Urban Poverty Phenomena and its Impact on thePhysical Growth in Nablus City

The phenomena of poverty, specially urban poverty, is considered as one of the recently appeared issues particularly in the Third World and in the developing countries. This study is about urban poverty، which is considered amongst the main determinants of the form, economy and growth of the city. The major aim of this thesis is to study and analyze the urban poverty phenomena in Nablus city and its impact on the physical growth of the city, which is considered one of the largest Palestinian cities in terms of its population, economic activities and urban features through history. To achieve this aim certain theoretical concepts related to the subject of urban poverty in the developing countries in general and in the Palestinian Territories in particular were studied. The methodology of the study was based upon the descriptive, historical and analytical research methods through using the field survey and the questionnaire that was distributed on a random sample of the population of four residential quarters in the city, which are differentiated in terms of their economic and physical characteristics. The results of the study have indicated the negative relationship between urban poverty and the physical growth and expansion in Nablus city. It also provided the existence of significant differences between the family average income and the residential quarter, the income of the head of the head of the family and his educational level, the number of workers in the family and the average family expenditure. In addition the study indicated that the policy and measures of the Israeli occupation against the city of Nablus have a direct impact on the recession of its economic significance and physical growth and expansion. The study recommended the necessity in confronting the urban poverty phenomena and the work on encouraging the activity of physical growth in Nablus city. Also, it recommended the significance of developing and enhancing the market labour in the city by providing job opportunities for the workers affected from the closure of the external labour markets. Finally, the thesis has recommended the importance of community awareness programs and the necessity of conducting researches and studies related to urban poverty phenomena and its relations with physical and urban growth.