4 - Urban Processes - Poverty and Informality Flashcards
(20 cards)
Describe early ideas on urban poverty.
Poverty was traditionally seen as rural & urban poverty was viewed as temporary
Describe Michael Lipton’s urban bias theory.
(Lipton, 1977)
He was an advisor on aid for many countries
Argued that people living in urban areas benefited from more competitive pricing around goods & services, therefore, aid services should focus on rural areas - therefore, from early 1970s to 90s, not much aid funnelled into urban areas
Why has urbanisation not decreased poverty?
Historically, urbanisation did decrease poverty, during the Industrial Revolution.
Now it is thought that the potential for cities to decrease poverty is not being met – there is a recognition that urban areas can provide opportunities to escape poverty but poorer people do not have access to these opportunities
How have slums altered the perception of Global South cities?
It has become a visual shorthand for the Global South city through media - various films depict Global South cities as slums(e.g. City of God, Slumdog Millionaire) & this makes the Global North perception of Global North cities relatively one-dimensional
Define a slum.
(UN, 2025) - an area with inadequate access to safe water, poor sanitation, poor structural quality of housing, overcrowding and insecure residential status
What are some characteristics of urban poverty?
Dependence on cash-based/informal economies
Inadequate shelter and basic services
Health and environment risks
Vulnerability to weak governance
Vulnerability to urban violence
Describe a critique of the ‘slum’ label.
Gilbert(2007) - believes it is a pejorative phrase which confuses people with place & that such a radical label leads to radical policy/action
However, even ‘slum-dwellers’ themselves accept and embrace this label - Slum Dwellers International greatest example of this as they stated they would rather focus on helping those who reside in the slums, instead of focusing on the literary connotations of the word
Name some slum theories.
Davis(2006) - ‘surplus humanity’
Rao(2006) - ‘slum as theory’
Explain Davis’ theory of slum dwellers having ‘surplus humanity’.
Davis(2006) - Argues the slum is a physical space to house those who do not contribute to humanity and are not integrated into society - drain society rather than contribute - criticised for being hyperbolic
Explain Rao’s idea of the ‘slum as theory’.
Rao(2006) - Reviews how language of slum has become universally popular - slum has become the theory of the city and has become synonymous with the South Asian city
Define urban informality.
ILCS(1993) defines it as unregistered enterprises - essentially, economic activities outside of state regulation
Name some key authors in the conceptual origins of urban informality.
Hart(1973) & de Soto(1989)
How did Hart explore urban informality?
Hart(1973) - went to Ghana’s markets and found that ‘marginal workers’(black market, underground economy) were essential to Ghana’s economy
How did de Soto describe urban informality?
de Soto(1989) - He stated that ‘they(urban dwellers) have simply renounced legality
Why does urban informality exist?
Failure of the state:
Some believe that the state cause informality by making setting up business/buying houses/paying taxes to difficult
Others believe that the state respond to the informal economy by under provision of services to these areas - the lack of tax revenue and contribution to the formal economy means that the state has less incentive to invest in these areas
Failure of formal market
Innovations of people
Is informality permanent or temporary?
If it is caused by market weakness, then it is temporary - as the market strengthens, it will eventually absorb these informal activities
If it is caused by entrepreneurship, then it is permanent
Name some reasons why informality is a problem.
Illegal
No taxes
Unregulated
Easily exploitable
Dangerous
Name some reasons why informality is a solution.
Jobs & housing in midst of poverty
Starting place for poor
Vibrancy of the city
Opportunities for marginalised groups
Contributes to GDP
Where is the informal city located in the Global North/South?
Global North - New York day-labourers, Manchester’s prostitutes etc
Global South - Brazilian favelas, India’s rickshaws
Describe the dichotomy of informality and give an example.
London vs Lagos
In London, informality is illegal/dangerous/exploitative
In Lagos, informality is good for the survival of the poor, incentivises an entrepreneurial spirit & means that the slums are vibrant
