The Urban Opportunity: The Work of NGOs in Cities of the South

Urbanization is bringing about one of the most significant transformations of the human habitat in history - by 2030, urban populations will be twice the size of rural populations. Governments and non-government organizations (NGOs) are devoting more resources to all aspects of the urban environment, but development thinking is still dominated by a rural bias which tends to downgrade work to humanitarian relief and short-term problem-solving. This book aims to inspire a more positive vision that acknowledges the long history of cities and towns as market places, centres of social assimilation and sources of creativity and invention. The work describes how its contributors - Northern NGOs working in the South - are responding to the urban opportunity, building partnerships to support local organizations that are tackling urban problems, and helping to bring local views to bear on officials who may have the power to improve things.