Supporting Local Urban Knowledge Arenas

The year 2007 marks the moment when half of the world's population live in cities and one third of the urban population live in slum areas without access to proper housing, water, basic education, health care and other facilities. Urbanization worldwide will dominate Asia and Africa up and until 2030 and there is a concern it will go hand in hand with increasing urban poverty. But cities will not just be sources of problems. They also offer a platform for solutions. This study is based on the underlying assumption that it is essential that cities actively use their innovative, creative and learning capacity to create and share knowledge and experiences on how to reduce urban poverty. The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) carried out a study in 2008 to assess the success factors for ‘Local Urban Knowledge Arenas' (LUKAs) and the feasibility of supporting them. This publication draws largely on the findings of that study. LUKAs can play a crucial role in bringing research and practice together with the aim of developing programmes, projects and actions that contribute to urban development and help to overcome urban poverty.