A report on the City Observatory web site - How Poverty Has Deepened - provides data on the number of poor people living in "high poverty" urban neighbourhoods between 1970 and 2010 in America.The study shows that the number of poor people in these neighbourhoods has more than doubled in this period from two million to four million, while the number of such high-poverty neighbourhoods in cities has nearly tripled from 1,100 to 3,100. The study concludes that this growing concentration of poverty is the biggest problem confronting American cities.

A number of causes were identified in the report for these trends. These include the growth in concentrated income inequality and racial segregation. A range of negative social effects have been identified as flowing from these trends. These include higher crime rates, worse mental and physical health and lower employment and economic prospects.

While this is an American study, the trends in other countries involved in the Inclusion network of LCN is a key factor in determining the ways in which learning city strategies can contribute to reducing poverty and opening opportunities throughout life. Approaches to place making is one of the aspects that need to be considered. It is hoped that the situation in other countries participating in the Inclusion Network will be reported on the Networks web site as a step towards identifying the most appropriate strategies.