Slums

Kerwin Datu reflects on the implications of treating the world's diverse mixed-use slums as residential only enclaves.

This piece from The New York Times goes inside the economic powerhouse of Mumbai's Dharavi slum to profile the informality that both troubles it and brings it prosperity.

Pending government approval, state housing department plans to grant all slum-dwelling families in Mumbai houses may become reality. The houses are free for families settled prior to 1995.

Faced with climate change and poverty, Africans are focusing on a new farming frontier: the cities.

The slums are either a socially cohesive neighborhoods or a major problem -- depending on who you are. This exploration into the slums of Manila show the disconnect between the people and the government about the slums and their future.

Paul Mason takes a tour of Manila's 10-year-old Estero de San Miguel slum to test the theory that slums have upsides and finds that understanding the question's realities is as important as trying to find the answer.

The emergent urbanism of informal settlements has posed problems to governments in the Third World, and some are looking to address equality issues by issuing land titles. But one approach skips the titles and focuses on simple zoning.

Informal settlements like slums and favelas have been perplexing governments in Latin America for decades. A new report looks at two of the ways governments are addressing these areas, and the challenges that remain.

The slums of the world's megacities have been the subject of much admiration among urban thinkers recently. Joel Kotkin argues that adulation is misguided.

This collection of city profiles looks at cities around the world that are making major improvements to the way they handle and provide water.

As the city of Rio de Janeiro prepares to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, residents there say many of the projects underway are violating their rights.

An Australian report finds that suburbs in Australia may be on the path to slum status if the country's oil addiction is not resisted.

Communities in the slums of India are well known for "making do". A new exhibit looks at how that spirit of innovation and adaptation plays out in these cities and how other cities can learn from them.

Prince Charles is planning to build a 15,000-person shanty town in India, modeled after Dharavi, the Mumbai settlement featured in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire".

In this piece, Stewart Brand argues that squatter cities will grow greatly over the next few decades, and the world will be better because of it.

Ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, officials in Rio de Janeiro are taking on a massive upgrade project in the city's slums.

With a collective population of more than 10 million, Kenya's slums face major sanitation issues. A new project offers a sustainable solution.

As the Commonwealth Games get underway in New Delhi, India, locals are upset that officials have made efforts to hide slum areas from the view of visitors.

The population of India's slums is expected to rise close to 100 million in 2011.

Many people have argued that global cities can take lessons from informal communities like Dharavi and the favelas of Brazil. Designers Pavlina Ilieva and Kuo Pao Lian have created a new framework for city development based on these informal cities.