The Poor As Part Of City Planning

The Poor As Part Of City Planning

The video is an expression of the role of the poor in urban cities. What is exclusive is how the poor in the slums have been set aside by the others. They have to live in informal settlements and slums where they are prone to eviction, poor sanitation, and poor infrastructure. Although they are the laborers and make the city function normally.

Despite the harsh realities and conditions they live in, some slums have started self-help groups that that will eradicate the threats they face in the slums. The slums groups primary purpose is to address issues such as sanitation, infrastructure, demolitions, and evictions (“What if the poor were part of city planning? Smruti Jukur Johari”). The poor inhabiting the wastelands that the city had abandoned have resulted in the land gaining value to the extent of attracting developers. The developers evict them to vertical houses that cause them health problems due to poor lighting.

The people in the slums face various problems. My suggestion would be for the cities management to address the issues they experience. The main problems in the slums are infrastructure, which includes roads and affordable housing and essential services such as water and sanitation (Mahabir, Crooks, Croitoru, & Agouris 2016). Apart from addressing the problems, they should include the residents of the slums in the decisions made about the infrastructure. Since they are the ones living in those conditions and know what is best for them.

The author of the video was convincing. The plight of poor slum residents was addressed and how they suffer in the hands of those in power. How they face harsh condition and still go to work on a daily basis to grow the economy. The author has shown how they have grouped themselves in a bid to address the problems of infrastructure and essential services. A group from Mukuru in Nairobi was even successful in convincing the city government to provide the slum with water, roads, housing, and not to live in fear of eviction.

The bias in the video includes that the author has not explained the sabotage that happens as a result of slum residents. Some governments have been supportive of the slums by providing them with the appropriate services such as water, lighting, among others. The desperation in the slums has led to the services being vandalized and sabotaged by the residents.

Slum-dwellers need to cleanse their immoral trait and create proper and reliable relations with city management and policymakers. Unethical characteristics are as a result of the conditions present in the slums (Corburn 2013). The presence of ethical behavior in the slum will result in the city management’s willingness to develop the slums and bring the required services.

City management and policymakers are crucial in the decisions made about the slums. They are the ones who decide on the developments and the type of infrastructure in the favelas (Fainstein 2019). A strong relationship with the policymaker and city management will ensure that the slum dwellers are involved in the designs of the infrastructure to be put up in the slums. Which is a positive thing since they will ensure the houses built are according to the plan that favors them.

Works Cited

Corburn, Jason. Healthy City Planning from Neighborhood to National Health Equity. Routledge, 2013.

Fainstein, Susan S. “Urban Form.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 11 Dec. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/urban-planning/Urban-form#ref10809.

Mahabir, Ron, et al. “The Study of Slums as Social and Physical Constructs: Challenges and Emerging Research Opportunities.” Regional Studies, Regional Science, vol. 3, no. 1, 2016, pp. 399–419., doi:10.1080/21681376.2016.1229130.

“What If the Poor Were Part of City Planning? Smruti Jukur Johari.” What If the Poor Were Part of City Planning?, TED Talk, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBQv41YbdCk.