This report documents discussions on urban poverty issues in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia related to the urban poor's access to basic infrastructure services. Basic infrastructure services are services that allow the urban poor to live under conditions that facilitate their income-generating activities so they can maintain a good nutritional level and participate in the normal activities of society. Services include housing, transportation, water, sanitation, solid waste disposal, and energy for cooking and lighting. In addition to discussing ways to improve the conditions of the poor in urban areas through the provision of basic infrastructure services, the workshop also laid the groundwork for follow-up regional senior policy seminars in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. While workshop participants did not attempt to conclude with formal policy recommendations, they did develop general areas of consensus. The focus of the workshop discussions were on the following concerns: financial issues; the role of nongovernmental organizations; the role of governments; and the relationship between nongovernmental organizations and the governments.

As urban populatiCC'lS in developing countries oootinue to grow rapidly, cne of the nest critical issues in the Third W:lrld has beoane p:rovidirYJ shelter and other basic services such as clean water, heal th clinics, and sewage disposal to the urban poor. This book of nine case studies of urban programs and projects in Ind:oesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Korea, India, and Sri Lanka focuses en impediments to slum upgrading. The authour discuss each project's evoluticn, the capabilities and resources of inplenenting agencies, the problems of interagency relaticoships and coordinaticn, costs and funding, the difficulties of developing effective linkages with poor cx:mnunities, and the accessibility of the new services to the urban poor.

During the last two decades many governments have allowed private companies to offer infrastructure services which were previously provided only by state-owned businesses. In some cases they have privatized state-owned business and in others, they have permitted private firms to invest in and operate those businesses under lease contracts or long-term concessions. In still other instances, private firms have been allowed to compete alongside former government monopolists. 'Infrastructure for Poor People' examines the data on infrastructure and the poor in developing countries, and discusses how policies, centered on private provision, can address their needs. It focuses on the design of government policy for the provision of infrastructure services by private firms, highlighting the rules determining which firms can sell infrastructure services, the prices they can charge, the quality of service they must offer, and any subsidies provided by the government.

This report documents discussions on urban poverty issues in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia related to the urban poor's access to basic infrastructure services. Basic infrastructure services are services that allow the urban poor to live under conditions that facilitate their income-generating activities so they can maintain a good nutritional level and participate in the normal activities of society. Services include housing, transportation, water, sanitation, solid waste disposal, and energy for cooking and lighting. In addition to discussing ways to improve the conditions of the poor in urban areas through the provision of basic infrastructure services, the workshop also laid the groundwork for follow-up regional senior policy seminars in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. While workshop participants did not attempt to conclude with formal policy recommendations, they did develop general areas of consensus. The focus of the workshop discussions were on the following concerns: financial issues; the role of nongovernmental organizations; the role of governments; and the relationship between nongovernmental organizations and the governments.