Home in the City

* One of 14 publications comprising the official UN strategy on how to reduce extreme poverty and achieve the fundamental worldwide human development goals for the coming decade * Project directed by Jeffrey D. Sachs, named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, current Director of The Earth Institute, Columbia University, and Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan * The essential reference work for all governments, policymakers, aid and donor agencies, development practitioners, researchers, and students worldwide More than 900 million people currently live in urban slums and the number is growing as rapid urbanization continues in the developing world. "A Home in the City" urges countries to strengthen their focus on the growing urban crisis and on improving the lives of slum dwellers. Proposed are specific investments and policy changes required at local and national levels to create a vibrant, equitable, and productive urban environment. It underscores the need for close strategic partnerships between local authorities and organizations of the urban poor for slum upgrading and improved urban management. From adopting citywide strategies and establishing adequate and affordable infrastructure and services, to building effective public transport and constructing low-income housing, it offers valuable methods to prevent future slum formation and to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. The UN Millennium Development Library A Home in the City, in conjunction with the flagship publication Investing in Development, is one of 13 thematic publications that comprise the UN Millennium Library. This set of reference handbooks charts world progress and presents strategies for dramatically reducing extreme poverty in its many dimensions--income poverty, hunger, disease, exclusion, lack of infrastructure, and shelter--by 2015, while promoting gender equality, education, health, and environmental sustainability. This Library is the official, comprehensive point of reference and action plan for achieving the fundamental development objectives embodied in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the UN and world leaders in 2000.

Foreword

iii

Task force members

x

Preface

xiii

Acknowledgments

xvi

Abbreviations

xix

Millennium Development Goals

xx

Executive summary

1

(9)

The dimensions of the problem

10

(12)

The urban population of the world is growing

11

(1)

More than 900 million people live in slums

12

(1)

Urban poverty is severe, pervasive, and largely unacknowledged

13

(1)

Slum dwellers are excluded from urban life in many ways

14

(1)

Urban poverty is often underestimated

15

(1)

The benefits of the urban economy reach beyond city boundaries

16

(2)

The urban context is critical to meeting all of the Goals

18

(1)

Specific actions must be taken to meet target 11

18

(4)

Recognizing the urban poor as active agents of development

22

(13)

Federations of the urban poor are making a difference

22

(1)

Community-led work in slums draws on a variety of mechanisms

23

(6)

Actions by federations are setting precedents and changing standards

29

(2)

Many criticisms of community-driven processes are unfounded

31

(1)

Nongovernmental organizations, governments, and international agencies can support organizations representing the urban poor

31

(2)

Conclusion

33

(2)

Reaching the target through improved governance

35

(13)

Countries around the world are adopting good urban governance practices

36

(2)

People have the ``right to the city''

38

(4)

Planning for development can prevent slums from developing

42

(4)

Local strategies for improving slum dwellers' lives can address all the Goals

46

(2)

Supporting and enacting local pro-poor policies

48

(29)

Land regulation and transparency in private land transactions are critical to ensuring secure tenure

48

(4)

Cities can provide adequate, affordable infrastructure and services to the poor

52

(3)

Community contracts are a good way to involve slum dwellers in improvement projects and raise their income

55

(2)

Improving public transportation can expand options for the urban poor

57

(2)

Health services need to reach poor urban dwellers

59

(3)

Building codes and regulations need to meet the needs of the urban poor

62

(3)

Policymakers need to provide alternatives to prevent new slums from forming

65

(2)

Cities need to create regulatory and policy environments that encourage private sector participation

67

(9)

Organizations and community groups need to be empowered to participate meaningfully in planning

76

(1)

Mobilizing resources and investments

77

(20)

Most of the funding for improved housing will come from local sources

77

(12)

Land needs to be made available to the urban poor

89

(4)

Professionals and civil servants need to be trained to improve the lives of slum dwellers

93

(4)

Empowering local action

97

(12)

Networks of people committed to improving the lives of slum dwellers need to be developed and strengthened

97

(4)

International initiatives for local poverty reduction strategies are needed

101

(3)

Creating a worldwide partnership of ``Millennium Cities'' could advance the urban agenda

104

(5)

Monitoring progress toward target 11

109

(8)

UN-Habitat is responsible for monitoring progress

110

(1)

The Monitoring of Urban Inequities Program was created to provide institutional infrastructure for monitoring progress

111

(2)

Monitoring security of tenure is difficult

113

(1)

Progress is being made in improving the data needed to monitor target 11

114

(1)

An enhanced global monitoring mechanism is needed

114

(1)

The urban poor represent an untapped resource for monitoring progress

115

(1)

Recommendations

116

(1)

Investing in the target to improve the lives of slum dwellers

117

(27)

Meeting the target is feasible

118

(2)

Current estimates were used to estimate the investment required to meet target 11

120

(1)

A variety of factors affect investment costs for slum upgrading

121

(1)

The target needs to be translated into operational terms

122

(1)

Process is as important as technical solutions

123

(1)

Interventions must be well defined

124

(3)

Slum upgrading would cost about $42 a year per beneficiary

127

(3)

Three self-help housing programs in Central America provide important lessons

130

(2)

Estimates were developed for each component of assisted self-help housing in the Central American programs

132

(2)

Global estimates were calculated on the basis of the Central American experience

134

(5)

By 2020 some 570 million people will need alternative housing to avoid becoming slum dwellers

139

(1)

Estimates of regional investments required to meet the Goals show that the greatest need is in Sub-Saharan Africa

139

(5)

Notes

144

(5)

References

149

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