This book is a collection of papers presented by experts and practitioners at a forum on urban youth, poverty and conflict, sponsored by the Comparative Urban Studies Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and focused on giving youth greater priority on the policy agenda.

The papers cover a variety of issues and challenge many traditional assumptions. Part I looks at demographic shifts and conflict in an urban age, exploring issues of inequality, conflict, unemployment and informal education, and the challenge of integrating alienated young people into urban society. Part II deals with the issue of youth unemployment and describes a number of programmes that aim to include young people in the labour market, looking at them as an asset rather than a problem. The critical role of local government in improving opportunities for youth in the formal economy is discussed, and the need for policy makers to come to terms with today’s realities. Part III concentrates on street children, the challenges they face, and the need for alternative ways of working with them. This section concludes with a paper on urban youth in Russia.