There is increasing convergence in the problems facing cities in all regions, with immigrant ghettos and slums coexisting with modern skyscrapers and luxury shops. This book presents the immense problems and the enormity of the tasks confronting those who lead the world’s large cities, whether in developing countries, transitional economies, or the industrialized world.
The book focuses on urban employment, and on what cities can do to create jobs at the local level. The underlying thesis is that creating and protecting employment can be the determining factor in easing, if not resolving , the multidimensional crisis faced by many cities worldwide. The book highlights the new challenges for urban employment, including the impact of technological change on job creation, employment structures and the location of industries and services; and the growth of informal forms of work. How can policies and action be changed in order to provide sustainable employment even in the poorest cities, and to make cities into humane places to live and work? This book provides some answers.