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| Slum Housing |
| A Crisis for the Urban Poor in the Developing World |
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Shantytown "bustee" in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Courtesy Jad Davenport, WHO/TBP | • The growing urbanization of the developing world is an indisputable fact. With more than 50 percent of the world´s citizens living in cities by 2020, urban growth will be fastest in poor countries particularly in Africa and Asia where many of the planet´s megacities already exist. The newly arrived poor in these cities settle in makeshift shelters in slums where inadequate sanitation and escalating social problems threaten to perpetuate cycles of poverty for generations to come. In response to these projections, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals has set Target 11 to significantly improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020.
• "Slum Housing: A Crisis for the Urban Poor in the Developing World" looks at shelter in slum settlements from the perspective of 15 Development Gateway Topic Pages, ranging from the impact of ethnic exclusion in ghettoes to housing microfinance opportunities. Efforts of civil society, particularly by slum dwellers themselves, to influence municipal and state legislation related to housing are discussed, as well as government innovations to ensure housing tenure and land management. Many of these issues have been advanced by UN Habitat, sponsor of the 2nd World Urban Forum in Barcelona, Spain, from September 13-17. This Development Gateway Special also marks World Habitat Day on October 4.
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| Urban Development |
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UN Habitat is advancing the urban slums agenda for the developing world at the 2nd World Urban Forum.More  | |
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| Water Resource Management |
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Millions of city dwellers struggle to live without clean water and basic sanitation, warns a major report from WHO and UNICEF.More | |
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| Governance |
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Governance Responses to the Slum Housing Challenge: Perspectives from the Cities Alliance. More | |
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| Poverty |
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Poverty and urban development: The case of forced evictions.More | |
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| Gender & Development |
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Lack of sanitation in urban slums is a matter of health, privacy and dignity with serious consequences for women.More | |
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| HIV/AIDS |
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Slum housing conditions fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS in cities in poor countries. More | |
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| Culture & Development |
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The role of ethnicity in urban communities: How cultural exclusion is shaping the world′s cities.More | |
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| Capacity Development for MDGs |
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Global Urban Observatory: Better Information for Better Cities.More | |
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| Indigenous Issues |
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Australian aboriginal housing program considers indigenous lifestyle in urban planning.More | |
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| Microfinance |
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Housing microfinance that provides small loans to low-to-moderate income households assists slum dwellers improve their dwellings.More | |
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| Non-Governmental Organizations |
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Shack/Slum Dwellers International voice to the urban poor throughout the world.More | |
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| Aid Effectiveness |
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Learn about the evolving World Bank support for shelter.More | |
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| Youth Page |
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The Glocal Youth Parliament explores the grave issue of how lack of housing affects youth and children.More | |
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| Afghanistan |
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How is Afghanistan addressing the housing needs of thousands of returnees? More | |
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| Iraq: Relief & Recovery |
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The housing crisis in Iraq affects urban and rural populations, as well as returning refugees. More | |
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| Sheela
Patel | By 2020, half of India´s population of more than
1 billion will live in cities. Yet, municipal governments are slow to realize
that India is no longer "a country of villages," says Sheela Patel, founder of
SPARC, a leading advocate for improvements in secure tenure for Bombay´s
pavement dwellers. More |
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 UN Habitat, the UN Human Settlement Program based in Nairobi, Kenya,
is sponsoring two global events this month related to urban slum housing in the
developing world. The 2nd World Urban Forum takes place in Barcelona, Spain, in
September on the theme "Cities: Crosswords of Cultures, Inclusiveness and
Integration?" The theme of World Habitat Day on October 4 is "Cities: Engines of
Rural Development" also sponsored by UN Habitat. "The
Challenge of Slums" was published by UN Habitat as the 2003 Global Report on
Human Settlements. |
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