Access to drinking water in urban informal settlements of developing countries still remains a challenge for the poor and depends on technology selected. This paper determines the score on criteria used for technology selection by two major stakeholders in the water service delivery chain, the users and the utility. The criteria are: affordability to connect, affordability of consumption, method of payment, ease of operation, ease of spare parts acquisition, access distance, access time, generating sufficient water continuously, service coverage, the possibility of cost recovery and security of installation (SOI). The study was carried out in Bwaise II and Kisenyi III, two informal settlements in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Through a household survey and semistructured interviews of key informants, data were collected for the score on these criteria of four piped water distribution technologies: public water points (PWPs) with conventional meters, PWPs with prepaid meters, house connections and yard taps. Using multicriteria methods and preference elicitation by pair wise ranking, the most preferred factor for technology selection from the users' point of view is affordability to connect, while from the utility's point of view, it is SOI. These preferences were confirmed by data from focus group discussions and in‐depth interviews.

Improving urban liveability and prosperity is commonly set as a priority in urban development plans and policy around the world. Several annual reports produced by international consulting firms, media, and global agencies rank the liveability of cities based on a set of indicators, to represent the quality of life in these cities. The higher is the ranking, the more liveable is the city. In this paper, we argue that such quantitative approaches to framing and addressing urban liveability challenges leave little room to reflect on people's experiences of this liveability, which cannot be expressed through numbers. To illustrate our argument, we draw on empirical evidence of urban liveability challenges in access to water and land in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, ranked recently as the most liveable East African city by various global agencies and media outlets. By showing that increasing the number of water connections does not guarantee improved access to water and sanitation in the long run, first, we demonstrate how urban liveability challenges are tightly linked with land-title issues in the city. Second, we highlight the political game-playing between the central government, the opposition, the traditional leadership, and the slum dwellers in governance processes of service delivery. Finally, by arguing that urban liveability can be enhanced by broadening political participation in city development planning, we discuss some of the strategies that can be used by communities to make collective claims towards improving their quality of life and the environment.

Solid waste production is growing exponentially, with stronger trends in developing countries. Uganda is facing rapid urbanization that offers not only new social and economic opportunities, but also more pronounced challenges, including waste management which is not coping with the population growth. Despite the financial support given towards solid waste management (SWM), there appears to be no apparent change. With a population growth of 4.8% per annum, the Bushenyi municipal waste problem is expected to worsen in future if its management is not taken seriously. This study was aimed at understanding how management structure has influenced the performance of a SWM project in Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality. A mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods was employed in the study. The quantitative approach focused on counting and classifying features to explain what was observed, while the qualitative method, majorly Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), was used to provide a complete and detailed description of the existing situation in three Divisions of Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality. The study showed that the project management structure does not provide adequate and equitable representation for each of the participating stakeholders at different levels of the project for the day-today activities and supervisory roles. It is evident that low resource input is partly contributing to the 27% performance of the Solid Waste Management project. SWM should be implemented with a dedicated management structure with adequate and well-skilled personnel for supervision and monitoring. In addition, the budget for municipal solid waste management should be increased to enable the municipal authority to fund the projects effectively.