The world’s poor are the worst affected by urban crime and violence, insecurity of tenure and forced eviction, and natural and human-made disasters, regardless of their geographical location, finds a new UN-HABITAT publication, Enhancing Urban Safety and Security: Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 launched as part of World Habitat Day celebrations.
“Over the past decade the world has witnessed growing threats to the safety and security of cities and towns. Some have come in the form of catastrophic events, while others have been manifestations of poverty and inequality or of rapid and chaotic urbanization processes,” said the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.
The report pinpoints rapid urbanisation as fast becoming a force shaping where and when disaster strikes and who it most affects. Against the backdrop of increasing crime, in a world where at least 2 million people are forcibly evicted every year and where disasters have ever-broadening impacts, the report discloses trends and facts but also brings solutions to the table.
Download Enhancing Urban Safety and Security (4 MB pdf)
