ABSTRACT
The New Urban Strategy was created as a result of the World Bank's realization that "urban development activities could and should have a greater impact in raising the living standards of the poor and promoting equity". This chapter focuses on the moral theory: the human rights approach of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human rights is but one of several leading moral approaches in development ethics. Development ethics fosters a reflective capacity in the consciousness of development theorists, practitioners, and decision makers, with respect to definitions of development and sustainability, and generally how development is conceived, evaluated, and described. Development interventions informed by development ethics articulate the moral dimensions of the development agenda. The achievement of human rights is an inherently worthy goal and an appropriate urban development objective, especially when the pursuit of the progressive realization of human rights derivatively reflects the long-term aspiration of stakeholders.
