Paris - 11 by Sam Isaacs https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l (9) What’s it like to live in a slum? en-us 2018-09-06 09:42:55 UTC 2025-10-27 19:25:35 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Condos.png Informal Unprotected Work s4471582 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292387886 For those living in the slums the lifecycles of poverty are hard to break out of due to the transient and unpredictable nature of the work that they do. In the documentary "Welcome to Lagos" and in Dharavhi as described in the article below the slum inhabitants had a subsistence lifestyle living off piece rates that were ungoverned. 

The informal economy that is fuelled out of the slums is a stark reminder of the power imbalance
People working in jobs such as those below face unsafe conditions and long hours for exceptionally low wages or risk not working at all - 
  • Sweatshop workers
  • Taxi drivers 
  • Stall holders
  • Construction labour
  • Scrap re-sellers
The limited protection of the worker afforded by the informal economy often means that the poverty cycle is perpetuated when factors such as demand downturn, injury or loss of favour are able to cripple earning capacity and wipe out the families meager incomes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/world/asia/in-indian-slum-misery-work-politics-and-hope.html

]]> 2018-10-13 06:23:39 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292387886 Crime, social stratification and gender s4471582 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292391922 One of Ross Kemp's TV shows Extreme World focused on the slums of Deipsloot in South Africa and the extra ordinary rates of sexual attack crimes in this community. What is it about the slums that make it so unsafe for women in particular?
  1. Structural violence - James Martin (2012) describes how the increasing tendency of urban South African's to employ private security and deploy a two-gear judicial system where elites are protected and the crime of poor against poor are ignored.
  2. Poor infrastructure - the mixture of the high density living with poor infrastructure such as limited electricity (and therefore lighting), communal toilets and dark alley-ways is detailed in the TV shows as having an impact on increasing the rate of rape.
  3. Unemployment and substance abuse -  the rate of unemployment and substance abuse is so high and, as mentioned above, not policed, increasing the cycle of crime. 
Martin, J. (2012). VIGILANTISM AND STATE CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA. State Crime Journal, 1(2), 217-234. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41937908
]]> 2018-10-13 07:29:45 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292391922 Slum Public Realm s4471582 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292392606 Most movies showing excerpts of Indian slums, such as Slumdog Millionaire or Lion, show children rushing around and playing in the streets and waterways, in fact they show most the inhabitants lives being lived outside of the rooms that they live in. In high density communities like this the street is the public realm.
The Bernard Van Leer foundation argues that in much of the discussions about planning for changes to India's slums lacks consideration of the children.
They argue that in the slum consideration should be given for how children can safely use public bathrooms, access open space resources outside of the slum and the impacts of resettlement on school age children.
While the Bernard van Leer blog provides an overly-simplistic view of the challenges and solutions that face children it does bring up two good points - creating urban policy with the target community involved and understanding the breadth of the demographics that are being designed for.
https://bernardvanleer.org/ecm-article/2017/children-growing-up-in-indian-slums-challenges-and-opportunities-for-new-urban-imaginations/]]> 2018-10-13 07:38:56 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292392606 Travel patterns vary between slums in a developed country and slums in a developing country tinh_ly https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292410891 The spatial activity of a slum community varies depending on its economic condition. Mukhopadhyay and Dutt (1993) highlight that of the slum dweller the physical activity space differs according to the economic state of the community. Thus, slums that are in a better economic condition have travel patterns that differ to travel patterns of slums with a poorer economic condition.

This is highlighted through examples whereby urban slums in USA, each home possesses a refrigerator and either automobile ownership or mass transit access, whereas in urban slums of developing countries there are neither refrigerators and automobile access (Mukhopadhyay and Dutt 1993). As such the travel patterns, particularly the travel frequency and travel method vary between slums in developed countries and slums in developing countries.

Mukhopadhyay and Dutt (1993) discussed that meat, produce and other perishable commodities can be bought once a week by a slum household of a developed country from nearby or a reasonable distance, and store these just bought perishable commodities in a refrigerator. Differing from this, such commodities have to be bought daily by a slum household of a developing country, and that the head of the household generally do shopping trips by foot or bicycle (Mukhopadhyay and Dutt 1993).

Therefore, there is no clear-cut description of the travel patterns in slums as these patterns can vary depending on the economic condition of the slum. I personally believe that there is an emphasis of slum dwellers to be stigmatised, and that the improvements of the living condition in some slums are often overlooked.
     

Source:
Mukhopadhyay, A. and Dutt, A.K., 1993. Slum dweller's daily movement pattern in a Calcutta slum. GeoJournal, 29(2), pp.181-186.  ]]> 2018-10-13 11:25:53 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292410891 Tangra Slum and travel pattern to shops tinh_ly https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292415661 Mukhopadhyay and Dutt (1993) analyse the daily activity patterns in Tangra slum, whereby one of the discussion points is that of the father or mother their normal routine in a household is to get up early and walk 320 to 350 metres to the nearby market to purchase food items to cook the daily meal. Furthermore, it was discussed that in this low income group they cannot afford refrigerators, coolers or chillers and as such food items cannot be stored (Mukhopadhyay and Dutt 1993).

Due to this factor which would be attributed to low wages as discussed in the 'Work' column of this Padlet, they must travel and buy food daily to keep their food fresh. Mukhopadhyay and Dutt (1993) reiterate this whereby they have to shop everyday to have fresh food.

The idea is that not having a refrigerator to store food impacts slum dwellers to buy food on a daily basis to keep their food fresh.

Source:
Mukhopadhyay, A. and Dutt, A.K., 1993. Slum dweller's daily movement pattern in a Calcutta slum. GeoJournal, 29(2), pp.181-186.   

]]> 2018-10-13 12:38:20 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292415661 Travel methods to work in slums of developed countries varies to slums in developing countries tinh_ly https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292417790 It has been discussed that a slum dweller in a developed country regularly travels to work by car, whereas apart from walking there is a use of bicycles and mass transit in a developing country (Mukhopadhyay and Dutt 1993). As such, the flexibility in the activity pattern of developed country slum dwellers is much greater from car ownership (Mukhopadhyay and Dutt 1993).

Source:
Mukhopadhyay, A. and Dutt, A.K., 1993. Slum dweller's daily movement pattern in a Calcutta slum. GeoJournal, 29(2), pp.181-186.   ]]> 2018-10-13 13:03:34 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292417790 High costs of motorised methods restricts travel methods in Nairobi, Kenya tinh_ly https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292419989 Salon and Gulyani (2010) expressed that in terms of travel choice, most of the slum residents in Nairobi are limited to not have more than one choice whereby practically everywhere they go was done by walking, and sometimes in long distances.

It was further discussed that inadequate motorised transport methods was not the issue in Nairobi as privately owned and operated small buses and transit vans were relatively well connected to the Nairobi slums (Salon and Gulyani 2010). Rather it was the issue of affordability, as Salon and Gulyani (2010) highlight that the slum residents unable to afford motorised options was a large reason for them walking. Thus, these high costs prevents the slum residents from accessing motorised methods.

Limited accessibility impacts slum residents as it prevents them from accessing opportunities. Salon and Guylani (2010) in Bird, Montebruno and Regan (2017) expressed that the access to urban areas beyond the slum is limited for Nairobi slum residents which prevents them from accessing educational opportunities and jobs, and results in low mobility.   

Sources:
Salon, D. and Gulyani, S., 2010. Mobility, poverty, and gender: travel ‘choices’ of slum residents in Nairobi, Kenya. Transport Reviews, 30(5), pp.641-657.

Bird, J., Montebruno, P. and Regan, T., 2017. Life in a slum: understanding living conditions in Nairobi’s slums across time and space. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 33(3), pp.496-520.]]> 2018-10-13 13:28:30 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292419989 A Tale of Two Cities s4471582 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292483168 For most slums it is a Tale of Two Cities - the megacity of the rich and middle class then the shantytown of the extreme poor. These two cities sharing the same geographical locations have physical and visual borders that not only separate them but perpetuate the division.
The city of Medellin in Colombia recently built 1300 feet of escalators to connect the slums to the city centre.
As Tinh has discussed in his posts, the lack of transport out of the slums to work can be a factor that can limit employment options. By planning a city that connects all of its inhabitants it expands opportunities for them. This is known as the inclusive cities movement.
Inclusive cities recognise the 'right to the city' of the slum dewellers, acknowledge their economic contribution via the informal economy and given their populations more opportunities to access spaces beyond the shanties.
While  the inclusive cities concept is still in its early days its approach to planning will contribute to bringing the two cities together.
https://www.npr.org/2014/07/01/327090645/a-tale-of-two-cities-mixing-the-urban-poor-into-a-rich-urban-life]]> 2018-10-14 03:13:53 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292483168 Food Insecurity - Urban Vs Rural s4392977 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292515329 The urban poor living in informal settlements and slums face a unique set of challenges compared to their rural counterparts. Almost exclusively dependent on the market for food and other necessary items, slum dwellers are very vulnerable to price increases and other market shocks.

Urban households are more dependent on food purchase, which, if they have sufficient purchasing power, can lead to a more varied diet and higher reliance on ‘ready-made’ and fast foods, compared to rural households. Food access has a direct impact on dietary diversity and has been seriously affected by rising food and fuel prices, conflict, and the primary or secondary effects of natural disasters in urban areas across the globe.]]> 2018-10-14 10:55:09 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292515329 Natural Disasters s4392977 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292615573 Surges in climate change-related disasters pose growing threats to food security. In developing countries the agriculture sector bears much of the economic impact.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) demonstrate that natural hazards, particularly extreme weather events, regularly impact heavily on agriculture and hamper the eradication of hunger, poverty and the achievement of sustainable development. These terrible events completely destroy the livelihoods of countless sources of food production including small-scale farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, foresters and many more. This further results in long term food insecurity not only for the farmers and workers, but for the entire community.

The FAO warn that the situation is also likely to worsen unless measures are taken to strengthen the resilience of the agriculture sector and increase investments to boost food security and productivity and also curb the harmful effects of climate change.

]]> 2018-10-14 23:59:26 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292615573 Uneasy Ground s4391948 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292617381 Due to the nature of slums being 'informal housing' they are often found in areas with poor ground conditions. For example, Johannesburg's shantytown is located on the edge of unstable dolomitic soil that was contaminated by decades of mining. Other slums in South America are built on steep slopes that are often prone to landslides.

source: Davis, M., 2017. Planet of Slums, London: Verso.]]> 2018-10-15 00:17:20 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292617381 Dietary Habits s4391948 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292618941 A 2012 study on the dietary habits of indian women living in mumbai slums showed that their staple foods are mostly rice and bread, with more than half the women having GLVs and fruit less than once a day. Most women consumed milk daily with a little in their tea.

Source: Chopra, H., Chheda, P., Kehoe, S., Taskar, V., Brown, N., Shivashankaran, D., … Fall, C. (2012). Dietary Habits of Female Urban Slum-dwellers in Mumbai. Indian Journal of Maternal and Child Health : Official Publication of Indian Maternal and Child Health Association, 14(2), 1–13.]]> 2018-10-15 00:29:21 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292618941 "living in shit" s4391948 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292620314 One of the biggest problems for slums is the lack of proper sanitation, which leads to a myriad of problems and diseases. In Nairobi, the Laini Saba slum in Kibera had only ten working pit latrines for 40,000 people, or in Mathare there were two toilets for 28,000.

Source: Davis, M., 2017. Planet of Slums, London: Verso.]]> 2018-10-15 00:38:08 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292620314 Micro-Entrepreneurs s4476727 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292635047 People living in slums are dealing with scarcity of of basic resources like water and power. However, despite the fact that inhabitants of slums lack of basic necessities, this “inspires social innovation, allowing many residents of these areas to progress while finding employment and, in the long run, hope,” (The Guardian 2013). Businesses taking advantage of the labour which provides opportunity for employment in slums. An opportunity afforded to some slum inhabitants that may not have come from living in rural areas.

The guardian gives two examples of companies who provide a service to the slums which employs the hard work and fosters entrepreneurship. First, Pollinate Energy provides solar energy to poor Indians whilst training the locals or “micro-entrepreneurs” who buy locally manufactured solar home lighten systems and then sell them to families who would rely on kerosene for light, (The Guardian 2013).

Second, Sarvajal, a local company creates a solar powered water dispenser that provides treated water to slum dwellers by the use of a pre-paid card (an option cheaper than using kerosene to boil water).  This company “trains franchisees so that they can own and operate the ATMs” which provides an alternative to relying on local charities or governments to truck in water, (The Guardian 2013).

Despite the challenges to people living in slums, they do represent a an opportunity for ingenuity  whereby people are able to earn an income and in doing so improve the lives of those around them. In this way I agree with the article’s author; these opportunities do provide hope. Though a “more responsive government to its citizens needs would help solve the growing disparity between rich and poor, but for now social entrepreneurs fill a void where a dismissive government and overwhelmed charities fall short,” (The Guardian 2013).

The Economist (2014) had argued against the literature's defence of slums in being a place where social mobility is better fostered than out in rural areas. They cited that poor health conducive to scarcity of basic necessities as being a major cause of illness, days off work, and as a result trapping them in poverty. If 'micro-entrepreneurs' are able to provide the necessities for basic human needs in slums and fill the gap where governments may be indifferent, this this type of business ownership could do a lot in helping more gain the social mobility they so need.

The Economist. 2014. Slums and social mobility: Down and out. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2014/05/05/down-and-out. [Accessed 15 October 2018].

The Guardian. 2013. Social enterprise in Indian slums. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/social-enterprise-india-slums. [Accessed 15 October 2018].
]]> 2018-10-15 02:02:47 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292635047 s4471582 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292639053 2018-10-15 02:32:51 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292639053 s4471582 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292639114 2018-10-15 02:33:19 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292639114 Recycling in Dharavi s4476727 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292640577 Another testament to the spirit of slum dwellers is the initiative they show in working hard in providing a life for themselves. CNN (2012) provides an example of this in one of Mumbai's largest slums, Dharavi. People can earn $3-$5 a day working in recycling. Despite the hazards, this work provides a means of livelihood that many would not have if it weren't for this informal work provided by scrap masters. "Dharavi has a huge internal economy, which is estimated to be worth around £700m," (CityMetric 2017). Clearly these informal industries are profitable; however, " while the work is effective, it’s incredibly hazardous, with few units adhering to any form of regulation," (CityMetric 2017).  “There is no clear policy to protect their rights or provide better conditions. The government doesn’t even acknowledge they exist,” (CityMetric 2017).

City Metric. 2017. Mumbai’s slumdog recycling works surprisingly well – unless you’re one of its workers. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.citymetric.com/fabric/mumbai-s-slumdog-recycling-works-surprisingly-well-unless-you-re-one-its-workers-3096. [Accessed 15 October 2018].

CNN. 2012. Mumbai's recycling slum. [ONLINE] Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/international/2012/02/15/exp-road-rio-mumbai-slum-recycling.cnn. [Accessed 15 October 2018].]]> 2018-10-15 02:43:42 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/292640577 Good coverage of topics Paris, but a bit of 'cut and paste' creeping into your contributions. You also had opportunity this week to think subjectively about what it is like to live in a slum - to try and put yourself in their position. p_walters2 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/294133960 2018-10-17 23:43:34 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/294133960 p_walters2 https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/295244685 2018-10-21 22:46:04 UTC https://padlet.com/s4471582/ur5ay5p4d69l/wish/295244685