• The first in-depth examination of a broad range of urban security issues, focusing on three key aspects of urban safety and security: crime and violence; security of tenure and protection against forced eviction; and natural and human-made disasters • The UN Human Settlements Programme’s Global Report – the most authoritative source of information on the conditions and trends in the world’s cities • An essential tool and reference for researchers, academics, public authorities and civil society organizations around the world

UNEP, with the support of the UK Government, is following up a key recommendation of the UN Marrakech Process meeting in Costa Rica (2005) to develop International Guideli nes for Developing, Implementing and Monitoring National Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). The Guidelines are informed by earlier work to develop national action plans on SCP in Asia (UNEP 2005). Experts from the project's advisory group have also provided significant inputs.

An expert group meeting was convened to discuss case studies of regulatory inform of the urban informal sector in six developing country cities. This report (i) reviews regulatory factors constraining the development and operation of urban informal sector enterprises; (ii) examines innovative experiences regulatory reform in cities of three developing countries with large urban informal sectors; and (iii) identifies successful policies and develop policy guidelines for streamlining municipal regulation of the sector with a view to enhancing the income of the urban poor.

This paper describes the dramatic changes in the size of the world’s urban population and of its largest cities over the last 100 years. This includes the almost tenfold increase in the average size of the world’s 100 largest cities between 1900 and 2000. It also describes the changing distribution of cities between regions.

This paper examines urban health in low- and middle-income countries, in relation to two sets of environmental issues: ~1. persistent local environmental health burdens, and most notably the water, sanitation and housing deficiencies prevalent in the poor neighbourhoods of so many urban settlements; ~2. emerging global environmental burdens that will be experienced in urban areas, and most notably those associated with climate change.

Guided in focus by the UN Millennium Development Goals, this new State of the World’s Cities volume considers the wide range of issues that affect the lives of (mainly poor) urban dwellers: water and sanitation, shelter, overcrowding, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, education, employment, and more.

A preliminary effort to identify whether, and to what extent, indigenous peoples enjoy the right to adequate housing in different regions of the world. Includes seven case studies on the status of housing for indigenous peoples – in practice and in law – and reviews policies and programmes aimed at addressing their disadvantage.

In this edition, articles include:City-wide upgrading in Thailand; Finance for low-income housing in Central America; The framework for slum upgrading in Mumbai, India; Housing and citizenship in Sao Paulo, Brazil; A Church’s contribution to land redistribution in South Africa; The growing problem of forced evictions worldwide; A twin-track approach to improving the lives of slum dwellers; State and civil society in a Havana barrio, Cuba; Environmental management in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Water and sanitation in Moreno, Buenos Aires; Pro-poor governance in Bangalore’s public water sector.

This study is an attempt to analyze the relationship between macroeconomic factors and urban growth in the contemporary world, selecting 17 countries to provide some insights. It reviews current thinking on the relationship between stabilization policies and economic growth.

The State of the World's Cities 2004/2005 charts the progress and the challenges we face in this rapidly urbanising world. With contributions from some of the world's leading urban scholars, writers and experts, this report carries extensive examples, illustrations and facts that are of use to experts and non-experts alike.

Are local governments able to give more power to poorer groups? And support their capacities for action and partnership? Are the urban poor able to make a creative contribution to the considerable challenges of urban management? The April 2004 issue of Environment and Urbanization describes how local governments, citizen groups and social movements are developing more participatory ways of working together. Much has been made possible by more democratic and decentralized government structures, and by bottom-up pressures and coherent alternative development approaches from citizens and civil society organizations. This issue explores new approaches and assesses their effectiveness

Local to Local Dialogue: A Grassroots Women’s Perspective on Good Governance, describes locally designed strategies through which grassroots women’s groups initiate and engage in ongoing dialogue with local authorities, with a view to influence policies, plans and programmes in ways that address women’s priorities. six case studies chronicle the experiences and efforts of each of the women’s groups to identify priorities and negotiate with local authorities.

This describes the innovative poverty reduction programmes set up by the Urban Community Development Office (UCDO) in Thailand and how this fed into a new institution into which its programmes became integrated - the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI). Both UCDO and its successor CODI provide community-based savings groups with a range of loans to support income generation, community enterprises, housing improvement/upgrading, new housing (especially for squatters threatened with eviction) and community-managed revolving funds. Loans were also provided to networks of community organisations who could on-lend to their members. The loan programmes were complimented with a small grants programme for community managed environmental improvement projects and support for community welfare funds. CODI is also supporting rural community groups, networks of groups (for instance as all community organisations in a city join together to work with the local authorities on a city-wide plan) and is helping to develop the Thai government's ambitious 'cities without slums' programme. Read more: www.iied.org/urban/pubs/urbn_pov.html To order: www.earthprint.com/go.htm?to=9242IIED

This toolkit is a contribution to the Global Campaign on Urban Governance, an initiative led by UN-Habitat in collaboration with a whole range of partners whose development goal is to contribute to the eradication of poverty through improved urban governance.

This includes case studies on the Brazilian city of Barra Mansa’s child-oriented budgeting process and on an awards-based initiative to strengthen the implementation of child rights in the State of Ceará (Brazil); an overview of child-friendly cities in the Philippines and an account of children’s sanitation in Mumbai. It also includes papers from various researchers in the international Growing up in Cities Initiative, an overview of urban youth in conflict with the law in Africa, and an account of what recent demographic and health surveys in Africa reveal regarding the health of children in urban areas.

This includes case studies of how globalization is affecting Karachi, Luanda, Buenos Aires, Windhoek and cities in Pacific Asia and influencing social exclusion in Johannesburg and Faisalabad. It also has papers on the evasion of corporate responsibility in Bhopal and on the role of cities and city-networks in globalization.