For the first time in history, the majority of the world's population lives in cities, the result of a rapid process of urbanization that started in the second half of the twentieth century. 'Megacities' around the world are rapidly becoming the scene for deprivation, especially in the global South, and the urban excluded face the brunt of what in many cases seems like low-intensity warfare.Featuring case studies from across the globe, including Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Megacities examines recent worldwide trends in poverty and social exclusion, urban violence and politics, and links these to the challenges faced by policy-makers and practitioners.

'Megacities' around the world are becoming the scene for deprivation and exclusion. This book examines world-wide trends in poverty, social exclusion, and urban violence.

AcknowledgementsIntroduction1. The Rise of Megacities and the Urbanization of Informality, Exclusion and Violence - Dirk Kruijt & Kees KooningsPart I: The Social Dynamics of Exclusion and Violence in Megacities2. From Popular Movements to Drug Gangs to Militias: An Anatomy of Violence in Rio de Janeiro by Robert Gay3. Megacity's Violence and its Consequences in Rio de Janeiro by Janice Perlman4. Coping with Urban Violence: State and Community Responses to Crime and Insecurity in Guayaquil, Ecuador by Caroline Moser5. Middle Eastern Megacities: Social Exclusion, Popular Movements and the Quiet Encroachment of the Urban Poor by Asef BayatPart II: Political and Policy Dimensions of Urban Exclusion and Violence6. Urban Governance and the Paradox of Conflict by Jo Beall7. Shoot the Citizen, Save the Customer: Participatory Budgeting and Bare Citizenship in Porto Alegre, Brazil by Sérgio Gregório Baierle8. Crisis of the State, Violence in the City by Mariano Aguirre9. Urban Exclusion and the (False) Assumptions of Spatial Policy Reform in South Africa by Susan Parnell and Owen CrankshawConclusions: Governing Exclusion and Violence in Megacities by Kees Koonings & Dirk Kruijt