The Pro-Poor Development and Urban Management Research Cluster seeks to achieve the overarching aim of sustainable cities, as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG11, but with a particular focus on the urban poor.

The group draws on both deductive and inductive philosophical approaches, complemented with citizen science, social listening, and critical and radical urban theory, to produce evidence-based research and professional insights on urban development issues. The group also works in a dual context: community based and policy impact studies.