For the millions of youth living in slums, daily life can be grim. Kids start their lives on poverty's front lines, without access to education, infrastructure or sanitation. They are subject to hunger and disease, and are thrust prematurely into adult responsibilities.

Whether due to resource constraints, capacity constraints, lack of urban planning and management, or lack of political will, many cities struggle to keep up with the increasing demand of an exploding urban population.

Because residents of informal settlements in Mexico City are under constant threat of eviction, they do not make infrastructure necessary investments, thereby reducing their health and quality of life.

When we suggest commemorating Human Rights Day by talking about housing, we're not being reductionist, nor are we just talking about housing: we're talking about access, about opportunity, about communities finding their voice.

One of the most basic skills an entrepreneur needs to master right out of the gate is the ability to persuade others.

When people are granted land rights and take ownership for their property, they become active agents of social and community transformation.

If a migrant child or community is provided with opportunities, they can change their lives. Let's take the courage and compassion needed to invest into the children of migrant slums around the world.

In Kenya's capital city of Nairobi, two-thirds of the population live far below the poverty line in sprawling urban slums. Hunger is an everyday reality here.

In the slums of Kenya, much like the slums of any developing country, girls are devalued, undereducated and often sexually exploited. Kennedy Oded...