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This paper explores the disconnect between policy rhetoric and implementation at the intersection of sanitation equity and climate change in Nairobi, Kenya. To examine the current sanitation adaptation trajectory, we reviewed Nairobi’s sanitation policies, planning, and investment frameworks, focusing on their integration with climate adaptation strategies and consideration of equity in terms of distribution, recognition and processes. We used a socio-technical regime framework to map the current sanitation service configurations in Nairobi and projected their future under different climate change scenarios. Our findings provide evidence for a disconnection between policy rhetoric and implementation, prioritising sewerage development at the expense of other sanitation regimes. Despite recognising equity issues in policy, substantive action towards equitable sanitation governance is lacking. This imbalance hinders the realisation of the constitutionally recognised right to adequate sanitation in the foreseeable future. The anticipated impact of climate change on Nairobi’s sanitation sector suggests an exacerbation of existing service inequalities. Our projection indicates that by 2030, a sizeable portion of Nairobi’s residents will experience poor sanitation services. Our study emphasizes the critical need for a fundamental paradigm shift. It calls for a robust and honest discussion on delivering high-quality, resilient sanitation services at scale including both sewer and non-sewered sanitation and necessitating substantial public investment and support for all systems. This reappraisal is imperative for ensuring equitable and sustainable sanitation solutions in the face of climate change.

Hundreds of millions of people living in urban informal settlements rely on irregular and unsafe water supply and sanitation services. To meet their needs, they must navigate fragmented service delivery environments and use multiple different water and sanitation facilities. Using high-frequency longitudinal survey data from three informal settlements in Kenya, Peru and South Africa, we document the variability in water supply and sanitation service access. Across the year-long study period, 62–73% of respondents across all contexts changed their primary toilet, with 10–27% reporting five or more different primary facilities, with similar variability in water access. High levels of disruption were reported, with issues related to crowding/queuing, breakdowns, and physical barriers disrupting accessibility all contributing to the churn of services. To explain the results, we develop the concept of a “service ecosystem” to describe how people living in urban informal settlements rely on multiple water supply and sanitation services simultaneously and how these patterns of access shift over time. Using James C Scott’s theory of legibility, we argue that this irregularity means these service ecosystems are largely illegible within formal monitoring frameworks, that typically categorise households by a primary service. This leads to an information deficit for policymakers and practitioners who have a mandate to improve services in these environments. We further develop the implications of service ecosystems by calling for policymakers and service providers to recognise and support a diversity of service systems which have sufficient redundancy between them to meet the needs of populations, at least until broader structural reforms can address the underlying challenges in these settings.

Concrete is vital for constructing infrastructure and housing, and cement is the key binding material within concrete. Concrete is an enabler of development, as concrete structures are key to delivering societal services in many sectors. Much recent research on cement and concrete has focussed on technical solutions to decarbonisation; however, there is a knowledge gap around how cement and concrete intersect with other facets of sustainable development. This study explores the intersection of cement and concrete with inequalities, both through their production as commodities and through their use in built assets. An exploratory analysis of this issue was carried out, comprising an evaluation of industry associations’ conceptions of sustainable development and inequalities, an analysis of underlying power dynamics for several inequality issues using Lukes’ three dimensional framework of power, and a reflection on how certain inequalities may pose risks to achieving decarbonisation and sustainable development aims. Our study shows that industry associations’ narratives around sustainable development generally lack a detailed vision for addressing inequalities, in comparison to their focus on decarbonisation. We find that inequalities are a systemic issue for cement and concrete, spanning intra- and inter-national scales, and all three dimensions of power. These findings highlight that several inequalities are consequential from structural, underlying inequalities, whilst other inequalities are specific to the sectors themselves. The cement and concrete sectors are recommended to develop their conception of inequalities in relation to sustainable development: this can help reduce inequalities within their own workforces more effectively, and also reduce the risks of missing their decarbonisation targets. For large, complex socio-technical systems, such as cement and concrete, it is vital for consideration of inequalities to inform strategic planning with regards to decarbonisation and sustainable development.

To fill data gaps in human-environment systems, especially in difficult-to-access locations, novel tools are needed to collect (near) real-time data from diverse populations across the globe. Here we discuss the practicalities, constraints, and lessons learnt from six field studies using high spatial and temporal smartphone surveys in six different countries. We suggest that high spatiotemporal, self-administered smartphone surveys will produce novel insights into human behaviour, attitudes, and socio-economic characteristics that, when matched with high spatiotemporal resolution environmental data (e.g., from remote sensing), can be used to address sustainability challenges for global communities. Furthermore, we highlight the need for continuous refinement and improvement in future developments to enhance the efficacy of this methodology. By sharing the practical implications and constraints associated with smartphone surveys, this article contributes to the evolving landscape of data collection methods.

Within current neo-liberal approaches to development, models of community-driven development assume that community-based workers (CBWs) are key actors in improved and accessible service delivery. We argue that use of CBWs is under-theorised and seems to be based largely on untested assumptions about community participation and responsibility. Drawing on case studies on potable-water management and home-based care for HIV/AIDS patients in Tanzania and South Africa, the article explores issues of accountability, professionalism, and personal motivations in systems involving CBWs. It argues that many assumptions in relation to the effectiveness of CBW programmes require re-visiting. Dans le cadre des approches néolibérales actuelles du développement, les modèles de développement impulsé par la communauté supposent que les travailleurs communautaires (TC) sont des acteurs clés dans la prestation améliorée et accessible de services. Nous soutenons que l'utilisation de TC est sous-théorisée et semble se baser largement sur des suppositions qui n'ont pas été mises à l'épreuve concernant la participation et la responsabilité de la communauté. Sur la base d'études de cas de la gestion de l'eau potable et des soins à domicile pour des patients atteints du VIH/du sida en Tanzanie et en Afrique du Sud, cet article examine les questions de redevabilité, de professionnalisme et de motivations personnelles dans les systèmes faisant intervenir des TC.Il soutient que de nombreuses suppositions concernant l'efficacité des programmes de TC doivent faire l'objet d'une nouvelle réflexion. Nas abordagens neoliberais atuais relativas ao desenvolvimento, os modelos de desenvolvimento orientados pela comunidade pressupõem que trabalhadores baseados na comunidade (CBWs) são agentes-chave na implementação de serviços melhores e acessíveis. Argumentamos que o uso de CBWs está sub-teorizado e parece estar baseado em grande parte em pressupostos não testados sobre a participação e responsabilidade da comunidade. Baseando-se em estudos de caso sobre gestão de água potável e cuidados em domicílio para pacientes portadores de HIV/AIDS na Tanzânia e África do Sul, o artigo explora questões sobre accountability, profissionalismo e motivações pessoais em sistemas envolvendo CBWs. O artigo argumenta que muitos pressupostos em relação à efetividade de programas de CBW precisam ser repensados. En el marco actual de enfoques neoliberales en el desarrollo se da por supuesto que los trabajadores comunitarios (TC) son actores clave en los modelos de desarrollo comunitario para asegurar una mejor y más accesible entrega de servicios. Los autores de este ensayo argumentan que el empleo de TC tiene poco sustento teórico y parece fundamentarse en gran parte en supuestos de participación y responsabilidad comunitarias que no se han comprobado. Basándose en estudios de caso sobre la administración de agua potable y el cuidado de pacientes con VIH/SIDA en Tanzania y Sudáfrica, el ensayo analiza temas como la rendición de cuentas, el profesionalismo y la motivación del personal en proyectos que emplean a TC. Sostiene además que deben reconsiderarse muchas suposiciones sobre la eficacia de los programas que emplean a TC.