In 2007 the world will tip from being predominantly rural to predominantly urban. This report describes the consequences of the global trend toward urbanisation, including disease, malnutrition, low service provision, higher costs of living, and increased insecurity.
The authors argue that growing urban poverty needs urgent attention, and explain that its underlying causes include:
- inadequate service access
- lack of opportunity to earn a living
- communities' lack of power
- poor governance of, and within, slums.
Policy recommendations call for a restructuring of how aid is given, to:
- reflect the urbanisation of poverty that is taking place around the world
- consider the specific needs of the poor
- provide governments with incentives to address issues of inequality, and to review policies that repress or exclude the poor
- address the root causes of urban marginalisation and inequality.
