THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2012 Children in an Urban World THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2012 CHILDREN IN AN URBAN WORLD THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2012 © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) February 2012 Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. Permission will be freely granted to educational or non-profit organizations. Others will berequested to pay a small fee. Please contact: Division of Communication, UNICEF 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: +1 (212) 326-7434 Email: nyhqdoc.permit@unicef.org This report and additional online content are available at <www.unicef.org/sowc2012>. Perspective and Focus On essays represent the personal views of theauthors and do not necessarily reflect the position ofthe United Nations Children’s Fund. For corrigenda subsequent to printing, please see <www.unicef.org/sowc2012>. For latest data, please visit <www.childinfo.org>. ISBN: 978-92-806-4597-2 eISBN: 978-92-806-4603-0 United Nations publication sales no.: E.12.XX.1 Photographs Cover Children dance in an informal settlement on a hillsidein Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (2007). © Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos Chapter 1, page x Children play in Tarlabasi, a neighbourhood that is home to many migrants in Istanbul, Turkey. © UNICEF/NYHQ2005-1185/Roger LeMoyne Chapter 2, page 12 Queuing for water at Camp Luka, a slum on the outskirts of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. © UNICEF/NYHQ2008-1027/Christine Nesbitt Chapter 3, page 34 A girl in Kirkuk, Iraq, drags scrap metal that her family will use to reinforce their home – a small space with curtains for walls on the top floor of a former football stadium. © UNICEF/NYHQ2007-2316/Michael Kamber Chapter 4, page 48 Boys play football in the courtyard of the Centre Sauvetage BICE, which offers residential and family services for vulnerable children in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. © UNICEF/NYHQ2011-0549/Olivier Asselin Chapter 5, page 66 Girls and boys work on a group project in a primary school in Tarawa, Kiribati. © UNICEF/NYHQ2006-2457/Giacomo Pirozzi iii This report is the fruit of collaboration among many individuals and institutions. The editorial and research team thanks all who gave so generously of their expertise and energy, in particular: Sheridan Bartlett (City University of New York); Jean Christophe Fotso (APHRC); Nancy Guerra (University of California); Eva Jesperson (UNDP); JacobKumaresan (WHO Urban HEART); Gora Mboup (UN-Habitat); Sheela Patel (SDI); Mary Racelis (Ateneo de Manila University); Eliana Riggio; David Satterthwaite (IIED); Ita Sheehy (UNHCR); Nicola Shepherd (UNDESA); Mats Utas (Swedish Academy of Letters); and Malak Zaalouk (American University of Cairo), for serving on the External Advisory Board. Sheridan Bartlett; Roger Hart and Pamela Wridt (City University of New York); Carolyn Stephens (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and National University of Tucuman, Argentina); and Laura Tedesco (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), for authoring background papers. Fred Arnold (ICF Macro); Ricky Burdett (London School of Economics and Political Science); Elise Caves and Cristina Diez (ATD Fourth World Movement); Michael Cohen (New School); Malgorzata Danilczuk-Danilewicz; Celine d’Cruz (SDI); Robert Downs (Columbia University); SaraElder (ILO); Kimberly Gamble-Payne; Patrick Gerland (UNDESA); Friedrich Huebler (UNESCO); Richard Kollodge (UNFPA); MaristelaMonteiro (PAHO); Anushay Said (World Bank Institute); Helen Shaw (South East Public Health Observatory); MarkSommers (Tufts University); Tim Stonor (Space Syntax Ltd.); Emi Suzuki (World Bank); Laura Turquet (UN-Women); HenrikUrdal (Harvard Kennedy School); and Hania Zlotnik (UNDESA), for providing information and advice. Special thanks to Sheridan Bartlett, Gora Mboup and Amit Prasad (WHO) for their generosity of intellect and spirit. UNICEF country and regional ofces and headquarters divisions contributed to this report by submitting ndings and photographs, taking part in formal reviews or commenting on drafts. Many eld ofces and UNICEF national committees arranged to translate or adapt the report for local use. Programme, policy, communication and research advice and support were provided by Geeta Rao Gupta, Deputy Executive Director; Rima Salah, Deputy Executive Director; Gordon Alexander, Director, Ofce of Research; NicholasAlipui, Director, Programme Division; Louis-Georges Arsenault, Director, Ofce of Emergency Programmes; Colin Kirk, Director, Evaluation Ofce; Khaled Mansour, Director, Division of Communication; Richard Morgan, Director, Division of Policy and Practice; LisaAdelson-Bhalla; Christine De Agostini; Stephen Antonelli; Maritza Ascencios; LakshmiNarasimhan Balaji; GerritBeger; Wivina Belmonte; Rosangela Berman-Bieler; Aparna Bhasin; Nancy Binkin; Susan Bissell; ClarissaBrocklehurst; MarissaBuckanoff; Sally Burnheim; Jingqing Chai; Kerry Constabile; HowardDale; Tobias Dierks; KathrynDonovan; PaulEdwards; Solrun Engilbertsdottir; Rina Gill; Bjorn Gillsater; Dora Giusti; JudyGrayson; AttilaHancioglu; Peter Harvey; Saad Houry; Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda; Robert Jenkins; Malene Jensen; TheresaKilbane; JimmyKolker; JuneKunugi; Boris De Luca; Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen; Sam Mort; Isabel Ortiz; Shannon O’Shea; Kent Page; NicholasRees; MariaRubi; Rhea Saab; Urmila Sarkar; Teghvir Singh Sethi; Fran Silverberg; Peter Smerdon; Antony Spalton; Manuela Stanculescu; David Stewart; Jordan Tamagni; Susu Thatun; Renee Van de Weerdt; and NataliaElenaWinder-Rossi. Special thanks to Catherine Langevin-Falcon, Chief, Publications Section, who oversaw the editing and production of the statistical tables and provided essential expertise, guidance and continuity amid changes in personnel. Finally, a particular debt of gratitude is owed to David Anthony, Chief, Policy Advocacy, and editor of this report for the past seveneditions, for his vision, support and encouragement. EDITORIAL AND RESEARCH Abid Aslam, Julia Szczuka, Editors Nikola Balvin, Sue Le-Ba, Meedan Mekonnen, Research ofcers Chris Brazier, Writer Marc Chalamet, French editor Carlos Perellon, Spanish editor Hirut Gebre-Egziabher, Lead, Yasmine Hage, Lisa Kenney, AnneYtreland, Jin Zhang, Research assistants Charlotte Maitre, Lead, Anna Grojec, Carol Holmes, Copy editors Celine Little, Dean Malabanan, Anne Santiago, Judith Yemane, Editorial and administrative support PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION Jaclyn Tierney, Chief, Print and Translation Section; Germain Ake; Fanuel Endalew; JorgePeralta-Rodriguez; Elias Salem; Nogel S. Viyar; Edward Ying Jr. STATISTICAL TABLES Tessa Wardlaw, Associate Director, Statistics and Monitoring Section, Division of Policy and Practice; PriscillaAkwara; David Brown; Danielle Burke; XiaodongCai; ClaudiaCappa; Liliana Carvajal; Archana Dwivedi; AnneGenereux; ElizabethHorn-Phatanothai; ClaesJohansson; RouslanKarimov; Mengjia Liang; RolfLuyendijk; NyeinNyeinLwin; Colleen Murray; HollyNewby; KhinWityeeOo; Nicole Petrowski; ChihoSuzuki; Danzhen You ONLINE PRODUCTION AND IMAGES Stephen Cassidy, Chief, Internet, Broadcast and Image Section; Matthew Cortellesi; Susan Markisz; KeithMusselman; Ellen Tolmie; Tanya Turkovich Design by Green Communication Design inc. Printed by Brodock Press, Inc. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REPORT TEAM Acknowledgements THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2012iv PUTTING CHILDREN FIRST IN AN URBAN WORLD The experience of childhood is increasingly urban. Over half the world’s people – including more than a billion children – now live in cities and towns. Many children enjoy the advantages of urban life, including access to educational, medical and recreational facilities. Too many, however, are denied such essentials as electricity, clean water and health care – even though they may live close to these services. Too many are forced into dangerous and exploitative work instead of being able to attend school. And too many face a constant threat of eviction, even though they live under the most challenging conditions – in ramshackle dwellings and overcrowded settlements that are acutely vulnerable to disease and disaster. The hardships endured by children in poor communities are often concealed – and thus perpetuated – by the statistical averages on which decisions about resource allocation are based. Because averages lump every- one together, the poverty of some is obscured by the wealth of others. One consequence of this is that children already deprived remain excluded from essential services. Increasing numbers of children are growing up in urban areas. They must be afforded the amenities and opportunities they need to realize their rights and potential. Urgent action must be taken to: • Betterunderstandthescaleandnatureofpovertyandexclusionaffectingchildreninurbanareas. • Identifyandremovethebarrierstoinclusion. • Ensurethaturbanplanning,infrastructuredevelopment,servicedeliveryandbroadereffortsto reduce poverty and inequality meet the particular needs and priorities of children. • Promotepartnershipbetweenalllevelsofgovernmentandtheurbanpoor–especiallychildren and young people. • Pooltheresourcesandenergiesofinternational,national,municipalandcommunityactorsin support of efforts to ensure that marginalized and impoverished children enjoy their full rights. These actions are not goals but means to an end: fairer, more nurturing cities and societies for all people – starting with children. ACTION vForeword Anthony Lake Executive Director, UNICEF When many of us think of the world’s poorest children, the image that comes readily to mind is that of a child going hungry in a remote rural community in sub-Saharan Africa – as so many are today. But as The State of the World’s Children 2012 shows with clarity and urgency, millions of children in cities and towns all over the world are also at risk of being left behind. In fact, hundreds of millions of children today live in urban slums, many without access to basic services. They are vulnerable to dangers ranging from violence and exploitation to the injuries, illnesses and death that result from living in crowded settlements atop hazardous rubbish dumps or alongside railroad tracks. And their situations – and needs – are often represented by aggregate gures that show urban children to be better off than their rural counterparts, obscuring the disparities that exist among the children of the cities. This report adds to the growing body of evidence and analysis, from UNICEF and our partners, that scar- city and dispossession afict the poorest and most marginalized children and families disproportionately. It shows that this is so in urban centres just as in the remote rural places we commonly associate with deprivation and vulnerability. The data are startling. By 2050, 70 per cent of all people will live in urban areas. Already, 1 in 3 urban dwellers lives in slum conditions; in Africa, the proportion is a staggering 6 in 10. The impact on children living in such conditions is signicant. From Ghana and Kenya to Bangladesh and India, children living in slums are among the least likely to attend school. And disparities in nutrition separating rich and poor children within the cities and towns of sub-Saharan Africa are often greater than those between urban and rural children. Every disadvantaged child bears witness to a moral offense: the failure to secure her or his rights to survive, thrive and participate in society. And every excluded child represents a missed opportunity – because when soci- ety fails to extend to urban children the services and protection that would enable them to develop as productive and creative individuals, it loses the social, cultural and economic contributions they could have made. We must do more to reach all children in need, wherever they live, wherever they are excluded and left behind. Some might ask whether we can afford to do this, especially at a time of austerity in national budgets and reduced aid allocations. But if we overcome the barriers that have kept these children from the services that they need and that are theirs by right, then millions more will grow up healthy, attend school and live more productive lives. Can we afford not to do this? FOREWORD THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2012vi Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Population Division special updated estimates of urban population as of October 2011, consistent with World Population Prospects: The 2010 revision and World Urbanization Prospects: The 2009 revision. Graphic presentation of data based on The Guardian, 27 July 2007. This map is stylized and based on an approximate scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 27.1 93% Brazil 168.7 87% Argentina 37.3 92% Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Barbados Bahamas Belize Suriname Guyana Chile 15.2 89% Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Peru 22.4 77% Colombia 34.8 75% Ecuador 9.7 Panama Paraguay Costa Rica Nicaragua El Salvador Honduras Guatemala 7.1 Dominican Republic Cuba 8.5 Haiti Jamaica Mexico 88.3 78% United States of America 255.4 82% Canada 27.4 81% Switzerland Italy 41.4 68% Ukraine 31.3 69% Germany 60.8 74% Estonia Latvia Lithuania Belarus 7.2 Poland 23.3 61% Czech Republic 7.7 Slovakia Austria Hungary Romania 12.3 57% Republic of Moldova Slovenia Croatia Serbia Albania Bulgaria Bosnia and Herzegovina Netherlands 13.8 83% United Kingdom 49.4 80% Ireland Belgium 10.4 97% France 53.5 85% Spain 35.7 77% Portugal Russian Federation 104.6 73% Greece Turkey 50.7 70% Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan Turkmenistan Norway Sweden 7.9 Denmark Finland Montenegro Luxembourg Malta Iceland The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Mongolia China 629.8 47% Urban population in millions Percentage urban India 367.5 30% Sri Lanka Nepal Bhutan Bangladesh 41.7 28% Myanmar 16.1 34% Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 14.7 60% Republic of Korea 40.0 83% Canton 14.5 Japan 84.6 67% Fiji Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Australia 19.8 89% New Zealand Maldives Kazakhstan 9.4 Uzbekistan 10.0 36% Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Afghanistan 7.1 Pakistan 62.3 36% Viet Nam 26.7 30% Lao People’s Democratic Republic Cambodia Thailand 23.5 34% Singapore Indonesia 106.2 44% Philippines 45.6 49% Malaysia 20.5 72% Brunei Darussalam Above 75% urban Between 50% and 75% urban Between 25% and 50% urban Below 25% urban Somalia Gambia Guinea-Bissau Senegal Sierra Leone Mauritania Guinea Liberia Mali Burkina Faso Côte d’Ivoire 10.0 51% Ghana 12.6 51% Togo Benin Morocco 18.6 58% Algeria 23.6 66% Tunisia 7.1 Libya Niger Nigeria 78.9 50% Cameroon 11.4 58% Egypt 35.2 43% Chad Sudan 17.5 40% Democratic Republic of the Congo 23.2 35% Central African Republic Congo Gabon Angola 11.2 59% Namibia South Africa 30.9 62% Eritrea Botswana Cyprus Zimbabwe Ethiopia 13.8 17% Kenya 9.0 Uganda Rwanda Burundi Zambia United Republic of Tanzania 11.8 26% Mozambique 9.0 Madagascar Mauritius Swaziland Lesotho Comoros Qatar Iraq 21.0 66% Iran (Islamic Republic of) 52.3 71% Kuwait Syrian Arab Republic 11.4 56% Israel Jordan Saudi Arabia 22.5 82% United Arab Emirates Oman Yemen 7.6 Occupied Palestinian Territory Bahrain Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Sao Tome and Principe Cape Verde Malawi Lebanon This graphic depicts countries and territories with urban populations exceeding 100,000. Circles are scaled in proportion to urban population size. Where space allows, numbers within circles show urban population (in millions) and urban percentage of the country’spopulation. AN URBAN WORLD An urban world vii Notes: Because of the cession in July 2011 of the Republic of South Sudan by the Republic of the Sudan, and its subsequent admission to the United Nations on 14 July 2011, data for the Sudan and South Sudan as separate States are not yet available. Data presented are for the Sudan pre-cession. Data for China do not include Hong Kong and Macao, Special Administrative Regions of China. Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China as of 1 July 1997; Macao became a SAR of China as of 20 December 1999. Data for France do not include French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion. Data for the Netherlands do not include the Netherlands Antilles. Data for the United States of America do not include Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 27.1 93% Brazil 168.7 87% Argentina 37.3 92% Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Barbados Bahamas Belize Suriname Guyana Chile 15.2 89% Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Peru 22.4 77% Colombia 34.8 75% Ecuador 9.7 Panama Paraguay Costa Rica Nicaragua El Salvador Honduras Guatemala 7.1 Dominican Republic Cuba 8.5 Haiti Jamaica Mexico 88.3 78% United States of America 255.4 82% Canada 27.4 81% Switzerland Italy 41.4 68% Ukraine 31.3 69% Germany 60.8 74% Estonia Latvia Lithuania Belarus 7.2 Poland 23.3 61% Czech Republic 7.7 Slovakia Austria Hungary Romania 12.3 57% Republic of Moldova Slovenia Croatia Serbia Albania Bulgaria Bosnia and Herzegovina Netherlands 13.8 83% United Kingdom 49.4 80% Ireland Belgium 10.4 97% France 53.5 85% Spain 35.7 77% Portugal Russian Federation 104.6 73% Greece Turkey 50.7 70% Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan Turkmenistan Norway Sweden 7.9 Denmark Finland Montenegro Luxembourg Malta Iceland The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Mongolia China 629.8 47% Urban population in millions Percentage urban India 367.5 30% Sri Lanka Nepal Bhutan Bangladesh 41.7 28% Myanmar 16.1 34% Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 14.7 60% Republic of Korea 40.0 83% Canton 14.5 Japan 84.6 67% Fiji Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Australia 19.8 89% New Zealand Maldives Kazakhstan 9.4 Uzbekistan 10.0 36% Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Afghanistan 7.1 Pakistan 62.3 36% Viet Nam 26.7 30% Lao People’s Democratic Republic Cambodia Thailand 23.5 34% Singapore Indonesia 106.2 44% Philippines 45.6 49% Malaysia 20.5 72% Brunei Darussalam Above 75% urban Between 50% and 75% urban Between 25% and 50% urban Below 25% urban Somalia Gambia Guinea-Bissau Senegal Sierra Leone Mauritania Guinea Liberia Mali Burkina Faso Côte d’Ivoire 10.0 51% Ghana 12.6 51% Togo Benin Morocco 18.6 58% Algeria 23.6 66% Tunisia 7.1 Libya Niger Nigeria 78.9 50% Cameroon 11.4 58% Egypt 35.2 43% Chad Sudan 17.5 40% Democratic Republic of the Congo 23.2 35% Central African Republic Congo Gabon Angola 11.2 59% Namibia South Africa 30.9 62% Eritrea Botswana Cyprus Zimbabwe Ethiopia 13.8 17% Kenya 9.0 Uganda Rwanda Burundi Zambia United Republic of Tanzania 11.8 26% Mozambique 9.0 Madagascar Mauritius Swaziland Lesotho Comoros Qatar Iraq 21.0 66% Iran (Islamic Republic of) 52.3 71% Kuwait Syrian Arab Republic 11.4 56% Israel Jordan Saudi Arabia 22.5 82% United Arab Emirates Oman Yemen 7.6 Occupied Palestinian Territory Bahrain Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Sao Tome and Principe Cape Verde Malawi Lebanon THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2012viii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ACTION iv FOREWORD Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF v CHAPTER 1 Children in an increasingly urban world 1 An urban future 2 Poverty and exclusion 3 Meeting the challenges of an urban future 8 CHAPTER 2 Children’s rights in urban settings 13 An environment for fulfilling children’s rights 14 Health 14 Child survival 14 Immunization 17 Maternal and newborn health 18 Breastfeeding 18 Nutrition 19 Respiratory illness 22 Road traffic injuries 22 HIV and AIDS 22 Mental health 24 Water, sanitation and hygiene 25 Education 28 Early childhood development 28 Primary education 29 Protection 31 Child trafficking 31 Child labour 32 Children living and working on the streets 32 CHAPTER 3 Urban challenges 35 Migrant children 35 Economic shocks 40 Violence and crime 42 Disaster risk 45 CHAPTER 4 Towards cities fit for children 49 Policy and collaboration 49 Participatory urban planning and management 50 Child-Friendly Cities 55 Non-discrimination 55 Nutrition and hunger 55 Health 57 HIV and AIDS 57 Water, sanitation and hygiene 58 Education 58 Child protection 60 Housing and infrastructure 60 Urban planning for children’s safety 61 Safe cities for girls 61 Safe spaces for play 62 Social capital 62 Cultural inclusion 62 Culture and arts 63 Technology 63 CHAPTER 5 Uniting for children in an urban world 67 Understand urban poverty and exclusion 68 Remove the barriers to inclusion 70 Put children first 73 Promote partnership with the urban poor 74 Work together to achieve results for children 74 Towards fairer cities 75 PANELS Social determinants of urban health 4 Slums: The five deprivations 5 Definitions 10 The Convention on the Rights of the Child 16 The Millennium Development Goals 33 Agents, not victims 38 Armed conflict and children in urban areas 42 [...]... fulfilment of their rights Following an overview of the world s urban landscape, Chapter 2 looks at the status of children in urban settings through the lens of international human rights instruments and development goals Chapter 3 examines some of the phenomena shaping the lives of children in urban areas, from their reasons for coming to the city and their experience of migration to the challenges posed by... else is the iniquity of inequity as obvious as in a city Over the course of a decade, the state of the world s urban children has worsened The number of people living in slums has increased by over 60 million These are mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, sons and daughters, scratching out a life in shantytowns the world over With the direct disadvantages of urban poverty – disease,... education poverty Children in an increasingly urban world Children in an increasingly 7 © UNICEF/NYHQ2006-1335/Claudio Versiani Children juggle to make money on the streets of Salvador, capital of the eastern state of Bahia, Brazil Meeting the challenges of an urban future Children and adolescents are, of course, among the most vulnerable members of any community and will disproportionately suffer the negative... and deprivation than children living in rural areas In principle, the deprivations confronting children in urban areas are a priority for human rights-based 8 THE STATE OF THE WORLD S CHILDREN 2012 development programmes In practice, and particularly given the misperception that services are within reach of all urban residents, lesser investment has often been devoted to those living in slums and informal... children out of reach are too often out of sight If we are to raise their hopes and their prospects, we have to dig deep into the data, unroot entrenched prejudices and give every child an equal chance at life Only in this way can we truly advance the state of all the world s children Children’s rights in urban settings 15 The Convention on the Rights of the Child The Convention on the Rights of the Child,... areas include Greater London and Metro Manila both net rural -urban migration and the reclassification of rural settlements into cities and towns Urban sprawl Also ‘horizontal spreading’ or ‘dispersed urbanization’ The Urbanization uncontrolled and disproportionate expansion of an urban The proportion of a country that is urban area into the surrounding countryside, forming low-density, poorly planned... more children want for shelter and sanitation than are deprived of food, education and health care, and that the poor sanitation, lack of ventilation, overcrowding and inadequate natural light common in the homes of the urban poor are responsible for chronic ailments among their children. 2 Many children and families living in the urban slums of lowincome countries are far from realizing the rights to... sanitation But urban advances have been uneven, and millions of children in marginalized urban settings confront daily challenges and deprivations of their rights Traditionally, when children s well-being is assessed, a comparison is drawn between the indicators for children in rural areas and those in urban settings As expected, urban results tend to be better, whether in terms of the proportion of children. .. in an increasingly urban world 9 containing the city proper, suburbs and continuously The definition of urban varies from country to country, and, DEFINITIONS Urban (area) settled commuter areas or adjoining territory inhabited at with periodic reclassification, can also vary within one coun- urban levels of residential density try over time, making direct comparisons difficult An urban area can... improving the health of mothers and children The Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and currently implemented in selected urban areas of India, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal, is an example The programme seeks to significantly increase modern contraceptive prevalence rates – especially among the urban and peri -urban poor – through integrating and improving . THE STATE OF THE WORLD S CHILDREN 2012 Children in an Urban World THE STATE OF THE WORLD S CHILDREN 2012 CHILDREN IN AN URBAN WORLD THE STATE OF THE WORLD S CHILDREN 2012 ©. LeMoyne Children in an increasingly urban world 1 Children in an increasingly urban world The day is coming when the majority of the world s children will grow up in cities and towns. Already, half of. and the fullment of their rights. Following an overview of the world s urban landscape, Chapter 2 looks at the status of children in urban settings through the lens of inter- national human