Watching Slumdog Millionaire, the Oscar winning film of 2008 that is being released on DVD today, can be a bracing experience for those accustomed to the conveniences of Western living. The destitute living is accurately and graphically depicted and is all too real for those that have seen it. Yet, the real danger is letting the poverty obscure a larger, perhaps more important lesson about urban places: Many of these urban slums are functioning, productive cities in their own right, and represent an intergenerational path toward economic improvement.
Slums
Morocco Seeks to Supplant Slums
In an effort to replace slums with low-cost housing, Morocco is paying developers to create thousands of new apartments. Some slum residents see it as a boon, others say they couldn't afford the rent, even if it were subsidized.
BBC News
Caracas, The City that Built Itself
Utopian modernism turned on its head in Caracas, where residents have made fifty-year-old superblock housing projects into the locus of sprawling improvised settlements.
Triple Canopy
Taking a Closer Look at the Slum
Slums have garnered some positive attention lately, from academics (Teddy Cruz) to royalty (Prince Charles). This article looks at just what it is we can learn from them, as well as the challenges that face legitimizing the world's shantytowns.
The Boston Globe
Slum Tourism Debated
This piece ponders whether slum tourism in places like Dharavi and the favelas of Brazil is a valid form of cultural exchange or merely voyeuristic exploitation?
National Geographic Traveler
'The Ultimate User-Generated City'
A look inside the real slum featured in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". The film won 8 Oscars including Best Picture.
The New York Times
Much Investment But Little Progress in Vancouver Slum
More than $1 billion has been invested in a Vancouver slum area, but little improvement can be seen, according to this investigation from The Globe and Mail.
The Globe and Mail
The Model Slum
According to Prince Charles, Dharavi, the slum featured in 'Slumdog Millionaire,' should be considered a model for the rest of the developing world.
The Guardian
Rio's "Eco Barrier" Draws Fire
Plans to erect a concrete "eco barrier" around Rio's slum areas being heavily criticized by human rights activists and environmentalists.
Guardian (UK)
The Challenge of Water in Illegal Slums
This audio slideshow from Financial Times looks at the severe shortage of clean water in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and what some activists are trying to do to provide clean water for the dwellers of the city's illegal slums.
Financial Times
Dharavi: India's Model Slum
Mumbai, India's Dharavi is one of the world's biggest slums -- and its most notorious. Look beyond the stereotype, however, and you'll find a successful settlement with a vibrant community and economy. But developers want to raze it all and start again. Urban development consultant Prakash M. Apte says Dharavi is a model that should be replicated, not redeveloped.
Mumbai Slum A Battleground Between Dwellers and Developers
The battle over development continues in Dharavi, the largest slum in India. Its valuable location in Mumbai has had developers' mouths watering for years, but residents have resisted their drive to demolish and rebuild the slum.
The Los Angeles Times
Services Lacking in the Servants' Slums
Upwardly-mobile city dwellers in India are heavily reliant on the neighboring slums that house their servants. But many public services are lacking beyond the walls of the affluent developments.
The New York Times
Mapping Needed to Improve Slums
Understanding and improving the Brazilian informal settlements known as favelas will require more information about the slums -- especially in the field of mapping.
Harvard Design Magazine
Saving and Improving Slums
This article from the Harvard Design Magazine looks at slums in Latin America and discusses the important role they play in their cities. Preserving the positive qualities of these communities is increasingly preferred over slum clearance.
Harvard Design Magazine
Developing Cities Face Major Growth, Pollution Issues
The mega cities of the developing world are expected to experience increasing rates of growth in the coming decades. The growth in population will be a challenge, but so will be dealing with the increase in air pollution.
CNN
In The Ghetto
"Slum tourism" is on the rise in developing countries around the world. Some say the tours help the affluent understand the dire situations faced by the world's poor, but others say it's just a way to help Westerners feel good about themselves.
The New York Times
Contribute
TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp Webinar
Advanced SketchUp Webinar
Wednesday, December 2, 11am PST/2pm EST
$49.95 (includes 30-day access to video recording)
Learn More:
TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp - Modeling Buildings
- Friday Funny: Chicken Supports Chicken Ordinance
- Class Divide in NY Inclusive Buildings
- Alternative Fuels Won't Change the Expense of Driving
- Not Just About Jobs
- Suburbs See Rise in Kids in Poverty
- Judge Rules Army Corps Responsible for New Orleans Flooding
- BRT PDQ in DF
- Investing in Infrastructure
- The Bowery is Booming (For Better or Worse)
- Are Prefabricated Overpasses the Answer?
Learning from TTI -- Michael Lewyn
Automobility and Freedom: Conflicts and Resolutions -- Todd Litman
Somewhere Between Blight and Gentrification... -- Diana DeRubertis
The Future of American High Speed Rail: Regional and Slow -- Robert Goodspeed
Prisoners of The Village -- Nate Berg
Student Writing Competition - Deadline Extended!
APA Urban Design and Preservation Division
Nov 20, 2009
NEW NCI 2009 Best Practices Report
National Charrette Institute
Nov 19, 2009
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) Request for Proposals
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH)
Nov 19, 2009
Build your expertise in sustainable planning, public participation, urban design or real estate
Rutgers University -- Professional Development Institute
Nov 18, 2009
Call for Nominations
APA Urban Design and Preservation Division
Nov 16, 2009
www.flickr.com
|
