World Water Day 2011; Water and the urban challenge: EurActiv Stakeholder Workshop

One in two people on the planet live in cities, and urban areas are growing at an exceptional rate — in terms of inhabitants, but also of course of related industrial activities, services and transport. Investment in infrastructure has however not kept up with the rate of urbanisation: this has a huge impact on quantity and quality of available water, as well as on river basins, groundwater and the environment as a whole. The eighteenth edition of World Water Day looks at water management in cities, and the water footprint of urban areas.