Sep 6 , 2004 Morteza Aminmansour
Seattle, WA , USA


IRAN (Urbanization, Poverty, Economy):
Part II

Urbanization is a process of geographic concentration of the population, although the precise definition of Urban varies within and among countries.


The rapid growth of the global urban population is one of the most striking features of the demographic shift-taking place in the world.
They are three main causes of the rise in urban population in developing countries:
*Rural-to-Urban migration,
*Rapid overall population growth by natural increase.
*Reclassification of rural areas as urban areas.
Natural increase within urban areas, along with reclassification, accounts for an average of 61% of urban population growth in developing countries.
In IRAN where the Urbanization level is already high, natural increase will likely dominant urban population growth.
In many Iranian Cities such as Tehran, Shiraz, Tabriz, Isfahan with rapid urban expansion, pressure is exerted on housing water and transportation and distribution of basic commodities.
This created health and nutrition problems, particularly among those who have migrated
(Last 25 years) and living in slums and shantytowns.
Malnutrition and disease are critical problems in poor urban communities (such as Tehran, Mashhad and many other major Iranian Cities.
This particularly affects women, children, the elderly, and the disabled and industrial workers – the groups most vulnerable to health risks.
Just as the world is becoming increasing Urban, there is also an increase in the number of urban poor. In Iran there are still more illiterate women than men.

It is true that extreme poverty is an affront to our common humanity.
Extreme poverty in many Iranian Cities is defined: Lack of lack of basic human Capabilities.
Overall poverty: lack of income access to goods, services and necessary to satisfy essential infrastructure.
Income poverty is inability to capture the severity of living conditions in many Iranian Cities (particularly affected Children and women and elderly people).
Identifying a range of concerns about the present urban context:

The worsening of access and to shelter and security of tenure, resulting in severe over- crowding, homelessness and environment health problems;
Increasing inequality in cities, manifested in stark residential segregation, increasing violence impacting disproportionately on women, the poor and intensifying poverty.
Human poverty does not focus on what people do or do not have, but on what they can or cannot do.

As an alternative to income poverty measures:
*Deprivation in a long and healthy life, as measured by the percentage of people not expected to survive to age 45.

*Deprivation in economic provisioning, from private and public income, as measured percentage of people lacking access to health services, safe water and particularly Children under age five who are moderately or severely underweight.

*Deprivation in knowledge, as measured by adult illiteracy.

More poor people are now in urban areas than ever before.
The process of Urbanization, though estimated by economic development, has led to sharp divisions in growth between cities and among social groups.
Nearly one billion urban residents in the Cities of the developing world are poor.
The Urban poor are the worst affected group when there is sudden decline in economic growth. The Urban poor, unlike the rural poor, are the most venerable group because most national governments in developing countries do not provide any social safety nets for them.
Globalization is shaping a new era of economic growth of nations.
The high rate of economic growth will reduce the poverty.
The global economy has also fragmented production processes, political entities societies, and labor.
Globalization has positive, dynamic and innovative aspects; it also has negative, marginalizing and disruptive aspects.
In all the regions, where the absolute number of poor has increased, a majority of them are in urban areas that have been the key drivers of the global economy.

They are three –pronged approach to poverty reduction:
*Promoting opportunities,
*Facilitating empowerment,
*Enhancing security.
The Challenge for Urban local governments is to provide sustainable livelihoods, better quality of life for the urban poor, safe and secure living environments.

Empowering the poor implies recognizing the rights of the poor to live in the CITY,
Ensuring secure tenure and access to basic services, removing social barriers that result from discrimination due to gender, race, religion and social status.
Urban local governments will also need to ensure that the vulnerability of the poor to ill health, natural disasters, economic shocks.
Fact and Figures on Poverty in IRAN
More than 35 percent of families:
* Live in severe poverty,
*Do not get enough food, are chronically malnourished, many of them children.

*Many adults are illiterate (particularly affected women who migrated from rural areas).
Many preschool Children are Underweight.
Many families do not have access to safe water.
Extreme Poverty in IRAN can be banished by planning and developing new concepts, which would benefit all Iranian in rural and urban areas.
The extension of basic immunization in IRAN can save the lives of many Iranian Children.

References

UNCHS (Habitat). 1999 State of the world’s Cities.

UNDP 1999 Human Development Report.
World development Report 2000/2001
UNDP 2000 Poverty Report