Traversing the Plane - II

-Jeff Nadeau-

Okay. Getting to a set of general principles, exemplified by previously-discussed modes of transport that seem more or less suited to the unplanned or underplanned urban environment, that may guide the creation of a survival kit.

Ease of maintenance. Where investment is hard to secure, and as a result of the perennial struggle to keep up with demand on limited resources, infrastructure has to have a long service life. Maintaining any kind of economic viability (particularly working with the narrow margins frequently encountered in subsistence urbanity) means downtime has to be minimized.

It is important for the machine in question, then, to be mechanically simple- as are most small motorcycles- and to have a plentiful parts supply such that components are affordable and easy to find, as is the case with the Toyota Corolla.

Local autonomy means not waiting for a central office, general policies, remote technician or foreign intervention. Partially a matter of ease of maintenance, such that a local handyman can fix a Honda C90 without the input of Honda-certified mechanics. In a marginalized community, the ability to do without outside help or expertise makes the difference between empowerment and dependence.

Not to attempt to make myself redundant here, but the ultimate urban survival kit- where promoting self-sufficiency is a priority- would include solutions that could be put into action by the illiterate and the unskilled as easily as by architects and engineers.

Redundancy. The reason the publicar works better than a similarly extensive bus system is that several old compact cars can be had for the price of one bus, and where gaps occur the system is not unduly burdened. If a single car breaks down- as they inevitably will over a lengthy service life- only four to six passengers are set back, and not fifty as would be the case in a bus.

I was surprised this week to find out that Santo Domingo completed and opened its subway line this year. This is fantastic news, considering in 2006 it didn't look like it would ever be finished. Then I think of the innumerable blackouts that the city suffers. Is it really a good idea to put large numbers of commuters underground and at the mercy of one system relying on numerous other unreliable systems?

Similarly, a shelter designed for subsistence urbanity cannot be overly specific and reliant on particular building materials or site characteristics or adjacent services which may or may not be present. For implementation in an atmosphere of shortages and fixed resources, solutions need to have some tolerance for variation in their execution.

Cost. This one is obvious but ought to be addressed for the sake of completeness.

Just to tie this in to a previously-mentioned issue- in addition to the questionable reliability of the Santo Domingo metro system there is also the question of the exorbitant expenses involved in its construction and the likely operating costs. With the dire state of education and security in the city, and the more or less functional network of motoconcho, publicars and guagua providing affordable transportation, could those millions not have been better spent?

Obstacles to Housing Improvement

A little background information salvaged from an essay I wrote a while back may serve to frame the problems in housing the poor in the world's mega-slums.

Slums are differentiated by the quality of the housing- from substandard to subhuman, location- proximity to work and to services, and permanence- some are torn down on a regular basis while others persist for decades.

Those that are not recognized by authorities are often the fiefdoms of criminal groups which threaten and terrorize residents but which also take the place of the state in providing for the needs of slum-dwellers. The most permanent slums in the South are those that are seen by authorities as too large or established to remove.

Attempts by states to “fix” slums by improving them fail because they do not address the poverty that leads people to live in slums. Upgrading homes and services results in a rise of living costs and end up harming occupants when costs go beyond their means. They are uprooted and forced to move to a new slum, often separating them from social connections they may have come to rely upon or moving them yet farther from their workplace. The new and improved neighborhoods are then occupied by the lower middle class.

Beginning in the 1980s, efforts at solving slum problems were approached via privatization, moving the onus for rebuilding slums from governments to private developers and money-lending banks. Responsibility in this instance was also shifted to those who live in slums, who were expected to help themselves out of their situations.

Increased commodification and formalized structures necessitating the (mostly) legal exchange of money may lead to the building of an improved slum but also makes tenants more dependent and indebted. As is the case with state-driven projects at housing programs, however, rise in quality of life is mirrored by a rise in cost of living, and the poor most in need of assistance are again driven to a slum they can afford.

Notes
Davis, Mike. Planet of Slums. New York: Verso. 2006.
Perreault, Normand. University of New Brunswick POLS 3323 Lectures. Sept. 11 – Oct. 6, 2006.

Halef Gunawan. Rocinha. http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/halefg/.

- Jeff Nadeau