Slums

Homeless

Mapping Informal Neighborhoods

New mapping tools are helping cities around the world map and understand their poorest communities.

August 5, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

Dharavi Slum

Bad Housing Policies Worsening Slums Around the World

Richard Florida argues that policies in cities around the world are making it harder on those most in need of housing.

July 31, 2017 - CityLab

Gurgaon, India

Friday Eye Candy: India's Rapid Urbanization

Photographer and architect Lars Mortensen captured the new face of urbanization in Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi. The scales involved are unprecedented, and rich and poor live in close proximity.

February 19, 2016 - Wired

Supremo Tribunal Federal

MoMA Exhibit Explores Latin American Architecture

A new exhibit at MoMA celebrates the "fitfully idealistic" architecture of Latin America, 1955 through 1980. Broad in scope, the exhibition ranges from Brasília's bold utopianism to the community-focused tactics of Bo Bardi.

April 24, 2015 - The Economist

Mumbai Slum

Allowing Higher Density to Fix Slums

Despite its economic dynamism, Mumbai is known for a lack of adequate housing. Citywide increases to maximum Floor Space Indices (i.e., Floor Area Ratios) will increase living space per resident, provided the right redevelopment takes place.

February 24, 2015 - Vox

The Race to Map Brazil's Favelas

In an effort to tap into new users, companies like Google and Microsoft are racing to map the winding, informal streets of Brazil's slums in Rio de Janeiro.

September 25, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

New Study Changes the Narrative on Slums

Researchers are building a more complete archive of life in slums, home to one-third of the urban population of developing countries. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejects assumptions about the benefits of slums.

February 10, 2014 - The Economist

Two young girls carry water on the train tracks that run through the Kibera Slum

Technology Gives Form and Face to a Forgotten Place

In an excerpt from his new book, Anthony Townsend explains how a volunteer effort is combining consumer technologies with open source GIS to chart one of Africa’s largest and most notorious slums.

October 10, 2013 - Anthony Townsend

Lack of Plumbing Aside, We Could Learn a Thing or Two from India's Slums

Asserting a controversial opinion, Michael McQuarrie takes a fresh look at the state of community development by comparing it to the slums in Mumbai. These vibrant and economically active slums make him wonder: have we created a dependent poor?

September 13, 2013 - Shelterforce

Does Delhi's Drive to be a World-Class City Doom Low-Income Communities?

A proposal for a vertical neighborhood in Delhi is long on height but short on insight, according to Greg Randolph of the American India Foundation. Is Delhi ‘poised to repeat the public housing mistakes of the West’?

May 23, 2013 - The Global Urbanist

Why Some Say China Isn't Urbanizing Fast Enough

Though China's cities have been growing exponentially, some argue it isn't urbanizing fast enough. Fearing Latin American-style slums, leaders have restricted migration. They're now being urged to ease controls to maximize agglomeration effects.

May 9, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Build, Don't Bulldoze, Slums to Reduce Poverty

Indian journalist Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar examines the opportunities that informal settlements provide to the poor and unskilled for ascending economic and social ladders.

May 7, 2013 - Next City

An Incremental Approach to Slum Improvement

Flavie Halais looks at both successful and unsuccessful cases of alleviating slum conditions on three continents. For the best results, practitioners must be more adept at problem solving and creativity than pure design.

March 10, 2013 - Architectural Record

In Lagos, Creating Homeless is a Sign of Progress

Adam Nossiter reports on the latest episode in Lagos's quest to become a "premier business center" - the demolition of the Badia East slum, which instantly left 10,000 residents homeless.

March 4, 2013 - The New York Times

Real Estate, not Gun, Battles Define Tranformed Rio Favela

Jonathan Watts reports on the transformation of the Vidigal favela in Rio de Janeiro. With drug gangs kicked out, wealthy buyers have moved in, and rental prices have surged. But has the neighborhood changed for the better?

January 25, 2013 - The Guardian

The Tokyo Model: From Post-War Slum to Superpower

In this compelling essay, authors Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava take a look at Tokyo's post-war development and explore how lessons learned from its unplanned growth may be useful for other rapidly urbanizing Asian cities today.

January 20, 2013 - Next City

Rich Seedlings for the Urban Revolution

Over the next few decades, half of global economic growth is predicted to come from the slums of developing world cities. Gaia Vince believes the key to the coming urban revolution is how these shantytowns evolve.

January 16, 2013 - BBC

What History Can Teach Us About Today's Urban Challenges

Historian Daniel London argues that by "excavating a 'usable past'" urbanists can find relevant, cutting edge ideas for solving the seemingly unprecedented challenges of global urbanization.

October 16, 2012 - The Global Urbanist

Public Spaces Provide Path to Improving Life in Global Slums

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS), who have been working with UN-HABITAT on sustainable urbanization, describe why establishing public spaces can be even more important to improving the world's slums than providing power or clean water.

September 5, 2012 - Project For Public Spaces

Lagos 'Cleans Up' Its Waterfront, Leaving Thousands Homeless

Continuing a practice long decried by international rights groups, Nigerian authorities gave the residents of the waterfront shantytown of Makoko a scant 72 hours to vacate their homes before demolishing them en masse, reports Robyn Dixon.

July 25, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.