Leftover Spaces
May 17th, 2006
One billion squatters claim leftover spaces in cities and live in unauthorized dwellings made of locally available, oftentimes scavenged, materials.
Poverty is rapidly urbanizing. Rural residents affected by the decline of agricultural jobs (among other push-factors) relocate to cities in search of work, but often cannot afford the higher cost of living. As a result, informal settlements emerge.
Shantytowns can be found in almost every developing country. In Turkey, they are called gecekondus. In Turkish, gecekondu means “built at night”. This term refers the loophole in Turkish law that prevents authorities from removing houses built in a single night.
In other countries, however, squatter settlements are illegal. Shelters are built on land not owned by the builder, out of salvaged (stolen) materials, and do not meet construction standards. The rightful owner, often the local government, can demolish shantytowns at will. This obstacle is why shantytown residents are hesitant to invest in infrastructure or building improvements.
Despite the temporary and vulnerable state of informal cities, residents persevere. New cultures emerge. As Robert Neuwirth observes in his book Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World, the citizens of squatter cities are more effective at improving communities than government projects.
Often, governments are corrupt and unwilling to help the residents of shantytowns. In the rare situation that a government is willing to foster a partnership, the situation ultimately worsens. In one case, the government sold the illegally-occupied public land to a private developer who agreed to provide affordable housing for the shantytown residents. However, the rents were still too high and the residents were displaced to other shantytowns.
Self-help networks, churches, and primary schools are just a few of the institutions created by shantytown residents, for shantytown residents. Slum Dwellers International is another network established to create a voice for the Global South in international politics. Brancabika is a workshop “to design low cost housing for low income groups in order to keep the existing inhabitants of the neighbourhood where they live while providing them with a physically, socially, and economically sustainable and healthier environment to live in.” One Small Project is a collaboration of contributions from “community activists, filmmakers, industrial designers, preservationists, writers, sculptors, photographers, architects, and many others … building more for others, wanting less for themselves”.
These efforts are community development at its finest.
