Analyzing Urban Poverty: A Summary of Methods and Approaches
In recent years an extensive body of literature has emerged on the definition, measurement and analysis of poverty. Much of this literature focuses on analyzing poverty at the national level, or spatial disaggregation by general categories of urban or rural areas with adjustments made for regional price differentials. Yet for an individual city attempting to tackle the problems of urban poverty, this level of aggregation is not sufficient for answering specific questions such as where the poor are located in the city, whether there are differences between poor areas, if access to services varies by subgroup, whether specific programs are reaching the poorest, and how to design effective poverty reduction programs and policies. Answering these questions is critical, particularly for large, sprawling cities with highly diverse populations and growing problems of urban poverty. Understanding urban poverty presents a set of issues distinct from general poverty analysis and thus may require additional tools and techniques. This paper summarizes the main issues in conducting urban poverty analysis, with a focus on presenting a sample of case studies from urban areas that were implemented by a number of different agencies using a range of analytical approaches for studying urban poverty. Specific conclusions regarding design and analysis, data, timing, cost, and implementation issues are discussed.
| Summary: | In recent years an extensive body of
literature has emerged on the definition, measurement and
analysis of poverty. Much of this literature focuses on
analyzing poverty at the national level, or spatial
disaggregation by general categories of urban or rural areas
with adjustments made for regional price differentials. Yet
for an individual city attempting to tackle the problems of
urban poverty, this level of aggregation is not sufficient
for answering specific questions such as where the poor are
located in the city, whether there are differences between
poor areas, if access to services varies by subgroup,
whether specific programs are reaching the poorest, and how
to design effective poverty reduction programs and policies.
Answering these questions is critical, particularly for
large, sprawling cities with highly diverse populations and
growing problems of urban poverty. Understanding urban
poverty presents a set of issues distinct from general
poverty analysis and thus may require additional tools and
techniques. This paper summarizes the main issues in
conducting urban poverty analysis, with a focus on
presenting a sample of case studies from urban areas that
were implemented by a number of different agencies using a
range of analytical approaches for studying urban poverty.
Specific conclusions regarding design and analysis, data,
timing, cost, and implementation issues are discussed. |
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