Employing urban poor

Description

Employing the urban poor involves implementing targeted initiatives to create sustainable job opportunities and improve livelihoods for low-income city residents. This strategy addresses unemployment, underemployment, and social exclusion by facilitating skills training, supporting micro-enterprise development, and promoting inclusive hiring practices. Its practical intent is to reduce poverty, enhance economic participation, and foster social stability by directly integrating marginalized urban populations into the workforce and supporting their long-term economic self-sufficiency.

Implementation

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

Agenda 21 recommends generating employment for the urban poor, particularly women, through provision, improvement and maintenance of urban infrastructure and services and support for economic activities in the informal sector, such as repairs, recycling, services and small commerce.