Thinking about chronic urban poverty

This short paper examines the issue of chronic urban poverty for the Chronic Poverty
Research Centre (CPRC). The reports aim is twofold: firstly to review the relevant
literature and secondly to suggest research topics and ideas for the first two years of
what is envisaged as a five year project. As will become apparent the literature on
chronic urban poverty is almost non existent; thus a lot of what follows is an attempt
to reconsider more general urban poverty literature through a chronic poverty lens.
Finally it is intended as a first attempt to develop some “working hypothesises” to
guide further ongoing research in what is anticipated as a five year research project.

Over the last few years there has been a growing interest in poverty by the
International Development agencies. Unfortunately there has often been a tendency
to see poverty as a rural phenomena. The implicit assumption has been that urban
areas will benefit from growth. In this analysis framework it becomes almost
axiomatic that chronic poverty –being a more extreme version- will be also be a rural
phenomena. This paper seeks to directly challenge this view and furthermore to
suggest that an study of chronic poverty and by implication the CPRC must have an
urban dimension.