In India, over 30 per cent of the total population lives below the poverty line. Such a high degree of poverty highlights a serious dimension of the country’s urban scenario also. The insufficient employment opportunities and poor income levels add to the miseries of the urban poor. They live in sub-standard settlements like slums, unauthorized colonies, squatters, pavements, resettlement colonies, etc. These settlements are considered to be the most filthiest in the world.
Taking a serious note of the growing urban poverty, the Government of India spent hundreds of crores of rupees on implementing various schemes and programmes with no significant result. Urban poverty continues to be an area of major concern and unbeatable challenge.
It was against this backdrop, experts working on different aspects of urban poverty were approached to contribute articles expressing their views and giving their first-hand experiences.
The reading of this volume can be immensely useful to professionals, government officials, activists etc., who are involved in poverty alleviation programmes.

Sabir Ali, a geographer-planner by profession, did his post-graduation from Jawaharlal Nehru University and specialization in Town and Country Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. He has been associated with a number of research assignments in India as well as abroad for more than two decades. Apart from a number of articles in various research journals, he has several books to his credit.

At present, he is working as a Senior Fellow in the Council for Social Development, New Delhi.