Cities

"Small Guides to Big Issues" is a new series of accessible introductions to the global challenges of the twenty-first century, to be launched September 2006.

The books in this series de-bunk myths and raise questions about the global economic and political system and how it works.

They are designed for campaigners and activists, students and researchers, and anyone interested in looking behind the headlines.

Produced in partnership with Oxfam, each book provides an informative and thought-provoking guide to current trends and debates, and what needs to happen in order to end poverty and injustice.Every year, tens of millions of people abandon rural areas of the South for life in the city.

Already overcrowded urban centres are under increasing pressure.

With education, health care and even safe water in short supply, cities risk becoming sites of violent conflict for future generations.

The urban poor are less accepting of their fate than the scattered rural poor. And yet, world governments are doing little to address these demographic shifts, or to provide the basic services that rapid urbanisation demands.Jeremy Seabrook offers a vivid portrait of the lives of people who migrate from impoverished villages to towns and cities, the changes they face, and the impact these changes have on their psyche and well-being.

Contrasting the attitudes of today's governments with that of Victorian Britain - where the government actively intervened to relieve some of the worst consequences of urban squalor - the book provides a sharp critique of global policies, and an ideal introduction to the impact of urbanisation on modern life.