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The Challenge of Slums presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects. Using a newly formulated operational definition of slums, it presents estimates of the number of urban slum dwellers and examines the factors at all level, from local to global, that underlie the formation of slums as well as their social, spatial and economic characteristics and dynamics. It goes on to evaluate the principal policy responses to the slum challenge of the last few decades. From this assessment, the immensity of the challenges that slums pose is clear. Almost 1 billion people live in slums, the majority in the developing world where over 40 per cent of the urban population are slum dwellers. The number is growing and will continue to increase unless there is serious and concerted action by municipal authorities, governments, civil society and the international community. This report points the way forward and identifies the most promising approaches to achieving the United Nations Millennium Declaration targets for improving the lives of slum dwellers by scaling up participatory slum upgrading and poverty reduction programmes. The Global Report on Human Settlements is the most authoritative and up-to-date assessment of conditions and trends in the world's cities. Written in clear language and supported by informative graphics, case studies and extensive statistical data, it will be an essential tool and reference for researchers, academics, planners, public authorities and civil society organizations around the world. Foreword * Introduction * Prologue: Urban Growth and Housing * Part I: Sharpening the Global Development Agenda - Development Context and the Millennium Agenda * Urbanization Trends and Forces Shaping Slums * Cities and Slums within Globalizing Economies * Part II: Assessing Slums in the Development Context - Social Dimensions * Territoriality and Spatial Forms * Economic Dynamics * Part III: Searching for Adequate Policy Responses and Actions - New Policy Developments at the National and Global Levels * Civil Society in Action * Towards Inclusive Cities: Reconsidering Development Priorities * Epilogue: Looking Forward - Moving Ahead * Part IV: Summary of City Case Studies - Overview of Case Studies * Case Study Highlights * Part V: Statistical Annex - Technical Notes * Methodological Notes * Data Tables * References * Index 'This book presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasising their problems and prospects.' Oxfam Development Resources Review 'Case studies, statistics, bibliography, and index complement a detailed, lucid, and impressive exposition of the anatomy of the slum.' CHOICE Middletown, CT Aug 2004 'Excellent resource for anyone interested in urban topics in developing nations, and as baseline for thinking about future development policy' FUTURE SURVEY 26:2 February 2004

'Achieving the goals set by world leaders in the United Nations Millennium Declaration will be difficult without a significant improvement in the lives of slum dwellers, and the lives of slum dwellers cannot be improved without the sound and sustainable economic development that is conducive to the establishment of a strong shelter sector. As Financing Urban Shelter: Global Report on Human Settlements 2005 emphasizes, one of the key challenges in meeting the Millennium Declaration Goal on slums is mobilization of the financial resources necessary for both slum upgrading and slum prevention by supplying new housing affordable to lower income groups on a large scale. ... It is my hope that, by highlighting the impacts of current shelter financing systems on low-income households and by identifying the types of financing mechanisms that appear to have worked for them, this report will contribute to the efforts of the wide range of actors involved in improving the lives of slum dwellers, including governments at the central and local levels, as well as non-governmental and international organizations.' From the Foreword by KOFI ANNAN, Secretary-General, United Nations Financing Urban Shelter presents the first global assessment of housing finance systems, placing shelter and urban development challenges within the overall context of macroeconomic policies. The report describes and analyses housing finance conditions and trends in all regions of the world, including formal housing finance mechanisms, microfinance and community funding, highlighting their relevance to the upgrading of slums. Recent shelter finance policy development is discussed at the international and national levels, and the directions that could be taken to strengthen shelter finance systems are examined. The Global Report on Human Settlements is the most authoritative and up-to-date assessment of conditions and trends in the world's cities. It is an essential tool and reference for researc

The global report \"Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities in Urban Settings\" is one important component of the overall WHO strategy to strengthen the response of the local, national and global health communities to reduce health inequities in an increasingly urbanized world.The report exposes the extent to which the urban poor suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and health problems, which can be traced back to inequalities in their social and living conditions. It also provides evidence-based information and tools to help municipal and health authorities tackle health inequities in their cities. The case for action is juxtaposed with personal stories and photos illustrating the issues of urban health equity in six countries. Stories of municipal and national authorities who are taking action to reduce inequities also are featured.