Tag Archives : slums

Phnom Penh has been developing at breakneck speed. Infrastructure dots the capital. The result of this property boom is the sad and sorry reality that the city’s poor are being displaced at an alarming rate. ‘Activists are calling it the largest epidemic of evictions since the Khmer Rouge emptied all of Phnom Penh in 1975.’ The government [...]

Since the adoption in October 2008 of its strategic plan on climate change and development, the World Bank has worked exceptionally hard to become a major player in climate issues. After being convinced that the climate change battle will be won in the cities, the World Bank is amending its preparedness strategy and position. The new World Bank strategy [...]

Rubina Ali, the 9-year old actress who played the young Latika in Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, will soon publish her autobiography under UK’s Transworld Publishers and Random House Children’s Books. Both publishing houses are divisions of Random House Group Ltd. Her book will detail her impoverished childhood, as well as her recently [...]

Riachuelo Basin is home to more than 5 million people. Most of them are immigrants or children of immigrants who came from the provinces in search of work. 75 percent of this population suffers from a disease related to pollution. Nitrates affect children resulting in an illness that is a deadly type of cyanosis or ‘blue baby syndrome.’ For starters, [...]

To me, it seemed that the filmmakers behind Slumdog Millionaire started out with the concept of the great pipe dream via a contest where millions of cash are at stake. The word ‘millionaire’ just has to be in the very title of the game show that will be used. Since drama is all about conflict, they looked for the juxtaposition of millions and found [...]

Poverty in the countryside makes people flock to urban areas. The glitz, glamour, and bright lights of the city attract poor people to urban destinations as if they were the guiding star. Millions of people flock to cities every week. In developing nations, populations are expected to triple over the next 30 years. Most of these will naturally want [...]