Urban Compared with Rural Poverty

• Urban workers' livelihoods depend on access (both social and physical) to jobs.
• The ability of the urban informal sector to absorb the unemployed is limited.
• The urban poor are more vulnerable to changes in market conditions.
• Female-headed households, the most vulnerable of the poor, are more common in cities.
• The urban poor tend to pay more for services.
• City dwellers tend to favour higher quality or more convenient foods, which are generally more expensive.
• The urban poor share fewer communal assets that could shield them from individual circumstances (e.g., health conditions, employer decisions).
• Urban exchange is more monetized, making assets and credit availability more important.
• Exposure to environmental risks (pathogens and toxins) is greater in cities.