As populations around the world begin to exponentially rise, it is becoming quite evident that an influx of rapid urbanization is increasingly affecting global cities. Rural populations are shrinking as both megacities and hyper cities form – however, these various cities that are emerging are not remotely urbanized, lacking serious levels of growth. Fluctuating populations are ultimately severing the economic stability of less industrialized countries. Mike Davis, a modern day Marxist and author of “Planet of Slums”, vividly illustrates the great disasters that humans are forced to live with on a day-to-day basis throughout the Third World.
The world as we know it is very rapidly deteriorating around us, and Davis explicitly encapsulates the horrendous events taking place within the global arena. Davis begins by highlighting the negative effects of Third World urbanization (p. 14). Less developed countries lack the infrastructure and economic stability to house and provide for their growing populations. As a result, nations must seek help from various organizations and First World countries – with the hopes of eliminating inner city poverty. However, the acceleration of slums is becoming more prevalent; in turn a number of perpetuating social and economic problems are erupting. Deconstructing the complicated histories of specific cities, Davis evaluates the remnants of Western colonialism. Racial segregation is prominent in the Third World, as socially invented minorities are consistently pushed to the outskirts of urban fringes (p. 52). Forced systematic rural migration adds to spatial zoning as poorer populations have no choice but to relocate to the outskirts of cities and live in some of the greatest built slums (p. 53).
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...lack any type of resolution for the occurring events. All of these issues have become so deeply rooted, that it seems as though there is no hope for these cities – or our world in itself. It would be interesting to see how those individuals living in slums, would interpret this book – revolving around their living situations. By recommending this book to slum dwellers, one would be able to see if there is a common ground in regards to the foundations of what has caused such terrible living standards and conditions. Within Planet of Slums Davis roots the acceleration of slums, environmental degradation and economic instability to colonialism, and restructuring programs introduced by organizations – seeking to help the Third World. However, depending on what side of the world one stands – the deteriorating world may have foundations in something completely different.
Smith, D. A. (1996). Third World Cities in Global Perspective: The Political Economy of Uneven Urbanization. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press Inc.
“gentrification as an ugly product of greed. Yet these perspectives miss the point. Gentrification is a byproduct of mankind 's continuing interest in advancing the notion that one group is more superior to another and worthy of capitalistic consumption with little regard to social consciousness. It is elitism of the utmost and exclusionary politics to the core. This has been a constant theme of mankind to take or deplete a space for personal gain. In other words, it 's very similar to the "great advantage" of European powers over Native Americans and westward expansion”(Wharton).
...oes not show emotion to either side, which truly makes a difference. I am astounded that the slum dwellers of Annawadi are doing what they can to make it through the day, attempting to fulfill Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs of the Western world. This development into a Western country was short-cut ridden, the result of corruption and social structural factors that cause widespread poverty. The other side of greed is apparent within this non-fiction text, a moving text published by Katherine Boo.
In order to raise awareness of the staggering injustices, oppression and mass poverty that plague many Indian informal settlements (referred to as slum), Katherine Boo’s novel, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, unveils stories of typical life in a Mumbai slum. Discussing topics surrounding gender relations, environmental issues, and corruption, religion and class hierarchies as well as demonstrating India’s level of socioeconomic development. Encompassing this, the following paper will argue that Boo’s novel successfully depicts the mass social inequality within India. With cities amongst the fastest growing economies in South Eastern Asia, it is difficult to see advances in the individual well-being of the vast majority of the nation. With high
...ng into the other factors that would constitute poverty in Cairo’s informal settlements, like the lack of basic services like education and transportation as well as the lack of sanitation and healthcare, we were forced to look into the emergence of these informal settlements as possibly an effect of rural inequality. However, regardless of the truth behind the levels of poverty in Cairo, public perception of poverty as ruralisation of the cities, seems to have linked the ideas of poverty, overcrowding, crime and violence to each other, leading to an increasing divide between the rich and the poor. The rich are forming their own gated communities in an attempt to protect their lifestyles that are in fact maintained by service by the poor, creating a dysfunctional society. It also appears that the government seems to be doing little to mend this ever growing rift.
In these episodes of Slumming It, you experience the horror of the urban environments on earth. Kevin McCloud decides to go to Dharavi, Mumbai where you see how the water is contaminated, the sanitation isn’t the best, and you’ll notice how diseases are easily prevalent. Dharavi has a population of 16 million people and almost half of them live in slums. Slums are usually located in over populated areas. Regardless of the obstacles these people face, they maintain a sense of spirit and have high hopes that things will be changed. You can see how religion plays a huge part in their spirit. The fact that the city wants to tear down these slums is sad and selfish, they should be helping the community sanitize and reconstruct these slums for these
In the passage “How the Other Half Lives” Jacob Riis makes a very accurate account of what life is like in tenements of New York City. He describes the challenges facing the mostly immigrant population that inhabited the slums and how the societal view was largely inaccurate. His observations however, are slightly marred by his own preconceived notions and prejudice. Riis gives what he believes to be the cause of the squalor and subsequent effect which was the then current state of affairs. He then ends his book with three primary options for a solution that are in theory very sound ideas.
It is often easy to castigate large cities or third world countries as failures in the field of affordable housing, yet the crisis, like an invisible cancer, manifests itself in many forms, plaguing both urban and suburban areas. Reformers have wrestled passionately with the issue for centuries, revealing the severity of the situation in an attempt for change, while politicians have only responded with band aid solutions. Unfortunately, the housing crisis easily fades from our memory, replaced by visions of homeless vets, or starving children. Metropolis magazine explains that “…though billions of dollars are spent each year on housing and development programs worldwide, ? At least 1 billion people lack adequate housing; some 100 million have none at all.? In an attempt to correct this worldwide dilemma, a United Nations conference, Habitat II, was held in Istanbul, Turkey in June of 1996. This conference was open not only to government leaders, but also to community organizers, non governmental organizations, architects and planners. “By the year 2000, half the world’s people will live in cities. By the year 2025, two thirds of the world population will be urban dwellers ? Globally, one million people move from the countryside to the city each week.? Martin Johnson, a community organizer and Princeton professor who attended Habitat II, definitively put into words the focus of the deliberations. Cities, which are currently plagued with several of the severe problems of dis-investment ?crime, violence, lack of jobs and inequality ?and more importantly, a lack of affordable and decent housing, quickly appeared in the forefront of the agenda.
Recent years have witnessed a large number of Indian English fiction writers who have stunned the literary world with their works. The topics dealt with are contemporary and populist and the English is functional, communicative and unpretentious. Novels have always served as a guide, a beacon in a conflicting, chaotic world and continue to do so. A careful study of Indian English fiction writers show that there are two kinds of writers who contribute to the genre of novels: The first group of writers include those who are global Indians, the diasporic writers, who are Indians by birth but have lived abroad, so they see Indian problems and reality objectively. The second group of writers are those born and brought up in India, exposed to the attitudes, morale and values of the society. Hence their works focus on the various social problems of India like the plight of women, unemployment, poverty, class discrimination, social dogmas, rigid religious norms, inter caste marriages, breakdown of relationships etc.
The Negative Effects of Urbanization on People and their Environment As our world becomes increasingly globalized, numerous people travel to urban areas in search of economic prosperity. As a consequence of this, cities in periphery countries expand at rates of 4 to 7 percent annually. Many cities offer entrepreneurs the potential for resources, labor, and resources. With prosperity, cities also allow the freedom of a diversity of ways of life and manners (Knox & Marston, 2012). However, in the quest to be prosperous, increasing burdens are placed on our health and the condition of our environment.
Chaffey, J. (1994). The challenge of urbanisation. In M. Naish & S. Warn (Eds.), Core geography (pp. 138-146). London: Longman.
Economists and others have explained that shantytowns provide a “toehold for rural migrants seeking their fortune in cities, they are thought to foster upward mobility” (“Down and out”, 2014). shantytowns are just a stepping stone in the overall journey, providing a temporary, cheap living space. Edward Glaeser, an economist at Harvard University, agrees with this statement, “the buzz of slums encourages entrepreneurship and hard work” (“Down and out”, 2014). Studies conducted suggest that people who have lived in shanty towns, trying to expand financially, have moved on to bigger and better things. However, that’s not evident in the majority of slums around the world. Poor hygiene and illness are prominent and affect most dwellers. In Alexandre Trudeau’s article entitled In the Shadow of Suffering, he explains his trip to Haiti and all the squalid shantytowns and poor villages he saw. Trudeau (2003) emphasized that “in the slums, there are no health services, no public education, and no working infrastructure” (p. 3). Without these major factors that help people succeed in life, it’s very hard to argue that shantytowns benefit those who live in
Many villagers and small town dwellers want a living in big cities. With some expectations, they make a movement from villages to big cities. This migration from rural areas to big cities is called urbanization.
We all know the urbanization rate is an index to value the development of a country. However, though urbanization provides great convenience to some individuals, it also brings about negative effects. Problems such as pollution, overcrowded and the high unemployment appear during the process of urbanization and they are hard to cope with. In face of the sequence of problems, a new way of development ----sustainable development was put forward. Just like its literal meaning, the word sustainability has something to do with continuity. It was used since 1980s and first appeared in Britain law in 1993. Sustainable development can help solve parts of the problem caused by urbanization, including environmental damage, overuse of resources, and natural disasters.
Global cities are cities with substantial economic power, controlling the concentration and accumulation of capital and global investments. Despite this, global cities are the sites of increasing disparities in occupation and income. This is as a result of large in-migration and growing income inequality together with capacity and resource constraints, and inadequate Government policies.