Myths and Lessons from the Global South

As we consider questions of inclusivity within and across political borders now more than ever, Dr. Nora Libertun de Duren’s lecture at Cornell AAP provided a timely and comprehensive understanding of the socio-spatial inequalities found in slums in cities of the Global South, and presented ideas in favor of more inclusive cities.

Libertun de Duren—a sustainability, social inclusion, and affordable housing expert—explained that informal settlements are closely tied with migration. Slums commonly host people who have migrated not from rural areas, but from other urban areas, often due to violence (i.e. refugees): “When that happens, what you have is an expulsion, and people look to an area not because the area is providing them [with] opportunities in particular […] but because they need to.” She stressed that when people migrate to escape violence, there is little infrastructure or framework to support them, which makes integration more difficult.

Libertun de Duren also addressed myths regarding slums: “It’s not that people cannot afford a housing unit; it’s that they cannot afford a housing unit where they need it.” She argued that it may actually be more cost-efficient to invest in the infrastructure of slums than suburbs. This is explained by the high cost of providing resources to sprawling suburbs, an issue that is inexistent in dense slums. Demonstrated by her lecture, Libertun de Duren does not subscribe to myths relieving the field of planning of responsibility and calls for design solutions to the socio-spatial inequities and injustices in question.