"The Global Monitoring Report 2013: Rural-Urban Dynamics and
the Millennium Development Goals examines rural-urban
disparities in the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and how urbanization, if managed well, can
contribute to the attainment of these goals. The report provides
information about the differences in progress toward the MDGs
across geographical areas and recognizes that urban populations
are better off than their rural brethren. However, unfettered
urbanization can cause migrants and the urban poor to end up in
slums where attainment of the MDGs lags.
GMR 2013 calls for an integrated strategy to better manage the
planning-connecting-financing formula of urbanization.
Notwithstanding the importance of urbanization in poverty
reduction and MDG attainment, rural areas remain a huge
challenge—one that underscores the importance of policies that
can improve rural livelihoods. The rural-urban spectrum ranges
from small towns to large cities. The general experience is that
poverty is
