Ruth’s Sociology Resources Blog

Today’s issue of BBC Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed was discussing slum-dwelling and poverty.  Interviewing Mike Davies and Patrick Wakely, Laurie Taylor examines the growth of slums and some of the issues around living conditions such as access to clean water.

There is also some discussion of the power struggles around slums that are tied up with issues such as water supplies where the authorities are reluctant to provide any services that might legitimate the existence of the slum-dwellers, and residents are often exploited through the illegitimate sale of land or the sale of water.  There is also a brief discussion of places where slum-dwellers have started to organise themselves in order to attain some rights.