Book - Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World

Heard bits and pieces of a discussion with the author on NPR yesterday. He mentioned that 50% of people in Bombay (yeah, ok, Mumbai) are squatters (living on land that isn't owned by them and that they don't pay for). That number amazed me.

"The vast, bustling favela of Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro, for example, has distinct neighborhoods, apartments for rent, dance parties in the street and local entrepreneurs, as well as drug lords and gangs. In Nairobi's Kibera, many squatters have white-collar jobs, yet lack the income to rent more than a simple mud hut."

"Pointing out that many major cities were founded on squatter-style neighborhoods, Neuwirth treats readers to some fascinating historical case studies in London and New York."

posted by Farookh at 12:32 PM Comment (0)