Development and the Global South

AP Comparative Government & Politics

DEVELOPMENT AND

THE GLOBAL SOUTH

WHAT IS A SLUM?• Make a list or write a description of - what is a slum?

WHAT IS A SLUM?• According to the UN…

• Poor quality of housing

• Lack of clean water

• Overcrowding

• Inadequate sanitation

• Insecure tenure

• Could be removed at any moment/don’t have proof of ownership

WATCH• NewsHour: Dharavi

• Journey Man: Dharavi

• Brazil

1. Identify – as best as you can – the 5 characteristics of slums.

2. Why does this slum exist? Does it serve a purpose?

3. Why does the government want to relocate folks?

4. What does the existence of slums imply about a country?

WHO LIVES IN SLUMS?

• 43% of citizens in developing countries

• 78% of citizens in the least developed countries

• 6% in developed countries

LET’S DO A LITTLE INVESTIGATING• Use the Places We Live website to learn more about life in slums

• http://www.theplaceswelive.com/

• Caracas, Venezuela

• Kibera, Nairobi

• Jakarta, Indonesia

• Use Slum Stories

• www.slumstories.org/episodes

• Brazil: It’s not better and it’s not the same

• Questions to address:

5. Describe the living conditions of your slum.

6. Why does this slum exist? What purpose does it serve?

7. What does the existence of this slum imply about the country?

8. What issues is this slum experiencing?

CAN WE DRAW ANY CONCLUSIONS?Use Jacob Riis photographs to investigate NYC in the late 19 th century and

• http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/images/riisphotos/slideshow1.html

A brief history to answer the questions below.

• http://www.history.com/topics/tenements

• Questions to address:

9. What parallels, if any, can you make between NYC tenements and the slum you investigated?

10. Explain any correlations or causations you can deduce from your investigations into modern slums, development, history, etc.

SLUM CONDITIONS• Crime

• Poverty

• Disease

• Prostitution

• Drug and Alcohol Abuse

• Denial of Rights

• Forced Evictions

• Poor Access to Education

• No Police Protection

• Little Political Representation

WATER

• Few slums have piped water

• Often carried from somewhere of distance

• 5-10% of income is commonly spent on clean water

SANITATION

• 57% of urban Africans lack access to basic sanitation

• 11% of poor neighborhoods in Manila

• 18% of poor neighborhoods in Dhaka – capital of Bangladesh

WHAT CAUSES SLUMS?• Rapid rural to urban migration

• Decline of agricultural jobs

• Migration to cities in search of wage labor

• Cities are growing rapidly

• 32% of urban dwellers now live in slums

• 1 billion people worldwide

• 2 billion slum dwellers projected for 2040

• Mega-agglomerations of “illegal” squatters

• Located on the fringes of large cities

Due to industrialization?Due to globalization?

PRIMATE CITY• Large city concentrating a high degree of the national population

• The economic, political, and social “center” of a country

• Paris

• Typical of developing countries where all growth has been centered in one area

• Mexico City

• Bangkok

CHINA

• Highest rural-to-urban migration rate in the world

• 100 million in the last 10 years

• 7 to 10 million leave rural areas each year

• Projected to reach 500 million by 2020

HOMEWORK• Chapter 11 The Global South pgs. 301-312

1. “If the West catches a cold, the Third World catches pneumonia.” How does Thomas Friedman support this statement – include an explanation that addresses all three points he makes.

2. Why should we understand and care about the Global South?

3. Explain the four defining characteristics of the Global South: poverty, environmental threats, identity and conflict, and globalization.

4. Which of these characteristics is most threatening to the stability and development of the Global South?

5. What were the goals of the imperializing countries?

6. What were the “three waves of decolonization?”

7. Explain how the experience of imperialism affects the Global South today.