13.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
UPA Package 3, Module 1
URBANIZATION AND THE POOR: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE THIRD
WORLD
23.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Defining and subclassifying the Third World
• General characteristics of TW countries
• TW urbanization experience compared with that of western countries
• Stages of TW urbanization
– pre-colonial period
– colonial era
– post-colonial times
3.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Urbanization in the Third World (TW)
33.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Rural-urban migration and the fragmentation of the built environment
• The dual economy and the fragmentation of the labor market
• The shared space
3.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Socio-Spatial Structuring of the TW City and its Impact on the Poor
43.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• The experience with the use of western models
• Toward more radical and innovative approaches
– socialist TW approaches
– UN Habitat-led initiatives
Approaches to Urban Planning and Management in TW Countries
53.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Self-help schemes
– the multi-step transition model
– the shared space model
• Government programs
– urban renewal and slum upgrading
– sites and services provision
– tenure improvement schemes
Residential Options of the Poor in TW Cities
63.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
“Third World” is defined by elimination:
• First World - industrialized countries of Western Europe, North America and the Pacific (OECD-member countries).
• Second World - industrialized formerly centrally planned economies of Eastern Europe.
• Third World - all the rest of the countries in Latin America and the Carribean, Africa, Middle East, and all of Asia except Japan. Other exceptions: Israel (ME) and South Africa (Africa).
Defining the Third World
73.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
By geographical configuration:
North - First and Second Worlds: Advanced, modern, developed, industrialized, rich.
South - Third World: Backward, traditional, underdeveloped or developing or less developed, poor.
83.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Low income economies - less than $500 per capita annually
• Middle income economies - between $500 and $6,000 per capita
• Lower middle income - less than $2,200 per capita
• Upper middle income - Asian tigers (Israel, Hongkong, Singapore)
• High income countries - OECD countries with income per capita of over $6,000
Classification of TW Countries (World Bank, 1988)
93.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Advanced developing countries (ADC) or newly industrializing countries (NIC) - Brazil, Argentina, Singapore, Taiwan, Hongkong and South Korea.
• Petroleum exporting countries (PEC) - a disparate group of 36 nations with super-rich nations like Kuwait and Libya at the top and poor countries like Nigeria and Indonesia at the bottom
Recent Sub-categoarization of TW Countries
103.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Middle-income countries (MIC) - 45 other TW countries including Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.
• “Fourth World” - remaining 35 countries accounting for 35% of TW population but only 3% of gross global product (GGP) and 5% of TW exports. Their per capita income is insufficient to provide for a minimum level of welfare.
113.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Development Indicators North South
Annual population growth rate (%)
Share of gross global product (%)
World export earnings (% share) World expenditures in education
(% share) Literacy rate (%) Per capita expenditure on
education ($) Public health expenditures
(% share)
0.7 79.0 75.0 84.0 99.0 286 91.0
2.2 21.0 25.0 16.0 52.0 18 9.0
General Characteristics of TW Countries
123.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Development Indicators North South
Average life expectancy Infant mortality Population without access
to safe water (%) Population without adequate
housing (%)
16 years lower 5 times higher <50 50
Source: Atlas of the Third World, 1983.
General Characteristics of TW Countries
133.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
122 countries comprise the Third World
About one-fourth of these belong to the socialist TW classified into four categories:
Group I - members of CMEA or Comecon, e.g. Vietnam and Cuba
Group II - well-established communist of socialist states outside of Comecon, e.g. China
Group III - self-proclaimed hard-line socialist states closely aligned with USSR, e.g. PDR, Yemen
Group IV - marginal states with one-party governments, e.g. Algeria, Nicaragua, Guyana
Socialist Third World
143.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Effective one-party rule
• High and increasing degree of state ownership of industry and agriculture
• Tendency towards centralized command of the economy
• Establishment of comprehensive planning structure
• A development path that does not rely on the dynamics of private capital ownership and entrepreneurship
• Generally slow rate of urban growth
Characteristics of the Socialist TW
153.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Third World Western
Driven by mainly
demographic forces Industrialization lags
behind urbanization and migrants find marginal employment in cities
Driven by dynamic economic
and industrial forces Involves gradual innovation
and interdependent economic and social change spanning more than a century.
TW and Western Urbanization Experience compared
163.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Third World Western TW cities are more
healthful than their rural hinterlands
Death-control gains
achieved in 20 years Development is
government-led with foreign economic and technical assistance
Early industrial cities were
death traps Fall in mortality rates took
70-80 years Development led by private
capital and entrepreneur class
TW and Western Urbanization Experience compared
173.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Pre-colonial TW Cities
• Existed prior to European-based exploration and discovery in the 15th century
• Unique and indigenous, the city was a product of local initiative to serve local needs utilizing the local environment
• Population density remained low
• Simple and small, performed a few functions and had little spatial differentiation
Phases of TW Urbanization
183.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Pre-colonial TW Cities (continued)
• Economic activities oriented to subsistence needs
• Technology was rudimentary
• No long-distance trading due to self-sufficient economy and underdeveloped transport networks
• No distinct land use assignments; people of all social classes lived and interacted together in relative small space
Phases of TW Urbanization
193.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Begun with the rise of mercantilism; reached maturity with the Industrial Revolution
• A distinctive product of European colonialism
• Colonial urbanization involved dismantling of indigenous technology and implanting European social and cultural values
• TW city served as European colonial outpost
Colonial TW Cities
203.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• TW city as commercial entreport: facilitated export of primary products and import of manufactured goods
• TW city also as industrial hub: for intermediate processing of raw materials destined for the mother country
• Industries developed in turn key fashion from Europe rather than from within
• TW city fostered continued dependence on the west for technology and markets
• Segregation policy imposed by the colonial order gave rise to fragmented land use patterns
Colonial TW Cities (continued)
213.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Emerged after independence or during the post-World War II period
• Control passed on to local elites but colonial influence and legacy lives on
• Increase in population size due to influx of rural migrants
• Increase in commercial and industrial land use due to investments by multi-national corporations
• Coexistence of traditionalism and modernism, wealth and poverty, legal and illegal quarters.
Post-colonial TW Cities
223.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• TW urbanization is often called “false urbanization” because:
– it is driven by demographic forces
– unaccompanied by economic growth
• Two demographic factors causing TW urbanization:
– high natural growth rate due to
– modest decline in birth rates
– steep decline in death rates
– Heavy migration from rural areas to urban centers
Socio-spatial Structuring of the TW City: Impact on the Poor
233.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
1a Rural Crop Zone 1
Rural Family
1b Migrant in Town
Rural CropZone 2
Return visit for seasonal
agricultural needs
The Seasonal Flow
243.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Rural Family
Migrant in TownPermanent return either through
dissatisfaction or upon acquiring family responsibilities in village
or following retirement
Circular Migration
253.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Step or stage migration
Rural Area
Small Urban
Small Urban
Large City
(Time lag, maybe one generation)
The Permanent Flows
263.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Rural Area
Stays with Relative or Friend in Town
Migrant sets up own dwelling
in town
Friend or Relative of First Migrant
Migrant Quarters
Develop in Town
Stays with migrant now
established in Town
Second migrant sets
up own dwelling in
Town
Chain Migration
273.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
“Push Factors”
• Very low rural incomes
• Wars and civil strifes
• Natural calamities
• Difficult access to land
• Labor redundancy due to farm mechanization
• Price of agricultural inputs and outputs manipulated by traders
Causes of Rural-To-Urban Migration
283.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
“Pull Factors”
• Huge urban-rural differentials
• Available better paying jobs in cities
• Better quality urban services and facilities
• Possibility of publicly subsidized goods and services
• Lure of “bright lights”
Causes for Rural-To-Urban Migration
293.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
The Myths
• Louis Wirth’s destruction of “folk societies”
• Oscar Lewis’ “culture of poverty”
• Transitional settlements stereotyped as social aberrations “cancers” that overwhelm an otherwise healthy municipal body
Social Consequences of Rural-To-Urban Migration
303.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
The Realities• Squatter settlements or transitional represent a solution
to the complex problem of urbanization and migration.
• Contrary to Wirth, rural-urban migrants are not anonymous nor alienated; they maintain stronger contacts with their rural folks than with their urban neighbors.
• Contrary to Juppenlatz, residents of transitional settlements display remarkable vigor and ingenuity in improving their living conditions.
• Contrary to Lewis, shanty town residents are upwardly mobile, industrious, savers, and are often more conservative than radical.
Social Consequences of Rural-To-Urban Migration
313.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Squatter settlements perform important functions in the urbanization process
• They provide affordable housing to the lowest income groups.
• They act as reception centers for new migrants assisting them to adopt to urban life.
• They provide a wide variety of employment in marginal and small-scale enterprises.
• They provide accommodation in close proximity to work
• Their social organization provides essential support in times of extreme difficulties.
• They encourage and reward small-scale entrepreneurship in the field of housing.
323.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Migration, coupled with segregationist policy, led to spatial fragmentation of the colonial city. Evidences:
• the center or the colonial city core
• Planned districts of the pre- and post-colonial periods
• The historic city (often pre-industrial)
• Illegal settlements – built on illegally subdivided land
• Slums – both on inner cities and in the peripheries
Spatial Consequences of Rural-To-Urban Migration
333.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Rapid migration leads to rapidly increasing labor force.
• The increased labor force cannot be absorbed in full productive employment.
• Bulk of new manpower is absorbed by small-scale enterprise, personal services and open unemployment.
• Spurts of urban investment trigger more migration to the city.
• Maintenance of a minimal “survival” economy.• Reinforcement of traditional subcultures in the city.• Rise of a coexistent dual economy: the formal and the informal.• Linkage between the formal and informal sectors characterizes
the economy of the TW city.
Economic Impact of Rural-To-Urban Migration
343.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Ease of entry
• Reliance on indigenous resources
• Family ownership of enterprises
• Small scale of operation
• Labor-intensive and adapted technology
• Skills acquired outside formal school system
• Unregulated and competitive markets
Characteristics of the Informal Economy
353.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Difficult entry
• Frequent reliance on overseas resources
• Corporate ownership
• Capital-intensive, often imported technology
• Formally acquired skills, often expatriate
• Protected markets (through tariffs, quotas and licenses)
3.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Characteristics of the Formal Economy
363.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Formal sector firms employ substantial number of casual workers who are paid low wages, without fringe benefits, unprotected by social security.
• Low wage labor produces low cost inputs for the formal sector.
• Informal sector provides cheap goods and services for formal sector workers.
• Informal sector subcontractors to formal sector firms hire children and minors to work in sweatshops.
• Subcontractors to subcontractors do piece work in their own homes at exploitatively low rates.
• Home work creates the “shared space”: activities for living share space with activities for making a living.
Impacts of the Dual Economy on the Poor
373.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Residence
WorkshopKitchen ResidenceT
WorkshopFloor to roof wall
1. Resident-workshop 2. Residence-cum-workshop
TKitchen
R1
W1 W2 R2
Residence
Workshop
3. Residence-linked-workshop 4. Independent workshop
R Residence W Workshop
Source: Chadwick, 1987
Factories in Domestic Premises Types of Workshops (Sit, 1970)
383.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Source: Chadwick , 1987
Spatial Impact of Informal Sector Activities
393.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Premised on the belief that Urban Primacy is undesirable, planning sought to limit urban growth through
• Control of migration
• Positive urbanization and urban development policies
• Regional planning and development
• Urban planning at municipal level
TW Approaches to Urban Planning and Management
403.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Residency permit system
• Development of lagging regions
• Integrated rural development
Measures to Control Migration
413.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Regionalization with identified growth poles for each region
• Industrial location incentives
– infrastructure provision
– tax credits and holidays
Regional Planning Approaches
423.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• National infrastructure development
• Capital cities development
• New towns/satellite towns development
• Promotion of medium-size cities
Positive Urbanization Measures
433.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Master plans for specific sectors and areas
• Urban renewal or revitalization
Municipal Level Urban Planning
443.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Promotes a society that is neither urban nor rural through
– decentralization and development of uninhabited regions
– industrialization of the countryside using small-scale technology
– distribution of equal levels of services and knowledge
Socialist TW Urbanization Policy
463.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
To convert consumer cities to producer cities, through
• Reducing the size of the largest cities
• Promoting self-sufficiency in the urban economy
• Encouraging the growth of small and medium sized towns; creation of new towns
473.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
To make cities self-sufficient in food
• Expansion of the city boundary to incorporate a productive rural hinterland
• Greening of the suburbs by promoting household fruit and vegetable gardens
• Developing peri-urban agriculture and allocation of urban labor to this region
483.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Rationale
• The great majority of poor people cannot afford to purchase housing in the market at a quantity and quality adequate to sustain a decent standard of living.
• The inability to afford housing leads the poor to find unconventional solutions including solutions that are illegal in certain contexts
Housing the Poor in the TW Cities
493.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Many people occupy land without due permit of the owner or due process of subdivision.
• TW housing is distinctive for the variety of building materials used.
• Renting and multiple occupancy are an important aspect of accommodation for the poor.
Features of TW Housing
503.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Criterion 1: Legality of land occupancy• Legal occupants use land in accordance with existing laws on
property rights• Illegal occupants do not have legal title and have violated
subdivision regulations
Criterion 2: Legality of physical characteristics of individual units• Those that meet minimum government standards for building
material, lot size, floor area, etc.• Those that have violated building regulations
Criterion 3: Status of Tenure• Owners with unique or multiple occupancy• Renters with unique or multiple occupancy
Structures of Sub-market for Housing
513.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Occupancy of Land
Physical Characteristics
of Land and Structure
LEGAL ILLEGAL
LEGAL
Owners Renters
A Regular
Housing Market
C Invasion
Housing Market
Owners Renters
ILLEGAL B Slum
Housing Market
D Squatter
Housing Market
Source: Lim, 1987
Structure of Sub-market for Housing
523.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Box A - regular, formal housing market. Land and units owned with title to both, and meets all legal requirements and specifications.
• Box B - slum housing. Units built on legally owned or rented land but which do not meet minimum standards for building.
• Box C - invasion housing. Dwellers occupy land illegally but units conform with physical standards. Some invade land and rent it to tenants as though they were the owners.
• Box D - squatter housing. Housing violates both legality of land occupancy and standards for physical characteristics.
Summary of Housing Sub-markets
533.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Street
Sleeper
Renter in Squatter Market
Owner in Squatter Market
Renter in Invasion
Market
Owner
in Invasion Market
Renter in Regular
Market
Renter in Slum Market
Owner in
Slum Market
Owner in Regular
Market
Source: Lim, 1987
An Example of a Multistep Transition in a Housing Market
543.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
Left on their own, new migrants may follow the multi-step transition model:
• Start as a street sleeper
• Move through different submarkets step by step until becoming an owner of a regular housing unit
• Moves between submarkets take considerable time for most poor people
• Some may not make it at all.
HENCE THE NEED FOR GOVERNMENT HOUSING POLICIES
Residential Options for the Poor
553.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Premised on negative attitudes and policies regarded squatters as outlaws or treated them with benign neglect.
• Demolition and clearance, sometimes with relocation.
• Control of land prices and rents to make it affordable to the poor.
• Settling minimum building and subdivision standards to discourage substandard, unsafe and unhealthy construction.
• Large-scale development restrictions, e.g. green belts, to discourage further migration
• Decentralization of the national population, also to lessen migration to the cities.
Early Publich Policies on Informal Housing
563.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Price control and building standards. Increased housing shortages and raised prices of regular housing units
• Demolition creates social and economic dislocation
• Development controls only transfer the problem to other areas
• Population decentralization without employment opportunities in rural areas is bound to fail.
Negative Impacts of Early Housing Policies
573.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Must be based on the acceptance and support of the long-term reality of informal settlements as a feature of TW urbanization.
• Must acknowledge and emphasize the positive contribution of the informal housing sector to the local economy.
New Policies for Housing the Poor
583.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Make urban utilities and community services available to slum and squatter areas according to priorities set through involvement of stakeholders.
• Give priority to security of tenure.
• Stop slum and squatter area clearance as a waste of people’s resource investment and a net destruction of the living environment.
New Policies for Governments (UN)
593.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Support policies including
– squatter and slum upgrading
– self-help housing
– sites and services provision
– minimum physical standards substantially lowered
• Increase public intervention in land acquisition and development
603.1.2 Urbanization and the Poor: Perspectives from the Third World
• Policies must be based on consumer behavior in the free market
• Warns against policies such as
– unrealistic building and zoning regulations
– slum removal
– public housing
– unfocused systems of subsidy for shelter and infrastructure
Reduction of Public Intervention (World Bank)