UN-Habitat’s research shows that a total of 227 million people in the world have moved out of slum conditions since 2000. However, the absolute number of slum dwellers has actually increased from 776.7 million in 2000 to some 827.6 million in 2010.

Excluded from the city’s opportunities, physically, politically and economically marginalized, slum dwellers are particularly vulnerable to crime and violence. They face an acute risk of becoming victims or offenders and live in a state of constant insecurity.

This title presents an important collection of studies which clarify the enormity of the slum challenge. The safety of slum dwellers cannot be taken to be an incidental consequence of the upgrading of their neighborhoods. Rather, it must be considered an explicitly planned outcome of upgrading.