The policy paper titled “Political Economy of Urban Social Protection in Bangladesh,” prepared under the Social Protection Policy Support (SPPS) Programme, provides a comprehensive assessment of urban poverty, vulnerability, income inequality, and the effectiveness of existing social protection programmes in Bangladesh. Drawing on the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2022, the study examines the growing challenges associated with rapid urbanisation, rural-to-urban migration, rising living costs, informal employment, and limited access to essential public services. The findings reveal that although urban poverty declined to 14.7 per cent in 2022, the absolute number of urban poor increased from 7.4 million in 2010 to 7.9 million in 2022, while 28.5 per cent of urban residents remained either poor or vulnerable. The study also highlights widening income inequality, with the urban income Gini index increasing from 0.46 in 2010 to 0.54 in 2022. Despite these growing challenges, social protection coverage remains disproportionately concentrated in rural areas, with only 24 per cent of urban households receiving social protection benefits compared to 44 per cent of rural households. The assessment further identifies significant inclusion and exclusion errors, inadequate beneficiary targeting, limited programme coverage, and institutional coordination challenges that undermine the effectiveness of urban social protection interventions. Simulation exercises indicate that existing social protection programmes have contributed modestly to reducing urban poverty and vulnerability, while improved targeting could substantially enhance their poverty-reduction impact. To address these challenges, the paper recommends expanding lifecycle-based social protection programmes, introducing urban employment and workfare initiatives, strengthening social insurance for formal and informal workers, enhancing food assistance, promoting skills development and employment opportunities for urban youth, and improving beneficiary identification through strengthened social registry mechanisms. It also emphasises climate-responsive social protection, improved access to healthcare, housing, water and sanitation, and effective implementation of the Urban Social Protection Strategy and Action Plan (USPSAP). The paper underscores the importance of stronger institutional coordination, equitable resource allocation, improved programme governance, and evidence-based policymaking to establish a more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable urban social protection system that addresses the evolving needs of Bangladesh’s growing urban population.