SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 5.11:
Poverty rates are lower in cities
Note: the data used for each country is for the latest
year available.
Source: Based on World Bank 2015a.
poverty is lower in the largest cities, 32 since many
small towns offer services not much better than
those in rural areas.
Many towns and cities, however, suffer
from relatively poor standards in terms of public
water supply, sanitation, drainage and waste
management services. This underscores the
importance of urban poverty reduction strategies
grounded in an integrated approach of
developing basic infrastructure and essential
services while also promoting employment and
livelihoods, particularly for women and other
vulnerable groups (Box 5.2).
Across Asia and the Pacific, measures of
urban inequality tend to be higher than national
averages (Figure 5.12). Patterns of urban
development often exacerbate inequalities. Poor
areas of cities, especially slum areas, are typically
disconnected from road and transportation
networks, communications technologies and
energy grids. People there usually cannot obtain
decent formal jobs, high-quality education and
health care, good housing and the benefits of
social safety nets. They are more likely to be
disillusioned about the role of government and
less willing to participate in civic or political
activities.
Policies and the allocation of urban resources
in many instances tend to favour the middle class
and wealthy. 33 They draw more benefits, including
better protection against negative aspects of
urbanization, such as crime and violence. 34 Bias
can affect land allocation practices that push the
poor to the urban periphery and hazardous areas,
depriving them of secure access to jobs, housing
TABLE 5.2:
In South Asia, the share of urban poor has fallen, but their numbers have risen
Source: ADB 2014e.
163