CITIES AND SLUMS

"I was born in a slum, I live in a slum, I will probably die in a slum, and if there is a slum in heaven, then I will most likely end up there too."[See 'Divided City' ] These plain words came from a member of the public who had been invited to a special forum this year in Kenya.

Slum dwellers are often deprived of water, sanitation, security and basic human services. According to UN-Habitat, by 2001 the number of slum dwellers reached 837 million worldwide. In the Millennium Declaration, United Nations Member  States set as a target for 2020 the achievement of "significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers".

Below are related articles from the UN Chronicle and its online edition as well as educational links that are particularly relevant to slums and urban poverty.

Issue 1, 2004
Cities Without Slums
By Namrita Talwar, for the Chronicle
http://www0.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2004/issue1/0104p9.asp

Web Article, April 2004
Divided City: Information Poverty in Nairobi's Slums
By Rasna Warah
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2004/webArticles/043004_Nairobi.asp

Issue 4, 2003
The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements 2003
Reviewed by Rasna Warah
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2003/issue4/0403p19.asp

Issue 4, 2002
On MDGs ? We're Falling Short, Kofi Annan Warns World
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2002/issue4/0402p27.html

Issue 1, 2001
Partnerships with the Urban Poor: The Indian Experience
By Sheela Patel
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2001/issue1/0101p48.html

Issue 1, 2001
Participatory Urban Governance: The Experience of Santo André
By Celso Daniel, late Mayor of Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2001/issue1/0101p28.html

Issue 1, 2001
Local Experience with Global Expertise: The Best Practices Network
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2001/issue1/0101p34.html

Issue 4, 2000
A Revitalized Habitat: Committed to Fighting the Urbanization of Poverty
By Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2000/issue4/0400p54.htm


LINKS RELATED TO "CITIES AND SLUMS"

Cities of Today, Cities of Tomorrow! ? Cyberschoolbus
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/habitat/index.asp

Urban Poverty ? World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org/urban/poverty/index.html

UN-Habitat: Millennium Development Goals
http://www.unchs.org/mdg/default.asp

Best Practices & Local Leadership Programme ? UN-Habitat
http://www.bestpractices.org