Ten Observations on the Challenges of Humanitarian Work in Urban
Settings Urban areas exhibit visible and often extreme
disparities in income and wealth. Wealth is concentrated in
cities and, in particular, in capital cities. Big banks, major
retail and service operations, entertainment and public services
all tend to be concentrated in cities. Because they provide more
services and economic opportunities, urban areas have long been
magnets for rural-urban migration—particularly for migration of
the young and mobile. But cities are also places of poverty,
marginalization and inequality. Before the earthquake in Haiti,
49% of the population of Port-au-Prince was unemployed.  While
in many countries, absolute poverty levels are higher in rural
areas, rural poverty is often invisible to the nation's urban
elite. In cities, the poor are rarely invisible. Rich and poor
live side-by-side in some places, but they also live in
polarized communities. Urban areas are physically congested
places. Land is at a premium an