Today’s book club is about slums.  And, front page news is this:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brazil-military-continues-raids-on-slums-before-world-cup-1.2599596

One of the chapter’s in Mike Davis’ book (Planet of Slums) is about “beautification” and how slums have to be “dealt with” before big events.  These articles only tell part of the story of the reality of those who live in these places. Governments like to criminalize being poor and so crime or violence is used to justify the military presence. The prevalence of slums on our planet is far greater than us living in Calgary can imagine. Slums may very soon be more prevalent than organized cityscape.

 

Planet of Slums

Planet of SlumsMike Davis; Verso 2007WorldCatLibraryThingGoogle BooksBookFinder