More than half of all children in industrialised countries live in urban areas, and the same will be true in the developing world in the near future. Yet, by almost all indicators, cities are failing to meet the needs of young people, prejudicing their chances as adults. This book summarizes the results of "Growing up in Cities", an eight-country UNESCO Project (MOST Programme), including Australia, Argentina, India, Norway, Poland, South Africa, United Kingdom and USA. The programme explores young people's relationship with neighborhoods in the industrialized and developing worlds, giving a new emphasis on their active participation in the planning, design and implementation of urban improvements. The book includes case studies and recommends policies and practices that will make cities more responsive to the needs of children, adolescents and their families. It is written by an interdisciplinary team of child-environment experts from the fields of urban planning, architecture, geography, anthropology, psychology and environmental education. Growing up in an Urbanising World is a companion volume both to Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth, Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth (in Arabic) and the video Children of Thula Mntwana (NTSC), Children of Thula Mntwana (PAL) (available on this site), all resulting from the programme 'Growing Up in Cities'