506 ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications 3 Urban water issues Cities rely on multiple utility infrastructure systems that are characterized by their complexity, as well as by high investment and management costs. In the years ahead, it is expected that cities and other urban centres will encounter resource distribution challenges associated with an increase in population flow, energy issues due to the depletion of fossil fuel resources, increased investment overheads, spiralling maintenance and management costs due to aging infrastructure and improper land resource utilization, among others. Innovative and new sustainable systems are essential to minimize the impact of these emergent challenges. Based on the context presented thus far, the provision of clean and reliable water constitutes a key area for the functioning of urban systems. Rapid urbanization, poverty and urban decay, weak political leadership and governance, insufficient and inadequate infrastructure, under investment and pricing issues, are among the key, and mutually re‐enforcing factors that impinge upon a city's water management system. These factors are further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change and other environmental stressors, ultimately heightening water management challenges, and constraining the availability and the quality of urban water resources. The interconnected and dynamic nature of urban water management challenges is illustrated in Figure 2. Source: Adapted from McIntosh (2014).5 Figure 2 – Influencing factors on urban water management challenges This figure suggests that the impacts of climate change, among other stressors, exacerbate the complex set of challenges that affect urban water management systems (e.g. aging infrastructure, urban sanitation problems). At the same time, these challenges impinge upon the effectiveness of water management systems to prepare for, withstand, recover and adjust to these impacts. In order to understand better the linkages between these challenges and water management, the following section explores some of the key factors that influence urban water management.