Cities have the capability to improve living and working conditions, and to create an environment within which poor people are treated equitably by political and bureaucratic systems. Unfortunately, however, many poor do not benefit from the opportunities offered by cities (www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/wssd-neg-cochin.pdf). Urban poverty in India remains high, at roughly 25 per cent, with an estimated 80 million poor people in the cities and towns of India (source: National Sample Survey Organization’s survey report).