Chapter 1: Urban Equity and Youth

Development
Introduction
Developing countries are experiencing rapid urbanization, accounting for 90% of the global growth of
cities.1 This growth will result in an estimated 70% of the world’s population living in cities by 2050. 2
Based on this expansion, cities are quickly becoming the economic, cultural, and political hubs of
nations, which are essential for sustainable development. However, they also generate incredible
inequality, with the richest and poorest members of society brushing shoulders. While the promise of
cities is increasing opportunities and prosperity, the vast majority of those working in cities engage in
low-paying and often dangerous informal work, with little availability of advancement. This level of
poverty leads many to live in informal settlements, characterized by their lack of basic urban services,
such as potable water, sewerage, drainage, electricity, paved roads, waste collection, etc. Many socially
marginalized communities, including racial and ethnic minorities, women, sex workers, those with
disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, the elderly, and youth, find themselves more
vulnerable to these challenges.

Specifically, the marginalization of young people poses a significant problem for the prosperity of cities,
as they comprise a large proportion of the increasing urban population. In developing countries, it is
estimated that 60% of those living in cities will be under 18 by 2030. 3 This makes youth a critical force
for cities’ positive development and prosperity. As it stands, youth are not routinely accessing the
benefits of the city and are overrepresented among the unemployed, those working in the informal
economy, and living in slums. They are frequently sidelined politically and are experiencing the worst
impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. However, with targeted policies and
investments, young people can become the engine that drives economic and social development for
cities in the coming decades, elevating the prosperity of all urban residents.

This report seeks to provide a voice to youth living in the urban areas of eleven countries; Uganda, South
Africa, Papua New Guinea, Palestine, Nigeria, Mongolia, Kenya, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, and
Somalia. Through the results of the 2015 Urban Youth Equity Survey and ensuing focus group
discussions, young people expressed their opinions on experiences of equity and inequity in their cities.
Their responses were categorized along five dimensions of equity; economic, urban services, cultural,
political, and environmental. Throughout this report, youth perceptions on these dimensions of equity
are contextualized by secondary research. This research is intended to provide a picture of the state of
urban youth in 2021 and the role of young people in the prosperity of cities.

1 UN Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2013/08/un-habitat-and-

youth/
2 UNESDA. World Urbanization Prospects. 2011.
3 UN Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2013/08/un-habitat-and-
youth/
Table 1. Defining a Prosperous City

A prosperous city is one that fosters:

Productivity Contributes to economic growth and

development, generates income, provides decent
jobs and equal opportunities for all through
effective economic policies and reforms

Infrastructure Development Provides adequate infrastructure — water,

sanitation, roads, information and
communication technology —to improve living
conditions and enhance productivity, mobility
and connectivity

Quality of Life Enhances public spaces for improved community

cohesion and civic identity, and guarantees the
safety and security of individuals and property

Equity and Social Inclusion Ensures equitable (re)distribution of the benefits

of a prosperity, reduces poverty and the
incidence of slums, protects the rights of minority
and vulnerable groups, enhances gender equality,
and ensures civic participation in the social,
political and cultural spheres

Environmental Sustainability Values the preservation of the urban

environment and natural assets while ensuring
growth with more energy efficiency and reduced
pressure on surrounding land and natural
resources, together with innovations to reduce
environmental losses
Source: UN-Habitat. State of the Urban Youth Report 2012-2013 - Youth in the Prosperity of Cities.

Methodology
In 2015, UN-Habitat conducted a survey and focus group discussions with youth in major cities in 11
countries. This was part of an ongoing survey to inform the UN-Habitat State of the Urban Youth report
series, last published in 2013. The countries surveyed were Uganda, South Africa, Papua New Guinea,
Palestine, Nigeria, Mongolia, Kenya, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, and Somalia. The range of countries
surveyed provides a well-rounded view of youth in low- and middle-income countries with various
political and cultural situations. The results of this survey were used internally but were not publicly
published. This report seeks to evaluate the themes that emerged from the survey, but update the
results with the context of the world in 2021. This report was organized using the themes that youth
identified as impacting their urban equity. The focus group discussion results were extracted and
presented throughout the report as first-hand accounts of youth perception of urban equity. Secondary
research was conducted by accessing World Bank data sets, as well as topical reports from
intergovernmental organizations, governments and academic sources. This was done to confirm or
update statistics related to the issue of urban equity that youth identified and to provide additional
qualitative information.

The COVID-19 pandemic is also a new reality of today’s world, which was not facing urban youth during
the 2015 survey. At the time of writing, over 4 million people4 have died worldwide from the SARS-CoV-
2 virus. Beyond the health impacts, there have been significant changes to the economic, social and
cultural lives of urban youth. A global recession has severely limited the livelihood opportunities of
young people, and the isolation of social and physical distancing have had negative impacts on the
mental health of many. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed in a cross-cutting
manner throughout the various dimensions of urban youth equity to adequately capture this fluid
situation. Another cross-cutting theme discussed throughout the report is gender. Young men and
women experience life in cities differently, and it is critical to address the disparities in urban equity that
exist between them.

Conceptual Framework
Within our prevailing global economic discourse, prosperity is usually defined as economic growth.
However, this definition does not adequately capture the multi-faceted nature of young people’s lives in
cities. While economic development is critical to the lives of urban youth, other non-monetary forms of
wealth creation are also necessary to build a productive life. One example of this would be the provision
of free urban healthcare clinics to support the physical and mental health of young people. Due to the
high costs of being sick or private medical care, young people cannot invest in themselves, their families,
and their communities. Moreover, the social impacts of services that do not contribute to GDP growth
are still measurable by other metrics. By providing recreation to young people, such as a youth soccer
league, the participants are no longer idle, and they create a positive community atmosphere. This can
limit their involvement with anti-social behaviours such as violent extremism, piracy or petty crime.
While the GDP of a country may not increase directly based on these investments, the return on
investment is the prosperity of the city.

In keeping with the 2012-2013 State of the Urban Youth report, the definition of prosperity employed in
this 2021 Report is broader than just financial measures; including four components: productivity and
employment, quality of life, infrastructure development, and equity 5. Productivity and employment seek
to address the economic well-being of young people. Additionally, infrastructure development is a
critical aspect of service delivery that impacts healthcare, education, and employment, among other
things. Quality of life provides a larger view of the state of urban youth, including their cultural, religious
and political needs. It also encompasses the level to which their human rights are respected. Access to
services or goods such as clean water, food, and shelter are all rights which humans require to lead a
dignified life. Furthermore, the right to free speech, assembly, and freedom from arbitrary detention are
also crucial to the quality of life of urban youth. Respecting human rights is a cornerstone of the 2030
Sustainable Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Within the model employed
here, attaining full human rights for all is crucial but should be seen as the minimum. The concept of
urban prosperity sets the benchmark higher, at the position of thriving rather than simply surviving.

This report focuses on the multi-dimensional concept of urban youth equity as a measure of prosperity.
It is analyzed from economic, urban services, cultural, political, and environmental perspectives. By

4 WHO. https://covid19.who.int/
5 UN-Habitat. 2012-2013 State of the Urban Youth Report: Youth in the Prosperity of Cities. 2013.
evaluating the ways in which urban youth are or are not marginalized along these dimensions, the
quality of life and productivity of youth in cities is analyzed. A major assumption of this report is that the
ability for youth to prosper and thrive in cities is linked to these dimensions of urban equity.

{INFOGRAPHIC}

Structure of the Report

The body of this report is divided into the five dimensions of urban youth equity: economic, urban
services, cultural, political, and environmental, with a chapter representing each. Within each chapter a
short introduction provides a definition of that dimension of equity. It then proceeds into the analysis by
sub-theme. Here is where the themes identified by participants in the 2015 Urban Youth Equity Survey
are investigated in the context of the world in 2021. Throughout the discussion of each sub-theme,
country-specific sidebars are presented in coloured boxes. These boxes showcase the direct opinions of
youth from the survey in 2015.

After the analysis by sub-theme, related global goals and measures are discussed, the first of which is
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the SDGs are guiding the current international
development agenda, it is critical to evaluate urban equity within them. For each chapter, multiple SDGs
are identified as supporting each dimension of equity. Those SDGs are then investigated in a country
specific manner in the next section, where each country’s Voluntary National Review (VNRs) is analyzed
to provide a view of progress towards urban youth equity. In each chapter, 2-4 VNRs are included, and
all focus countries, except Somalia, are reported on. Additionally, to provide a more global balance to
the countries of focus, several Central and South American countries are included in this section. They
are Guyana, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, and Costa Rica. Finally, to emphasize coherence with
major UN-Habitat policies, these dimensions of urban youth equity are contextualized within the
principles and goals of the New Urban Agenda.

The final section of each body chapter includes case studies of innovative region specific policy through
Voluntary Local Review analysis and youth-led practice. These cases demonstrate the leadership and
ability of youth to impact their communities and address the inequity in their cities.

In the final chapter of the report, building blocks of urban equity, the dimensions of urban youth equity
are utilized as tools to increase the prosperity of youth in cities. This section provides a series of policy
recommendations to operationalize these building blocks and better achieve urban prosperity for youth.

Definitions
Youth: UN-Habitat defines youth as persons aged 15- 32.

CIty: A) As defined by the urban extent mode, which is based on human settlement morphology and the
density of built-up structures - pixels where the walking distance circle has a built-up density greater
than 50%6;

B) As defined by the degree of urbanization, based on the proportion of the local population living
in Local Administrative Units Level 2 - Densely populated area (cities): where at least 50% of the
population live in high-density clusters/urban centres. In addition, each urban centre should have at

6 UN-Habitat. What is a City?

least 75% of its population in a city. This ensures that all urban centres are represented by at least one
city, even when this urban centre represents less than 50% of the population of a LAU2. 7

Gini Coefficient: A measure of income inequality where 0 represents perfect inequality and 1 represents
perfect equality. This value is calculated by comparing a country’s income distribution (the Lorenz Curve)
to a perfect 45 degree straight diagonal line representing perfect equality. The more distance between
the two means there is higher income inequality.8

Youth Development Index (YDI): A measurement of the progress of countries across six domains of
youth development; Health and Wellbeing, Education, Employment and Opportunity, Political and Civic
Participation, Equality and Inclusion and Peace and Security. Changes in 27 indicators across the six
domains were tracked from 2010-2018.9

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Adopted by all UN member states as part of the 2030
Sustainable Development Agenda, 17 goals built of 169 targets which outline an urgent call to action to
improve health and education, reduce inequality, spur economic growth, and tackle climate change. 10

Low-Income Country: Using the World Bank Atlas Method, low-income countries are defined as having
a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of $1,025 or less.11

Lower-Middle Income Country: Using the World Bank Atlas Method, lower-middle income countries are
defined as having a GNI per capita between $1,026 and $3,995.12

Upper-Middle Income Country: Using the World Bank Atlas Method, upper-middle income countries are
defined as having a GNI per capita between $3,996 and $12,375.13

High-Income Country: Using the World Bank Atlas Method, high-income countries are defined as having
a GNI per capita of $12,376 or higher.14

Table 2. Youth Development Index 2020

Global Country YDI Educatio Employm Equality Health Peace Political

Rank Score n Score ent and and and and and Civic
Opportu Inclusion Wellbein Security Participa
nity Score g Score Score tion
Score Score

58 Mongoli 0.758 0.819 0.862 0.919 0.645 0.777 0.395

a

7 Ibid.
8 Haslam, Schafer & Beaudet. Introduction to International Development. 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press.
2017
9 The Commonwealth Secretariat. Global Youth Development Report. 2020.
10 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://sdgs.un.org/goals 2015.
11 The World Bank. Classifying Countries by Income. 2019. https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-
indicators/stories/the-classification-of-countries-by-income.html
12 Ibid.
13 ibid.
14 ibid.
 88 Indonesi 0.696 0.758 0.588 0.814 0.746 0.795 0.425
a

94 Nepal 0.689 0.723 0.61 0.788 0.77 0.759 0.4

97 Cambodi 0.689 0.591 0.814 0.804 0.71 0.75 0.322

a

108 Palestine 0.659 0.794 0.519 0.877 0.857 0.471 0.118

131 South 0.608 0.714 0.717 0.884 0.405 0.426 0.375

Africa

139 Kenya 0.577 0.675 0.658 0.723 0.495 0.365 0.37

144 Papua 0.572 0.499 0.769 0.8 0.405 0.604 0.314

New
Guinea

157 Uganda 0.534 0.479 0.544 0.653 0.522 0.621 0.41

161 Nigeria 0.52 0.499 0.52 0.655 0.589 0.373 0.375

176 Somalia 0.439 0.311 0.636 0.515 0.516 0.213 0.208

Source: Global Youth Development Report 2020. The Commonwealth Secretariat.