While rural poverty has declined significantly in Asia, urban poverty has been rising. Because urban poverty is different in nature from rural poverty, there is a concern that the approaches to poverty reduction that were developed for rural areas may not work in cities and towns.

This paper analyses the characteristics and extent of urban poverty in Asia, using the three dimension of poverty: lack of income, lack of access and lack of power. It introduces policies and programmes to address urban poverty, but also shows that the available data on urban poverty in the region are not detailed enough to enable the development of effective and sustainable urban poverty reduction policies.

The urban poor need better conditions for their work, including in the informal sector, better infrastructure and services, including inside the slums, and good urban governance to make the local decision processes inclusive, participatory, accountable and transparent.
This paper is presented as a document to the Fourth Session of the Committee on Poverty Reduction (12-14 December 2007)

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Table of contents

INTRODUCTION

• Poverty
• Urbanization

URBAN POVERTY

• Income poverty
• Urban hunger
• Economic growth and employment
• Urban informal sector
• Informal settlements
• Lack of access to services
• Exclusion

REDUCING URBAN POVERTY

• Enhancing productivity and employment
• Supporting the informal sector
• Upgrading informal settlements
• Empowering the poor
• Good urban governance

CONCLUSION