Urban India reports high incidence of poverty despite being hailed as a hub of growth and an instrument of globalization. Poverty figures for urban areas are higher compared to rural areas in a large number of states. This report looks at the process of globalization and development strategy in India to ask why poverty exists in urban areas and how the poor are being physically and economically absorbed in the system. It analyses the processes of urbanization, migration, changes in the structure of the economy, and the pattern of infrastructural investment with the aim of assessing their impact on the poor. Changes in urban governance, legal system, and the administrative structure have been reviewed to identify the problems faced by the poor and to focus on the systemic changes that need to be brought in. Thus it focuses on urbanization keeping poverty at the centre of analysis.

Contributed articles compiled from Social Change, a quarterly journal brought out by Council for Social Development; special issue on Urban poverty in India vol. 30 numbers 1-2, March-June, 2000.

"In India, over 30 per cent of the total population lives below the poverty line. Such a high degree of poverty highlights a serious dimension of the country's urban scenario also. The insufficient employment opportunities and poor income levels add to the miseries of the urban poor. They live in sub-standard settlements like slums, unauthorized colonies, squatters, pavements, resettlement colonies, etc. These settlements are considered to be the most filthiest in the world. Taking a serious note of the growing urban poverty, the Government of India spent hundreds of crores of rupees on implementing various schemes and programmes with no significant result. Urban poverty continues to be an area of major concern and unbeatable challenge. It was against this backdrop, experts working on different aspects of urban poverty were approached to contribute articles expressing their views and giving their first-hand experiences. The reading of this volume can be immensely useful to professionals, government officials, activists etc., who are involved in poverty alleviation programmes."

It is increasingly being recognized that effective management of the urbanization process across India is going to be imperative to ensure equitable and sustained development. Economic growth and gender equality are positively correlated. Although gender issues have been widely debated in the context of urbanization and urban poverty alleviation policy framework, it has yet to be addressed perceptibly. Encapsulating insightful policy recommendations exclusively on urban poverty and gender issues is the need of the hour for successful implementation of existing programmes, alongside keeping tabs on emerging issues relevant to the India Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. The State of the Urban Poor Report 2015 has been envisaged keeping in mind the critical need to examine gender issues relevant to urban poverty alleviation practices and mechanisms, as well as to find ways of bringing gender sensitivity into the urban management practices in India. The papers in this volume focus on themes such as dimensions of urban poverty; current urban poverty alleviation approaches; gender, shelter, and property rights; urban livelihoods; ensuring urban safety through gender sensitive approach; and access to basic urban services through gender perspective.