Yes, within a few years, like one in 5 or so people will live this semideath of urban slum hell, thanks to the triage of humanity under global capitalism. A billionstrong global proletariat ejected from the formal economy, with islam and pentecostalism as songs of the dispossessed. Apr 26, 2006 mike davis planet of slums, the monster at our door. He is the recipient of the macarthur fellowship and the lannan literary award. Hear this word, writes mike davis, ye kine of bashan, that are in the mountain of samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy. Aug 19, 2006 planet of slums by mike davis 240pp, verso. Urban historian mike daviss planet of slums is an apocalyptic hellscape of natural disasters, untrammeled corruption, and urban warfare. Planet of slums mike davis california state university. Davis writes that in 1950, only 86 cities around the world had populations of one. Planet of slums by mike davis essay 2164 words bartleby. This circumstance is supposed to have occurred in 2008. Mike davis is the author of several books including planet of slums, city of quartz, ecology of fear, late victorian holocausts, and magical urbanism. The book explores the future of an unstable and impoverished urban world, and provides a thematic overview of the rise of slums and urban poverty in the global south.
Davis might have just as readily titled his book the world is a ghetto, after the 1972 hit. Mike davis is the author of several books including city of quartz, the monster at our door, budas wagon, and planet of slums. These critics charge that davis fails to focus on activist groups among the poor and working class in solving problemsas advocated by manuel castells and marshall berman. Final in this essay i am going to explain why mike davis places responsibility on the treason of state, international banks, and lending institutions for the horrific conditions in what he describes as the urban south. Planet of slums davis 2006 new perspectives quarterly. Planet of slums mike davis celebrated urban theorist lifts the lid on the effects of a global explosion of disenfranchised slumdwellers. The scale of modern squalor revealed in his brilliant survey dwarfs its predecessors a coruscating tragedy. Planet of slums by mike davis 2006 is a startling, terrifying, and honest expose of the worlds poorest bigcity slum dwellers.
For the first time the urban population of the earth will out number the rural. With cool indignation, davis argues that the exponential growth of slums is no accident but the result of a perfect storm of corrupt leadership, institutional failure, and imfimposed structural adjustment programs leading to a massive transfer of wealth from. Aug 17, 2010 chapter 6 of mike davis s planet of slums focuses primarily on the despicable not to mention dangerous living conditions of people in the slums. Mike davis 2006 planet of slums looks at the more than 1 billion people living in slums, expected to reach 2 billion people within the next 10 years. Mike daviss global survey of the spread of urban poverty, planet of slums, is a horrifying but essential read, says. May 23, 2006 in any case, the following interview took place after the publication of daviss most recent book, planet of slums. In this brilliant and ambitious book, mike davis explores the future of a radically unequal and explosively unstable urban world. Planet of slums full text carnegie council for ethics. Future history of the third worlds postindustrial megacities.
Its urban population increased from 108 million in 1960 to 389 million in 2000. Editions of planet of slums by mike davis goodreads. It chronicles the spread of poverty in cities around the world where more than a billion people live in what the united nations classifies as slums. Davis highlights many instances that helped the spread and acceleration of slums across the world. Planet of slums is a nonfiction book published in 2005 by the american author and urban theorist mike davis. Mike davis, professor emeritus at university of california, riverside. An exploration of modernworld urbanization cites a concerning rise in slum life that currently accounts for nearly onefifth of the worlds population, arguing that urban populations are disconnected and exempt from the formal world economy and may represent an explosive convergence of ethnic. Macarthur fellow davis explores the future of this radically unequal and.
Mike davis charts the expected global urbanization explosion over. The author of the 2006 book, planet of slums, mike davis, is a noted historian and social commentator who is often concerned with the effects of industrialization on societies, the nature of the urban landscape particularly in the context of industrialization and a noted critic of neoliberal policies who instead advocates a marxist ideology. Planet of slums by mike davis urban and rural population is like the scale of justice in a country. In city of quartz, the radical historian mike davis established himself as the raymond chandler of urban geography. I was appalled by some of the things i read and just cant understand how people live like that and nothing significant has been done about it. In this trenchantly argued book, mike davis quantifies the nightmarish mass production of slums that marks the contemporary city. Mike davis proves through statistics his worst fears of unchecked rural. Davis work, particularly planet of slums, has been criticized by merrifield and urban studies professor tom angotti as antiurban and overly apocalyptic. The author of the 2006 book, planet of slums, mike davis, is a noted historian and social commentator who is often concerned with the effects of industrialization on societies, the. In planet of slums, mike davis offers a comprehensive study of the present urban conjuncture and shows that favelas, inquilinatos, callejones, and barriadas have become the essential feature of the global crisis of urban overpopulation and underemployment. Mike davis, the prolific author and social critic, piles on evidence in the service of a passionate, despairing, and at times furious analysis of the economic, social, and environmental state of cities in the global south. Inspired by the book planet of slums, mike davis according to the united nations, more than one billion people now live in the slums of the cities of the south.
Adding fuel to daviss fire, in the six years since he published planet of slums, a number of new disasters that disproportionately affected slum dwellers have occurred around the world2008s oil pipeline explosion in lagos, 2010s earthquake in. Latin america is the most urbanized region of the world. Study guide to planet of slums the broad context 1. In planet of slums author mike davis gives the audience a grim look at how millions of people live in unsanitary and dangerous conditions that have come to be known as slums. Mike davis according to the united nations, more than one billion people now live in the shantytowns of the cities of the south. According to the united nations, more than one billion people now live in the slums of the cities of the south. He is a recipient of the prestigious macarthur fellowship genius grant.
Takeaways the subject, of course, is indelicate, but it is a fundamental problem of city life from which there is surprisingly little escape. Mike davis is the author of several books, including planet of slums and city of quartz. Review and analysis of planet of slums by mike davis. In planet of slums, daviss genre is the global disaster movie, as directed by the chroniclers of victorian poverty. To strike the correct balance, both arms of the scale are important. Analysis of mike davis planet of slums 1626 words cram.