The Arts of Survival

The cities of tomorrow. The new urban world.

Let's number crunch. 1 in 6 people on the planet live in slums. By 2030 that will have gone up to 1 in 4 and then up to 1 in 3 by 2050. *

These astonishing statistics are proof that we need to engage with these communities. After all, these are the cities of the future. It seems that these future urban landscapes are about regression rather than progression. Less building up with glass and steel and more mud and concrete huts.

This migration from rural landscapes into urban living is ever increasing. But why is this? This urban slum life may look terrible but, unlike the rural living, cities provide jobs and resources. These urban squatters are not bound by rules or laws. Instead they are free to do what they want. No legal neighbourhood can offer this. They may have to pay a small fee for the land they live on but, other than that, they are not bound or restricted by anyone. With this they are able to form communities of their own. This may be one of the only upsides however; in many cases there is a lack of balance. Slum dwellers are not able to get their hands on the simple commodities, sanitation and infrastructure that we take for granted. Although a surprising number have Internet access they are not linked up to a clean water supply or their own electricity. This results in situations like this image shows, where skilled individuals manage to tap into overhead pylons. Maybe this illustrates the haphazard and temporary nature of urban slum life as well as any written account.

* Robert Neuwirth: The "shadow cities" of the future (Ted.com)