazard are major contributors to urban poverty. The article considers the link between poverty and different categories of environmental hazards (biological, pathogens, chemical pollutans, and physical hazards). It then considers the links between poverty and high use of nonrenewable resources, degradation of renewable resources such as soil and fresh water, and high levels of biodegradable waste generation. This shows how environmental degradation is more associated with the consumption patterns of middleand upper-income groups and the failure of governments to implement effective environmental policies than with urban poverty. The article also highligths how good governance is at the core of poverty reduction and how metting the environmental health needs of poorer groups need not imply greater environmental degradation
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