Over the past 20 years, researchers focusing on poverty have acknowledged the need for more comprehensive approaches to poverty, combining the rigor of quantitative methods and reflexivity of qualitative approaches. This book, which offers a portrait of poverty in the city of Mumbai through a wide spectrum of social sciences - from economics to population studies and feminist epistemology - discusses some of the actions that need to be taken to tackle urban poverty. Besides providing insights into the contours of poverty, the book illustrates how to build comprehensive knowledge on poverty and exclusion. It will be of interest to students and scholars concerned with poverty issues and urbanization.

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.

About half of the region's poor live in cities, and policy makers across Latin America are increasingly interested in policy advice on how to design programmes and policies to tackle poverty. This publication argues that the causes of poverty, the nature of deprivation, and the policy levers to fight poverty are, to a large extent, site specific. It therefore focuses on strategies to assist the urban poor in making the most of the opportunities offered by cities, such as larger labour markets and better services, while helping them cope with the negative aspects, such as higher housing costs, pollution, risk of crime and less social capital.

This report provides an overview of important urban poverty questions. What defines urban poverty and how is urban poverty being measured? What other factors beyond consumption poverty need to be tackled? Who are the urban poor? What relations exist between urban poverty and city size? What linkages exist between urbanization, income, and urban poverty? What policy responses to urban poverty are implemented in selected Asian countries? The report served as a background study for the International Policy Workshop on Urban Poverty and Inclusive Cities in Asia, organized by the Asian Development Bank and the International Poverty Reduction Center held from 24-25 June 2013 in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, the People's Republic of China.

Nandini Gooptu's magisterial 2001 history of the labouring poor in India represents a tour-de-force.