This document reports findings from Phase I (May-August 1992) of an Overseas Development Administration funded project (no. R4857) concerning on-plot sanitation in low- income areas of urban Africa and Asia. Results from the project's two main tasks ] a review of relevant literature and postal surveys (which were carried out simultaneously) are discussed. More than three hundred documents were examined in the review and material relevant to on-plot urban sanitation has been summarized in sections dealing with technical, health and social, and management matters. Alternative technologies are critically reviewed, with special attention given to the relative advantages and disadvantages of each option.