Despite remarkable growth in some sectors of the U.S. economy and in some parts of the world, poverty and economic dislocation are increasing and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen. In August 1992, for example, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate had reached 14.2 percent, with 35.7 million Americans living below the poverty line. A recent World Bank report noted that up to 50 million people are being added to the world's urban population each year through natural increase and migration. In developing countries this growth strains already weak physical infrastructures and social support systems, hinders economic development, and increases the challenges to governments.

Given these conditions, the Foundation has made urban poverty a central focus of its work both in the United States and in developing countries. A major objective is to advance understanding of the underlying causes of poverty and find solutions to them.

Most of the Foundation's work in urban poverty is concentrated in the United States and conducted along three main lines: revitalizing distressed neighborhoods, strengthening economic and social supports for children, youth, and families, and research, analysis, and dissemination of information on urban poverty.

Grants in developing countries, which have increased in recent years, emphasize improving conditions in slums and squatter communities and developing sound urban policies. The Foundation also supports a worldwide social science research network that is conducting and coordinating studies of urban poverty in 40 countries in the developing world.

In 1992 the Foundation made grants totaling $52.7 million for urban projects in the United States and throughout the world. Examples of this work follow.