Jack Stauber 1

URBS 350

June 10, 2022

“Slum Cities: A Shifting World”

More people around the world are now living in cities than in the countryside and this is

fundamental to understanding why there are so many problems with urbanization. As discussed

in the movie, “every week more than 1 million people move into urban centers” and this is

problematic for a number of reasons but mainly because as more people move to new cities,

more resources and infrastructure must be set up to house these people, but as mentioned cities

are not well prepared to handle the influx of new people and governments around the world have

been ignoring these problems which has led to slum cities being built all across countries like

India, Brazil and South Africa. Poverty is rampant around these countries and many are living in

horrible conditions with no running water, hardly any food, no electricity, badly conditioned

infrastructure, and no opportunities to lift themselves up from poverty. It really is saddening to

see just how many are suffering around the world, especially in developing countries like India

(Mumbai) where we saw images of citizens being crammed into very tight areas, no working

infrastructure, hardly any food or water, faulty pipe lines and people building makeshift shelters

to try to provide some warmth from the strenuous weather.

Dharavi, a city located in Mumbai, is the biggest slum city in Asia. Within the movie, it

mentioned that there was only 1 working toilet per every 400 people, and the state and local

governments are actively pushing people out of these cities and into the countryside to continue

expanding their construction projects and build more urban centers in Dharavi. Many have been

kicked out of their homes and I remember in one instance where the police came to evacuate

citizens and one gentleman had his barn destroyed along with his cattle taken away from him so

that more roads and structures could be built. It’s unfortunate to know that people are actively
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having their livelihoods and their homes taken away from them so that the government could

follow through with their urban expansionism and artificially inflate their GDP through

skyscrapers and real estate. I know that I would be heartbroken and terrified for my life if I

knew that I could have my home taken away from me at a moment's notice, and have nowhere to

go. As corruption becomes more rampant, many will continue to suffer, but a guy by the name of

Miata, has a vision that one day he will be able to bring affordable housing, schools and working

infrastructure to this city and I hope that he can get the resources and the support to make it

happen.

As the movie progresses along, they start talking about Rio de Janeiro, and the favelas

that people occupy. It’s a little more structured than the slum cities that occupy Dharavi because

there is better infrastructure and shelter for the people, and as mentioned there are banks, store

fronts, and schools being provided to kids in the area. However, safety was still a major problem

because of the gangs that would occupy and run the territories. Most of the structures were being

built on top of each other, up to a limit of 8 stories high because that was the theoretical limit

before they would collapse. While far from perfect, the living conditions of the citizens, and the

fact that they have more predictable sources of water and food and adequate shelter is better than

the living conditions that we saw at Dharavi. I was happy to see that there were support systems

that were set up in the favelas to keep children out of gangs and off the streets. This was mainly

accomplished through dance lessons and extracurricular activities that were available around the

city and it was sad to see that there were no such programs that I heard of taking place in

Dharavi, but I hope that eventually, the kids growing up in those areas have more opportunities

to succeed and be given the resources to build a better life for themselves. We must not take

food, water, electricity and shelter for granted and work together to protect and conserve it.