CIAO DATE: 07/2012
April 2012
More people in the world now live in urban areas than in rural areas. It is estimated that as many as one billion people, 15 per cent of the world’s total of seven billion, currently live in urban slums, and this number will likely double within 20 years. Until recently however, Oxfam, like other development agencies, focused primarily on rural poverty. Following the publication of Oxfam’s Aim 1 Strategy 2010 – 2015, which incorporated poverty and urban-rural linkages as a core aim, this study was undertaken by an independent research team to determine the extent to which Oxfam’s rural livelihoods experience – focused primarily on enterprise development – is transferable to urban contexts. The research for the study, undertaken between January and June 2011, draws on extensive collaboration with Oxfam global, regional, and country teams in Bangladesh, Guatemala, Colombia, Haiti, Kenya, and Russia.
Resource link: Global Urban Market-Based Livelihoods in Oxfam GB: Lessons and experiences from Kenya, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Colombia, Haiti, and Russia [PDF] - 992K