By 2050, it is expected that two-thirds of the world's population will live in urban areas. A large proportion of this urban growth will be taking place in the developing world, where the provision of adequate health, shelter, water, sanitation and climate change adaptation efforts will be an urgent priority. If well-planned, this transition to an urban world could offer an unprecedented opportunity to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest people. This book brings together some of the world's foremost experts in urban development with the aim of approaching these issues as an opportunity for real positive change. These are considered using a solutions-focused, integrated approach that takes account of the many different sectors and stakeholders involved. The book offers a blueprint for action and will be of great interest to academics and policymakers in all aspects of urban development and planning.

1. Understanding the Twenty-first Century Urban Transformation: A Global South Perspective 2. Evolving Urban Health Risks: Housing, Water and Sanitation and Climate Change 3. Urban Health Systems 4. Healthy Urban Governance and Population Health: Participatory Budgeting in Belo Horizonte, Brazil 5. Addressing Health Vulnerabilities of the Urban Poor in the 'New Urban Settings' of Asia 6. The Need for Shelter Finance Improvements 7. Innovations in Shelter Finance 8. Investing in Urban Water and Sanitation Systems 9. Perceiving the Social and Economic Consequences of Natural Disaster Shocks: Getting Ready for Climate Change 10. The Urbanization of Climate Change: Responding to a New Global Challenge