Poverty, urbanization, and environmental degradation: Urban streams in the developing world
Abstract
Urbanization is occurring at a rapid pace in developing countries. The urban stream syndrome has been well documented in higher-income countries, but in lower-income, developing countries, resources often are unavailable for quantifying how urbanization affects streams. Basic infrastructure to support water supply and wastewater treatment frequently is lacking in lower-income countries, and this situation has repercussions for human health and for ecosystem structure and function. The interaction of environmental, social, and economic factors may produce differences in the expression of the urban stream syndrome in lower-income countries relative to in high-income countries. We address how patterns of economic development and urbanization can influence the quality of freshwater resources, and we discuss some of the relationships between urban watersheds and marginalized human populations in lower-income countries. We argue that sustainable management of urban watersheds and the provisioning of drinking water and sanitation services require integration of innovative technology and financing schemes into ecosystem-based management. We must develop new and enhance existing uses for sewage and other wastewater to support ecologically functional urban watersheds. Furthermore, managers of freshwater resources in lower-income countries require more data on which to base decisions. Acquisition of these data will necessitate the creation of interdisciplinary research teams with representatives from national and international development organizations to address stakeholder-driven research questions.
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Most phenomena of the Urban Stream Syndrome have been described for river systems of the temperate zone, although they also occur in tropical countries.
“Most of these phenomena have been described for river systems of the temperate zone, although they also occur in tropical countries [7,8].”
From Urban Stream and Wetland Restoration in the Global South—A DPSIR Analysis (2019) · cites this paper as [8]
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Global perspectives on the urban stream syndrome
Booth, D. B., Roy, A. H., Smith, B., & Capps, K. A. (2016) · Freshwater Science · doi:10.1086/684940 · Cited by 327 · see citing works
Self-citationUrban Stream and Wetland Restoration in the Global South—A DPSIR Analysis
Wantzen, K., Alves, C., Badiane, S., Bala, R., Blettler, M., Callisto, M., Cao, Y., Kolb, M., Kondolf, G., Leite, M., et al. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11184975 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
“Most of these phenomena have been described for river systems of the temperate zone, although they also occur in tropical countries [7,8].”
BackgroundUrban stream renovation: incorporating societal objectives to achieve ecological improvements
Smith, R. F., Hawley, R. J., Neale, M. W., Vietz, G. J., Diaz-Pascacio, E., Herrmann, J., Lovell, A. C., Prescott, C., Rios-Touma, B., Smith, B., et al. (2016) · Freshwater Science · doi:10.1086/685096 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Effects of climate on the expression of the urban stream syndrome
Hale, R. L., Scoggins, M., Smucker, N. J., & Suchy, A. (2016) · Freshwater Science · doi:10.1086/684594 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
- Authors
- Capps, K. A., Bentsen, C. N., & Ramírez, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Georgia (US)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- University of Puerto Rico System (PR)
- Corresponding author
- Capps, Krista A.
- Bentsen, Catherine N.
- Ramírez, Alonso
- Venue
- Freshwater Science
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 2016-03-01
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 429-435
- ISSN
- 2161-9549 (ISSN-L)
- 2161-9565
- OpenAlex
- W2302168035
- Cited by
- 183
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 9.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Freshwater Science (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- UNICEF
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Stormwater Management Solutions
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Water Quality and Pollution Assessment
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Keywords
- urban rivers, urban stream syndrome, urbanization, poverty, environmental degradation, developing countries, freshwater quality, urban watersheds, marginalized communities, drinking water and sanitation, water reuse, ecosystem-based management, sustainable watershed management, water infrastructure, socioeconomic factors
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