Slums

A: According to Forbes.com, “There are more people living in favelas in Brazil,11.4 million individuals, than people living in Portugal, home to 10.6 million”(Geromel,1).

C: And according to homeless-international.org, “Without action, 1.4 billion people will be living in slums by 2020.”(homeless-international.org,1).

T: While only a few Americans are affected by slums, many of our neighbors in South America live their whole lives in one. If we do not act, this problem will only grow.

S: Slums have been a problem for a long time, and they have affected many different places. In fact this problem started in the United States.

Slums began in New York, in the early 1800s. Slums sprouted up in North America and Europe in the early 1800s. They were normally filled with immigrants. According to nytimes.com, one particular slum was, “occupied by successive waves of freed slaves and Irish, Italian and Chinese immigrants”(Baker, 1). When North American and European countries developed most slums were gone, but they came back during the Great Depression. “Desperate for shelter, homeless citizens built shantytowns in and around cities across the nation”(history.com,1). In America, they called these shantytowns, or slums, Hoovervilles. According to history.com, “Hooverville shanties were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage”(history.com,1). Once the Great Depression was over and the economy went back to normal, developed countries were mostly free of slums. In developing countries, which are common in South America, slums are found all over. Many of the slums around the world are similar. A typical slum, or favela as they are called in South America, is o...

... middle of paper ...

...ational aims to deliver 17,000 housing units, each with a toilet and clean water, to benefit 85,000 slum dwellers, as well as sanitation and clean water programmes benefiting a further 170,000 poor people”(homeless-international.org,1). Slums are a serious problem, but they can be stopped.

The first slum was in America. Nowadays, they are found on the edges of large cities in the lesser developed world. There are many social, political, environmental, and economic effects of slums on South America. The best way to stop slums is to support them. With a lot of hard work, support and donations, slums can be stopped. While slums are not a very relevant problem in the U.S, they are a massive problem in South America. If slums are stopped, future generations will not have to know what it is like to live in unhealthy conditions, fear and poverty.