Books in the Urban Management Series series

Bridging the Finance Gap in Housing and Infrastructure concentrates on how groups of poor people - coalitions of the poor around the world have been able and been enabled to lead the process of transforming slums into vibrant and stable neighbourhoods. It showcases the strategies and the dedication, commitment and achievement of one northern NGO - Homeless International - as it has pioneered new approaches to analyzing and helping to arrange finance for community-led slum upgrading. This is a very encouraging story. It confirms that the homeless poor in the world''s slums should never be dismissed as the helpless victims of urbanization.Technically, this book is valuable for the explanation of how innovative financing packages can be arranged for slum upgrading programmes. But primarily, it is about human rights and how institutions and organizations respect and help people to realize their rights.

The challenge of urban poverty is growing every year. It is predicted that over 95% of global population growth between 2000 and 2030 will take place in the cities of the developing world. If current trends continue, the huge majority of those will end up in slums. Tackling urban poverty, however, has had a lower profile than other of the Millennium Development Goals, for example the one on water ΓÇô despite the efforts of major players such as UN-Habitat. This book makes a case for approaches to urban development that are locally driven and which complement the vast investments and efforts of slum-dwellers themselves. It discusses a range of approaches for achieving that, focusing on practical experiences and clear lessons for the future. Essential reading for development practitioners, donors and funding agencies, academics and students interested in NGO-supported approaches to urban development.