<DIV><DIV>This book examines the massive urbanization of the world's population. All around the world "Megacities" are becoming scenes of vast deprivation, especially in the global south. In such gigantic and dense social environments, complex sets of relationships link poverty and exclusion to urban politics, power relations and public policy. In these cities, local urban politics and policy-making is the strategic prey of violent actors. The urban poor are confronted with the challenge of dealing with their inevitable encounters with violence. <I>Megacities</I> examines recent world-wide trends in poverty and social exclusion, urban violence and politics, and links these to the challenges faced by policy-makers and practitioners in "megacities" across the globe.</DIV></DIV>