Access to infrastructure services

Programme aim 3

Poor people are often excluded from essential services such as water, sanitation, energy, education and health – as well as lacking adequate shelter.

Improving access to services for poor people is one of Practical Action's key strategic aims.  Practical Action works with poor people throughout the world to build on their skills and local knowledge, and to use appropriate technology, to improve their lives.

Locally-managed, sustainable and decentralised services offer low-income communities the best hope of satisfying their need for affordable water, sanitation, housing and energy.

Practical Action is improving access to services - which include energy, transport, shelter, waste, water and sanitation, and information services. Locally managed, decentralised solutions are often the most appropriate to the needs of the poor.

All of our project work in this programme works towards three goals:

• Rural infrastructure: poor people in isolated rural communities have greater economic opportunities and well-being as a result of improved infrastructure services
• Urban infrastructure: poor people in slums or peri-urban settlements enjoy a better living environment and income-generating opportunities from accessing or providing infrastructure services
• Health and infrastructure: poor women and children are healthier, as a result of improved infrastructure services in their households or streets

In addition, we aim to influence international and governmental policy, based on lessons from our projects on the ground:

• Access to energy: promoting better policies and practices equity to ensure sustainable and affordable energy services for the poor
• Infrastructure governance: encouraging the replication of participative practices, demonstrated in our projects
• Building back better: following disasters or conflicts, rebuilding work should be sustainable, decentralised and participatory

See also individual project information from our country offices, or read more about the technologies we work with:

Energy
Micro-hydro, solar, wind, biogas

Urban poverty and shelter
Building, housing, planning

Transport
Ropeways, trailers, roads

Water and sanitation
Rainwater harvesting, irrigation

Download an introductory leaflet to Practical Action's work on improving access to services (PDF, 1.6Mb)

UN-Habitat: Fresh approaches to urban development October-December 2009
Practical Action is engaging in some key debates on urban development with more than 1,000 practitioners and policy makers. Issues under discussion include participation, good governance, corruption, standards and technologies. This debate will provide the basis of global thinking and agreements in the 2010 World Urban Forum.

Development from Disaster: Owner-driven approaches to reconstruction for the 21st century 19-20 March 2009, London
This conference, organised by Practical Action, looked at research findings and practical experience of ODR and analysed them in terms of their political, economic, social and cultural contexts. Participants discussed a number of tools that various agencies are already using in ODR such as planning, participation, design, technologies, supplies/logistics, quality control and housing finance.