Merging Political Ecology and Urban Geography Understanding Slums

Merging Political Ecology and Urban Geography: Understanding Slums GEOG### Urban Political Ecology July 30, 2012 Kathryn-Louise Meng

Lecture Objectives n n Using the example of slums we will begin to incorporate questions of urban geography with questions of political ecology. Students view the slum as: n n a manifestation of inequitable political and economic structures a phenomena that typifies the environmental degradation that can emerge as a result of such inequitable structures.

Review n Critiques of political ecology / Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) (Political Ecology)

Review n Critiques of political ecology / Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) (Political Ecology) 1. Poverty-centric approach n 2. Privileges the rural, agrarian, and third world matters n 3. Privileges land over other resources n n Critiques of Urban Geography

Review n Critiques of political ecology / Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) (Political Ecology) 1. Poverty-centric approach n 2. Privileges the rural, agrarian, and third world matters n 3. Privileges land over other resources n n Critiques of Urban Geography n Ecological questions are seemingly absent

UPE Questions n n “How, for example, might poverty or political ecology help explain worker injuries in … plants in northern Mexico, [or] toxic dumping in Nigeria, or urban water pollution in Turin? ” Peet and Watts, 2004, p. 5 What is the relationship between the explosion of urban growth in the 1970 s and the fact that growth is informal slum growth? n Why do they go together and what accounts for them?

Why Slums? n Global over-urbanization n n Slum growth is outpacing urbanization per-se n n n Driven largely by the reproduction of poverty Mexico City - 60% of all growth is informal Slum: City ratio in the developed world - 6% LDCs - 78% of urban population are slum dwellers Ethiopia - 94% of city dwellers live in informal houses or practice informal business Informal urbanism represents the majority of urbanism

Brazilian Favelas Peri-urban • Areas may be extremely dense in population but may also be highly unurban in their built infrastructure

Mexico City • Slums may be immediately adjacent to or within a city • Economic and social ties between the slum dwellers and the city dwellers may be nonexistent. • Slum dwellers may be entirely disconnected from the economic and social infrastructure of the ‘formal’ city

Tenements in the US

• What UPE issues can you identify in these photos? • What sort of UPE questions can we ask about these areas?

Why live in a slum? n Location of slums optimize: Housing costs, n Tenure security, n Quality of shelter, n Journey to work, n Personal safety n

How did slum growth reach this point? n n How didn’t slum growth exist? Colonial history - British in India regulated growth and controlled population migration After emancipation - new states restricted access to cities, they recognized the wealth in the country, they wanted to diversify economies, maintain borders etc… Arguably, slum development began as a result of decolonization

After Colonialism n n 1970 s - the minimal role of national governments in urban policy was reinforced by neoliberal economic models that were defined by the international monetary fund Structural adjustment funds imposed on poor nations a series of rules that resulted in: n n n Shrinkage in government programs Privatization of housing markets For many this is argued as the principle impetus of slum development

Takeaway Points n n n Slums emerge(d) from inequitable economic and political structures Such structures push individuals and communities to engage with their environments differently Ecological hazards can be socially produced leading to scenarios that typify problems of urban political ecology