Poverty, Urbanity and Social Policy


Book Description

The aim of this book is to provide the reader with the broad spectrum of poverty and social policy issues in Central and Eastern Europe, and address the most urgent topics of welfare state research, namely poverty, children and social policy; gender, social policy and poverty; urban policy, renewal and poverty, and overall challenges to social policy reform. The book demonstrates that despite an increase in poverty and inequalities in many Central and Eastern European countries during the last 18 years, the social policy systems have not experienced a radical dismantlement throughout the entire region. The post-Communist welfare state still shows more comprehensive solutions to social problems than residual ones. Nevertheless, the deteriorated fiscal capacities of the state in some cases hinder the successful poverty solutions as well as the expansion of the welfare programmes. Yet, the Central and Eastern European region is very diverse regarding the scope and depth of social problems encountered and some countries have implemented more successful policy solutions than other ones. Furthermore, the findings of this volume demonstrate that Central and Eastern European countries are not so dramatically distinct from Western Europe, neither in their social problems encountered, nor in their solutions. Nevertheless, the experience of the socialist regime, the relatively lower wages and lower social benefits as well as the higher share of GDP produced in a shadow economy allow the CEE countries to group into the distinct post-Communist regime.




Population, Poverty, and Politics in Middle East Cities


Book Description

"Comprehensively and knowledgeably addresses uniquely modern dilemmas of urban places in the Middle East by bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars who have already made significant contributions . . . in their respective fields. . . . A very important volume."--Janet L. Bauer, Trinity College, Hartford "Makes a valuable addition to the literature. . . . Offers a wealth of diverse and original contributions on social and cultural issues of urban societies in the region."--Iliya Harik, Indiana University In the first substantial study of mounting urban problems in the Middle East, contributors present case studies of cities in Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, and Iran. In particular, they address problems of urban planning and administration (including historic preservation issues), poverty and marginalization, health and gender in the urban environment, and the impact of politics on the city, including the actions of Islamicist groups. The authors stress that Middle East cities are indeed in crisis; in a concluding chapter, Michael Bonine asks whether or not they are sustainable. CONTENTS 1. Population, Poverty, and Politics: Contemporary Middle East Cities in Crisis, by Michael E. Bonine Part I. Municipal Government, Urban Planning, and Conserving the Urban Past 2. Urbanization and Metropolitan Municipal Politics in Turkey, by Metin Heper 3. Ruptures in the Evolution of the Middle Eastern City: Amman, by Mohammad Al-Asad 4. Urban Conservation in the Old City of San Part II. Poverty and Marginalization in the Urban Middle East 5. Responding to Middle East Urban Poverty: The Informal Economy in Tunis, by Richard A. Lobban, Jr. 6. Devotion as Distinction, Piety as Power: Religious Revival and the Transformation of Space in the Illegal Settlements of Tunis, by Elizabeth Vasile 7. Muscat: Social Segregation and Comparative Poverty in the Expanding Capital of an Oil State, by Fred Scholz Part III. Health and Gender and the Urban Environment 8. The Crowded Metropolis: Health and Nutrition in Cairo, by Osman M. Galal and Gail G. Harrison 9. Population, Poverty, and Gender Politics: Motherhood Pressures and Marital Crises in the Lives of Poor Urban Egyptian Women, by Marcia C. Inhorn 10. Gender and Health: Abortion in Urban Egypt, by Sandra D. Lane Part IV. Islam and Politics: War, Revolution, and Protest in the Middle Eastern City 11. Urbanization and Political Instability in the Middle East, by Kirk S. Bowman and Jerrold D. Green 12. Urbanization, Migration, and Politics of Protest in Iran, by Farhad Kazemi and Lisa Reynolds Wolfe 13. Islam, Islamism, and Urbanization in Sudan: Contradictions and Complementaries, by John Obert Voll 14. The New Veiling and Urban Crisis: Symbolic Politics in Cairo, by Arlene Elowe MacLeod 15. Are Cities in the Middle East Sustainable? by Michael E. Bonine Michael E. Bonine is professor of geography and Near Eastern studies at the University of Arizona. Coeditor of Middle Eastern Cities and Islamic Urbanism (1994), he was executive director of the Middle East Studies Association from 1981 to 1989.




Urban Planning Against Poverty


Book Description

This open access book revisits the theoretical foundations of urban planning and the application of these concepts and methods in the context of Southern countries by examining several case studies from different regions of the world. For instance, the case of Koudougou, a medium-sized city in one of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso, with a population of 115.000 inhabitants, allows us to understand concretely which and how these deficiencies are translated in an African urban context. In contrast, the case of Nueve de Julio, intermediate city of 50.000 dwellers in the pampa Argentina, addresses the new forms of spatial fragmentation and social exclusion linked with agro export and crisis of the international markets. Case studies are also included for cities in Asia and Latin America. Differences and similarities between cases allow us to foresee alternative models of urban planning better adapted to tackle poverty and find efficient ways for more inclusive cities in developing and emerging countries, interacting several dimensions linked with high rates of urbanization: territorial fragmentation; environmental contamination; social disparities and exclusion, informal economy and habitat, urban governance and democracy.




Urban Poverty in the Global South


Book Description

This is compounded by the lack of voice and influence that low income groups have in these official spheres.




Urban Poverty


Book Description




More Urban Less Poor


Book Description

A world more urban... The world is undergoing massive urbanization, and is projected to increase from three to over four billion city dwellers, mostly in the developing world, within 15 years. This historic shift is producing dramatic effects on human well-being and the environment. ...but less poor Unplanned shanty-towns without basic services are not an inevitable consequence of urbanization and slums are not explained by poverty alone. Urban misery also stems from misguided policies, inappropriate legal frameworks, dysfunctional markets, poor governance, and not least, lack of political will. Urbanization and economic development go hand-in-hand and the productivity of the urban economy can and should benefit everyone. Living conditions for the urban poor can be dramatically improved with proper solutions, backed by decisive, concerted action. More Urban - Less Poor brings order to the complex and important field of urban development in developing and transitional countries. Written in an accessible style, the book examines how cities grow, their economic development, urban poverty, housing and environmental problems. It also examines how to face these challenges through governance and management of urban growth, the finance and delivery of services, and finding a role for development cooperation. This is essential reading for development professionals, researchers, students and others working on any facet of urban development and management in our rapidly urbanizing world. Published with SIDA




Urban Socio-Economic Segregation and Income Inequality


Book Description

This open access book investigates the link between income inequality and socio-economic residential segregation in 24 large urban regions in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. It offers a unique global overview of segregation trends based on case studies by local author teams. The book shows important global trends in segregation, and proposes a Global Segregation Thesis. Rising inequalities lead to rising levels of socio-economic segregation almost everywhere in the world. Levels of inequality and segregation are higher in cities in lower income countries, but the growth in inequality and segregation is faster in cities in high-income countries. This is causing convergence of segregation trends. Professionalisation of the workforce is leading to changing residential patterns. High-income workers are moving to city centres or to attractive coastal areas and gated communities, while poverty is increasingly suburbanising. As a result, the urban geography of inequality changes faster and is more pronounced than changes in segregation levels. Rising levels of inequality and segregation pose huge challenges for the future social sustainability of cities, as cities are no longer places of opportunities for all.




Handbook of Family Policies Across the Globe


Book Description

Family policy holds a particular status in the quest for a more equitable world as it intersects the rights of women, children, and workers. But despite local and global efforts and initiatives, the state of family policy in different areas of the world varies widely. Through a cross-section of countries on six continents, Family Policies Across the Globe offers the current state of the laws concerning family life, structure, and services, providing historical, cultural, and socioeconomic context. Lucidly written chapters analyze key aspects of family definition, marriage, child well-being, work/family balance, and family assistance, reviewing underlying social issues and controversies as they exist in each country. Details of challenges to implementation and methods of evaluating policy outcomes bring practical realities into sharp focus, and each chapter concludes with recommendations for improvement at the research, service, and governmental levels. The result is an important comparative look at how governments support families, and how societies perceive themselves as they evolve. Among the issues covered: Sierra Leone: toward sustainable family policies. Russia: folkways versus state-ways. Japan: policy responses to a declining population. Australia: reform, revolutions, and lingering effects. Canada: a patchwork policy. Colombia: a focus on policies for vulnerable families. Researchers , professors and graduate students in the fields of social policy, child and family studies, psychology, sociology, and social work will find in Family Policies Across the Globe a reference that will grow in importance as world events continue to develop.




Cities From Scratch


Book Description

This collection of essays challenges long-entrenched ideas about the history, nature, and significance of the informal neighborhoods that house the vast majority of Latin America's urban poor. Until recently, scholars have mainly viewed these settlements through the prisms of crime and drug-related violence, modernization and development theories, populist or revolutionary politics, or debates about the cultures of poverty. Yet shantytowns have proven both more durable and more multifaceted than any of these perspectives foresaw. Far from being accidental offshoots of more dynamic economic and political developments, they are now a permanent and integral part of Latin America's urban societies, critical to struggles over democratization, economic transformation, identity politics, and the drug and arms trades. Integrating historical, cultural, and social scientific methodologies, this collection brings together recent research from across Latin America, from the informal neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City, Managua and Buenos Aires. Amid alarmist exposés, Cities from Scratch intervenes by considering Latin American shantytowns at a new level of interdisciplinary complexity. Contributors. Javier Auyero, Mariana Cavalcanti, Ratão Diniz, Emilio Duhau, Sujatha Fernandes, Brodwyn Fischer, Bryan McCann, Edward Murphy, Dennis Rodgers




Motherhood, Poverty, and the WIC Program in Urban America


Book Description

The study presented here is one of urban poverty, household survival, and social institutions that both enable and control the decision-making of poor women in America. First and foremost, it is about a public health program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known more commonly as WIC, and how the institution re-inscribes persistent stereotypes of the urban poor on the women it eagerly wishes to serve. Despite encountering opposition and occasionally humiliation at the hands of those chosen to serve, many low-income women throughout the United States and Puerto Rico return to WIC every month because it represents a rite of passage that characterizes pregnancy. Enrolling in WIC prenatally signifies to others the importance of providing for one’s family in spite of socioeconomic disadvantage. Yet whether women access WIC benefits or not, their lived realities include a painful and enduring connection between urban poverty and health inequalities, particularly inequalities leading to poor birth outcomes and infant mortality, as explored in this urban ethnography.