The reason so many people endure the slums? Because countryside conditions are worse.
He writes:
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| Lubbock Texas -Home of Morons |
Start with the simple reason that most people leave the
countryside: money. Moving to cities makes economic sense — rich
countries are urbanized countries, and rich people are predominantly
town and city dwellers. Just 600 cities worldwide account for 60 percent
of global economic output, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.
Slum dwellers may be at the bottom of the urban heap, but most are
better off than their rural counterparts. Although about half the
world’s population is urban, only a quarter of those living on less than
a dollar a day live in urban areas. In Brazil, for example, where the
word “poor” conjures images of both Rio’s vertiginous favelas and
indigenous Amazonian tribes living in rural privation, only 5 percent of
the urban population is classified as extremely poor, compared with 25
percent of those living in rural areas.
If you’re reading this while sitting in a developed country, this
dynamic may be harder to understand — the “country house” certainly has
wealthy overtones; a return to one’s roots, albeit with a thoroughly
padded bank account.
Though slums have improved markedly since the Victorian era, they’re
still scorned by the public, which frequently calls for them to be
cleared. (”Not in my backyard,” on a much bigger scale.) Kenny says they
shouldn’t be. Instead, slums should be supported with services.
Because, scrutinizing the data, these people aren’t undesirable at all —
they’re trying to make money just like the wealthier folks working in
the downtown business
