The world's urban population now exceeds the world's rural population. What does this mean for the state of our cities, given the strain this global demographic shift is placing upon current urban infrastructures?

This series is designed to cover all aspects of sound financial management for local governments in developed and developing countries and economies in transition. Concepts of good governance, transparency and accountability are woven into the text of every chapter, and the needs and potential obstacles to greater decentralization and democracy are highlighted. Each volume is self-contained with its own Trainer’s Guide, exercises and web resources.

The Challenge of Slums presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects. Using a newly formulated operational definition of slums, it presents estimates of the number of urban slum dwellers and examines the factors at all level, from local to global, that underlie the formation of slums as well as their social, spatial and economic characteristics and dynamics. It goes on to evaluate the principal policy responses to the slum challenge of the last few decades.

The Global Report on Human Settlements is the most authoritative and up-to-date global assessment of human settlements conditions and trends. It is an essential reference for researchers, academics, public authorities and civil society organizations all over the world.

The practice of forcibly evicting people from their homes and settlements is a growing global phenomenon and represents a crude violation of one of the most elementary principles of the right to adequate housing as defined in the Habitat Agenda and international instruments.

Urbanization in the last 20 years has become one of the most important trends in human settlement development and the prospects of all developing countries continue to be deeply affected by rapid urban population growth. While Africa was 80% rural in the 1950s and 1960s, its rate of urbanization now stands on average at 50% and the trend is expected to continue over the coming years (UN-HABITAT, 1996).

Introduction of participatory budgeting can be a sound vehicle in realizing good governance and fighting poverty. It is a mechanism that involves elected leaders, public officials, service providers, and non-state actors – civil society, private sector and development partners.

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.

The publication is a guide for all urban stakeholders - policy makers, professionals, private sector, civil society organizations and concerned citizens working to improve the quality of life in their cities.

This publication has been prepared as background documentation for the Dialogue on the “Strengthening of Local Authorities” during the 19th Session of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT.

The degree of success and efficiency of housing production and delivery depends on the prevailing legal, institutional and financial framework. Housing finance credit mechanisms are generally weak in most developing countries because of low-income levels, weak regulatory and legal framework provisions for land title and tenure system, absence of effective laws governing credit and absence of credit rating systems.

The resource guide is targeted to a small but potentially influential group :professional associations and their members who serve local government associations.