Australian Development Gateway

The Australian Development Gateway (ADG) strives to support members of the development community in their efforts to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. The site has been created with participation from members of government, private, academia and non-government organisations. User feedback mechanisms have been incorporated to guide future directions of the site. The site is optimised for low bandwidth access to enable the widest participation throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Urbanisation

Cities on the brink: urban poverty in the 21st century

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.

The document is available for download from this page.

 

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