ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the nature of urban poverty and vulnerability, which is a multidimensional phenomenon intrinsically linked with the physical and institutional characteristics of the urban built environment, such as access to secure housing and basic services. Poverty be defined most simply as a lack of one or more of those things that determine quality of life. The chapter focuses the challenge of building sustainable livelihoods that provide regular income, which is vital in the highly monetised urban context. Rural livelihoods are often dependent on access to natural assets such as fertile land while urban dwellers are more dependent on waged employment opportunities and often require more cash to satisfy basic needs than their rural counterparts. Indeed, a World Bank study of informality in Latin America found that self-employed workers and micro-enterprises prefer the informal sector, as it offers more autonomy, flexibility, stability and mobility.
