ABSTRACT
Forty years ago, Jane Jacobs wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities, a fervent plea to create viable communities through urban planning. 1 Today, it is the death and life of the world’s urban poor that are bound up with planning. More than anything else, the promise for improving urban liveability rests on freeing the potential of people living in poverty. Recognition of this important fact not only acknowledges the inability of the public and private sector to end urban poverty, but also welcomes marginalized and disenfranchised population groups as equal members of and participants in the world community, extending to them the full rights and responsibilities of urban citizens.
