The State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World

The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history: half of the world’s people — and half of the world’s children — live in cities today. Urbanization is linked with economic development. But while urban growth continues at great pace, adequate services and infrastructure do not automatically follow, with urgent implications for children. This publication explores the challenges to child rights in a rapidly urbanized world marked by economic uncertainty, unemployment, increased prevalence of conflict, humanitarian emergencies and climate change. It documents and examines existing knowledge and programmatic approaches to the multiple and complex realities of urban poverty and deprivation. It makes a call for area specific approaches, grounded in communities and in partnership with municipal authorities.