Crypto News: Rethinking slums as 'homegrown' cities

From the favelas of Sao Paulo to the slums of Mumbai, informal settlements are often portrayed as chaotic, dirty and the antithesis to urban planning, compared to the gleaming high rises towering above them. But the new book The Homegown City challenges that portrayal, arguing instead that these places are shaped by their inhabitants, and can be models for affordability and sustainable urbanism.

In a conversation with Feargus O'Sullivan, the book's authors Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava discuss why they prefer "homegrown" to terms like "informal" and "slum." They also argue against the demolition of these places, calling instead for a citizen-led approach to improving the neighborhoods' infrastructure without erasing its DNA. Today on CityLab: Slums? Informal Settlements? Just Call These Cities 'Homegrown'

— Linda Poon

More on CityLab

Sao Paulo Pushes Out Favela Residents, Drug Users to Revive Its City Center
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