Rampant processes of urbanisation in the Global South have resulted in over 1 billion people living in informal settlements or slums. This number is expected to grow to 2 billion by 2030. These communities are characterised by high density, over-crowded housing, and degraded natural environments with low or non-existent levels of basic services, including deficient water management. There are multidimensional challenges associated with the poor management of water resources in these communities including flooding, depleted water tables, poor levels of supply and contaminated water bodies. This complex web of challenges results in ill-health for communities and an increased vulnerability to climate change. This complicated problem landscape requires a combination of social, environmental, and economic responses to achieve adequate regeneration.
While the panacea of urban informal settlement regeneration enshrines integrated and holistic responses, there are few practical examples of how to address these compound challenges in an integrated manner. This presentation will discuss a body of research committed to producing evidence to inform new integrated responses. To do so, it will focus on two large, transdisciplinary action research projects that epitomise these complex challenges and solution approaches with water at the centre of the inquiry- Revitalising Informal Settlements and Their Environments (https://www.rise-program.org/) and the Citarum Action Research Program (https://www.monash.edu/mada/research/the-citarum-program).