Rough Draft

Penalo-1

Joel Penalo

World Geography

Ms. Natalie Jaeger

30^th October, 2011

Slums: A Social and Global Problem

                All around the world, wherever one goes, there is bound to be a slum. Slums are places; especially in largely populated cities with poor housing, security and high crime rates. Slums usually have their problems, in fact a lot of them. The reason why people live in slums is because they were seeking a better life and because of poverty. Not only do slums have an effect on people inside of them; then again they have an effect on people outside of them. The vision of slums and the concept of them create international philanthropic causes. First of all, seeking and starting a new life.

                One of the reasons why many people live in slums is because they wanted a better, newer and more refined life. Many people in slums were entrepreneurs who left their village due to extreme poverty and bad life conditions. According to Elisabeth Eaves “The vast majority moved to the city seeking better economic prospects”. In fact people who moved to slums did not hope to have a better life; they expected to have a better life. Next; the second reason why people live in slums is due to poverty.

                The second reason why people live in slums is due to poverty. The poor housing and security are effects of this poverty. According to Sheri Fink for PRI “A jumble of rusted roofs stretches to the

Penalo-2

horizon”. The quote shown shows the poor quality of the housing in the Kiberia slum. This is yet again another reason why people live in slums. Finally, the effect slums have on people outside of them.

                Slums do not only affect the people living in them, but bring social awareness outside of them. All over the world there are campaigns to help poor communities around the world, especially in slums. To this day there are still actions being developed to reduce the poverty radius around the earth. According to Nils Blythe for BBC News “…specialists argue that more needs need to be done to divert investments towards impoverished areas”. This shows that there are plans still in development for improving slums.

                Looking at the information above, one can conclude that slum life is not really a good thing. The poor housing and low security make for a bad habitat. Then again, these things can be improvised by the help of philanthropic causes around the globe. Think about it; how much better would slum life be if the world population pitched in together to fix this. Small efforts make all the difference.

Penalo-3

Works Cited

Ø  “World Geography: Understanding a Changing World” World Geography: Understanding a                          Changing World. N.p, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.         http://worldgeography.abcclio.com/search/Display/1095691/?terms=slums.

Ø  Blythe Nils “BBC News| Business| Mumbai’s Slum Life Poses World Problem”. BBC News-Home.              N.p, 26 Feb. 2008. Web, 26 Oct.          2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7265333.stm.

Ø  Fink, Sheri “Cities of the Poor: Life in the Slums (Kenya)”. Public Radio International: The World.                N.p, 18 Dec. 2006. Web 26 Oct. 2011. http://www.theworld.org/node/6669.