Poverty and Exclusion Among Urban Children

From the Scope of the Digest... "This Digest assesses the human rights situation of poor and marginalised children in urban areas around the world. It considers the range of problems that these children and their families face; it draws attention to the need for actions based on a knowledge of urban areas and potential ‘urban advantages'; and examines the capacity of competent, accountable and transparent urban governance to promote the rights of children, enable communities and poor households to influence public policies and actions, and ensure tangible and significant progress in improving conditions in urban settlements.

In highlighting the implications of poverty and exclusion for children in urban areas, this Digest does not in any way seek to divert attention from the reality of children in rural areas, or from rural poverty. Rather, it seeks to redress an imbalance which has often caused the specific situation of children in the world's urban settlements to be assigned insufficient importance, both by governments and by international organisations.

While this Digest necessarily covers issues as diverse as air pollution and children's participation in decision making, and ranges from outlining global urban trends to providing concrete examples of positive practices in poor urban neighbourhoods, the common and consistent thread is provided by the theme of good urban governance, and of the serious implications for children where this is absent."

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