Rethinking slums

There are many names for slums all over the world: favela, bidonville, ashwaiyyat, or shantytown. But author Doug Saunders has coined another name for them: "arrival cities". He describes these areas as places of optimism. One third of the world's population is currently moving from rural to urban Areas, and Saunders sees that as a positive. For him, urbanization means progress.

12 million people live in Brazil's countless slums. In terms of population numbers, that's almost as many people as those who live in neighboring countries Bolivia and Uruguay combined. Rather than being outside of the main cities, the so-called favelas are often located right in the middle - on the slopes next to the trendy neighborhoods and rich residential areas, like here in Rio de Janeiro.

The favelas of Rio de Janeiro are known for their problems with violence and drugs. And yet there are many people who would prefer to live here than in a rural village. Upward social mobility can only happen in cities, says author and journalist Doug Saunders. He regards slums not as a final destination, but as the chance for a better life - and possibly as a stopover in life.

People who migrate from the countryside and into cities, often move into the cheapest neighborhoods they can find. Still, Doug Saunders doesn't see These new arrivals as having failed: Here, they can finally start to actively shape their futures. In 2011, Saunders caused an international sensation with his book "Arrival City". Never before had slums been viewed from such a positive perspective.

It is in these arrival cities where most migrants take part in economic life for the first time. Many find work in the center of the city, while others open their own small businesses - and begin their climb up the social ladder. In many slums, there is a booming economy. There are internet and cell phone network providers, a real estate markets and often the possibility to take out loans.

Migrants to cities are ambitious, driven and highly motivated, writes Doug Saunders. Those who manage to move up the social ladder leave the arrival city, and move further into the metropolis. This can lead to a paradox, says Saunders: the more residents that manage the jump, the poorer the slums seem to become at first. Poorer newcomers take over the slum area and start to shape it all over.

But for all its optimism, living conditions in slums often remain grim, like here in the South African township of Diepsloot outside Johannesburg. Many people have no electricity, no running water, and no sewage system. The only ones benefitting from these conditions appear to be family members, who have stayed behind in remote villages: they often receive money from their relatives in the city.

What motivates People to keep living in these arrival cities despite the terrible conditions? Doug Saunders writes: "If you ask them: 'why don't you go back to the countryside?' they answer: 'If things go badly for me in the slum, I have to send my children out onto the streets to sell cigarettes. But when they are bad in the countryside, my children starve."

Doug Saunders has visited 25 slums on five continents. But when he writes about humanity's biggest migration - from rural to urban settings - he renounces the typical gloom-and-doom scenarios. Saunders stressed that living in the countryside remains the leading cause of death - it means malnutrition, high infant mortality, poor medical care, and a shorter life expectancy in general.

Arrival cities are densely built to facilitate the creation of tight social networks. It's important that migrants are able to acquire property and that they are allowed long-term residency or (double) citizenship. They must be able to work, otherwise it could lead to social problems. Doug Saunders says that under the right circumstances, success can therefore be planned.

By the end of the 21st century, three quarters of the world's population will be living in cities. Slums need "schools that everybody wants to send their children to, in which migrant children have to compete with middle class children,” writes Saunders. A move to the city should ensure a better future for the children. Many parents take these living conditions into account when making the move.

It is not only the poorest of the poor that live in slums. Over time, a middle class is also emerging. Poorer areas sometimes even become a magnet for people living in overpopulated cities. This is how trendy neighborhoods in cities like New York and London have developed. These so-called arrival cities may one day welcome migrants not only from the countryside, but also from the city center.