Slums Urban Living « Prospect Magazine

“Sixty million people in the developing world are leaving the countryside every year. The squatter cities that have emerged can teach us much about future urban living…

“It was a community, Calthorpe decided, because it was walkable.“

Article continues..”The magic of squatter cities is that they are improved steadily and gradually by their residents. To a planner’s eye, these cities look chaotic. I trained as a biologist and to my eye, they look organic. Squatter cities are also unexpectedly green. They have maximum density—1m people per square mile in some areas of Mumbai—and have minimum energy and material use. People get around by foot, bicycle, rickshaw, or the universal shared taxi.”

via Slums Urban Living « Prospect Magazine.