Envisioning a capability approach to water service development in urban informal settlements

This thesis articulated an approach to water service development in urban slums that aims to provide the broadest range of benefits possible to residents based on empirical investigation of residents' access to water services. It identified that water service development can foster a wide range of fundamental human needs, political empowerment and integration into the life of the city and called for a shift in current water development thinking and practice away from a singular focus on public health.