The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements 2003

The United Nations expects that the number of slum dwellers in the world will increase from its present 924 million to about 2 billion in the next 30 years. The United Nations Millennium Declaration addresses this problem, setting the target of achieving `significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020’. This objective is not just about solving the housing situation of the slum dwellers but also includes responses to poverty, unemployment and access to basic services. This report discusses the development goals to be prioritised and identifies approaches in achieving the target. It presents global estimates for the number of slum dwellers, discusses local and national factors underlying the formation of these slums, their economic and social dynamics and the chief policies and approaches towards dealing with slums.

The first part of the report outlines the Millennium Development Agenda and provides background on the process of urbanisation leading to problems of slums. It discusses `official’ and `unofficial’ definitions of slums and poverty, based on such indicators as income, household size, urban growth and types of tenure. The second part deals with socio-economic dimension and dynamics of the slums. It analyses the conditions of the formation of slums in the national and local context, and the types and characteristics of slums with regard to location, age and population size. The last section studies new development policies and responses for improving slum conditions, alleviating poverty, and achieving `cities without slums’ over the long run.. The report concludes with recommendations for increased transparency and accountability and for policies which must be formulated in order to achieve the universal goal. The book is supported with informative graphics, case studies and statistical data to illustrate and demonstrate various statements and facts.