Nonfiction

Planet of Slums

Planet of Slums

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  • Create Date：2022-10-29 05:52:03
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Mike Davis
  • ISBN：1784786616
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Summary

According to the United Nations， more than one billion people now live in the slums of the cities of the South。 In this brilliant and ambitious book， Mike Davis explores the future of a radically unequal and explosively unstable urban world。

From the sprawling barricadas of Lima to the garbage hills of Manila， urbanization has been disconnected from industrialization， even economic growth。 Davis portrays a vast humanity warehoused in shantytowns and exiled from the formal world economy。 He argues that the rise of this informal urban proletariat is a wholly original development unforeseen by either classical Marxism or neoliberal theory。

Are the great slums， as a terrified Victorian middle class once imagined， volcanoes waiting to erupt？ Davis provides the first global overview of the diverse religious， ethnic， and political movements competing for the souls of the new urban poor。 He surveys Hindu fundamentalism in Bombay， the Islamist resistance in Casablanca and Cairo， street gangs in Cape Town and San Salvador， Pentecostalism in Kinshasa and Rio de Janeiro， and revolutionary populism in Caracas and La Paz。Planet of Slums ends with a provocative meditation on the “war on terrorism” as an incipient world war between the American empire and the new slum poor。

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Reviews

henrique ，

Adeus Mike ✊

Jim Firestone ，

This is a depressing book。 It’s main thesis is the unrelenting growth of urban slums is unavoidable。 These areas are densely populated regions with few， if any， social services such as clean water， sewers， electricity， education or policing。 These slums are growing steadily as a result of many different forces， but neo-liberal economics as practiced by the IMF and World Bank are top of the list。 As many as 2 billion people worldwide may live in these slums。 Essentially no international developme This is a depressing book。 It’s main thesis is the unrelenting growth of urban slums is unavoidable。 These areas are densely populated regions with few， if any， social services such as clean water， sewers， electricity， education or policing。 These slums are growing steadily as a result of many different forces， but neo-liberal economics as practiced by the IMF and World Bank are top of the list。 As many as 2 billion people worldwide may live in these slums。 Essentially no international development activity has worked on a sustained basis to improve the lot of the people who live there。 The book is mostly a description of these slums and a compendium of data relating to them。 It is mind numbingly thorough and depressing。 This is then compounded by a spirit of defeat and inevitability that pervades the book。 He demonizes all efforts by the rich countries of the “Washington Consensus” but offers absolutely no alternative suggestions。 Most irresponsible。 An important topic that does not get the visibility it deserves， but can’t we at least cover some positive ideas and contributions from around the world？ 。。。more

William Yip ，

Wired For War inspired me to read this book。 The book is an informative and sad read as it deals with extreme poverty mostly in developing countries。 The reduction and even elimination of urban services and infrastructure has resulted in poor sanitation and a lack of toilets and diseases that affect many people in densely populated slums。 People have to live close to active tectonic plates and areas harmful to health such as chemical manufacturing plants。 There is abusive and hazardous child lab Wired For War inspired me to read this book。 The book is an informative and sad read as it deals with extreme poverty mostly in developing countries。 The reduction and even elimination of urban services and infrastructure has resulted in poor sanitation and a lack of toilets and diseases that affect many people in densely populated slums。 People have to live close to active tectonic plates and areas harmful to health such as chemical manufacturing plants。 There is abusive and hazardous child labor conditions with little chance for an education。 The author discussed chilling predictions by the RAND Corporation of intense urban warfare; already， there have been multiple food riots and crime resulting from narcotrafficking。The author tended to place the blame for extreme poverty on the US， the IMF， and the World Bank。 Unfortunately， the local elites and middle class have their role in the misery of slums。 Even after the Europeans left， people maintained the power structures for their own benefits and privileges。 They became slumlords。 They pay for roads and secured gated communities for their own use but neglect urban infrastructure。 They make use of child labor， hire domestic help from poorer countries and treat them harshly， and profit from organ transplants taken from the desperate。 Regardless of race， gender， age， nationality， or whatever characteristic， people will exploit each other and look down upon each other。 。。。more

Paul ，

very depressing， which is fine， but also very repetitive， which is eh

The Coat ，

One may know the world is f***ed up， but sometimes it's good to read something that details many of the large vast awful ways it is so -- and best to get that with some structural analysis that situates the problems well。 Thanks Mike。 One may know the world is f***ed up， but sometimes it's good to read something that details many of the large vast awful ways it is so -- and best to get that with some structural analysis that situates the problems well。 Thanks Mike。 。。。more

Kyle Moxley ，

Mike Davis is amazing。 This book is one of the most eye opening， all encompassing， looks at the biggest issue in the world no one has the gut to look in the eye。

Anonymous Bibliophile ，

Not one of Mike Davis better books。 The constant griping about the evils of capitalism or colonialism as though countries outside of the Democratic West have no ability to solve their own problems。He seems to either not understand or not care that poverty is a fact of life， as is crime or basic predatory human nature。From a selfconfessed communist living in California， I suspect he wrote this book on his Macbook， in a Starbucks drinking an $18 coffee and listening to his Airpods while writing ab Not one of Mike Davis better books。 The constant griping about the evils of capitalism or colonialism as though countries outside of the Democratic West have no ability to solve their own problems。He seems to either not understand or not care that poverty is a fact of life， as is crime or basic predatory human nature。From a selfconfessed communist living in California， I suspect he wrote this book on his Macbook， in a Starbucks drinking an $18 coffee and listening to his Airpods while writing about the need to dismantle capitalist society。Read one of his other works; City of Quartz or Set the Night on Fire。 Both have the occasional snipe that remind you of his political views but are still great reads if you ignore him and enjoy the book。 。。。more

Louisa ，

Kinda a bummer， but interesting read

Mickey Dubs ，

Mike Davis's searing account of the squalor billions of people are condemned to reveals the definitive result of the neoliberal experiment: effulence， not affulence。 Due to the decisions made by corrupt local politicians， NGOs， and international financial organisations， vast swathes of the world have regressed to Victorian standards of urban living。 With millions crammed into slum housing， terrorised by clientelist police forces and surrounded by human sewage - the world is slowly turning into a Mike Davis's searing account of the squalor billions of people are condemned to reveals the definitive result of the neoliberal experiment: effulence， not affulence。 Due to the decisions made by corrupt local politicians， NGOs， and international financial organisations， vast swathes of the world have regressed to Victorian standards of urban living。 With millions crammed into slum housing， terrorised by clientelist police forces and surrounded by human sewage - the world is slowly turning into a giant Romford。 Chilling。 。。。more

Brinda Gurumoorthy ，

Very upsetting outline of how increased urbanization in the global south has led to the explosion of an underclass that lives in informal dwellings and participates in the informal labor market。 Also a lacerating critique of the World Bank， NGOs， and other structures that hollowed out state infrastructure and didn't actually do anything to alleviate poverty。 Good ole neoliberalism Very upsetting outline of how increased urbanization in the global south has led to the explosion of an underclass that lives in informal dwellings and participates in the informal labor market。 Also a lacerating critique of the World Bank， NGOs， and other structures that hollowed out state infrastructure and didn't actually do anything to alleviate poverty。 Good ole neoliberalism 。。。more

Mitchell ，

Nearly unreadable。 Dense。 Info drop upon info drop。 The main points are buried， which is too bad because the main points seem to be worth knowing。 And given the age of the book and the style it was written， it is hard to know what progress or worsening has happened since。 There is a basic assumption that all places are the same enough， or at least equally known to the reader。 Or perhaps the assumption is the reader could just take the names of the slums without the cities or countries or even re Nearly unreadable。 Dense。 Info drop upon info drop。 The main points are buried， which is too bad because the main points seem to be worth knowing。 And given the age of the book and the style it was written， it is hard to know what progress or worsening has happened since。 There is a basic assumption that all places are the same enough， or at least equally known to the reader。 Or perhaps the assumption is the reader could just take the names of the slums without the cities or countries or even regions and just not care。 In the end I made it through this by switching to something else on every chapter。 It is not clear what if anything I will retain。 。。。more

Grant ，

Deeply depressing， but very informative。

Paul ，

It's like reading the first 5 pages of google search results for "slums+marxist"。 Maybe that's how it was researched。 It's like reading the first 5 pages of google search results for "slums+marxist"。 Maybe that's how it was researched。 。。。more

Amy ，

Horrifying！ It demonstrates the economic colonialism developed countries has had over developing countries， and gives thought to the current situation in developed countries with rising cost of living， unemployment or underemployment， the lack of affordable housing and the widening gap between upper-class and working class。

Brenmlaws ，

Brutal exploration of how slums function and have grown to incredible proportions during the neoliberal era。 It is really good and expensive on the reasons for and the functionality of different aspects of slums and extreme poverty in general， but light on theories of change。 Maybe this is a result of decades of defeats。

Aleksandra Jarosz ，

‘Planet of Slums’ by Mike Davis‘Planet of Slums’ is a book written in 2006 by American writer and historian Mike Davis。 The book aims to expose and bring attention to the reality of disadvantaged inhabitants of modern urban world in the Global South。 Davis provides a comprehensive， honest， and critical but also easy to follow for not-specialist reader – overview of ‘the slum-dwelling labouring poor that are truly and radically homeless in the contemporary international economy’ （Davies 2006， p17 ‘Planet of Slums’ by Mike Davis‘Planet of Slums’ is a book written in 2006 by American writer and historian Mike Davis。 The book aims to expose and bring attention to the reality of disadvantaged inhabitants of modern urban world in the Global South。 Davis provides a comprehensive， honest， and critical but also easy to follow for not-specialist reader – overview of ‘the slum-dwelling labouring poor that are truly and radically homeless in the contemporary international economy’ （Davies 2006， p178） and which slum population is ‘currently growing by a staggering 25 million per year’ （p201）。 Davis’ book is a criticism and deception of past and present neoliberal processes of urbanisation that create and deepen disparity between informal urban working class living in the city slums and rich capitalist urban investors and organisations （Davies 2006）。 The book is holistic and in-depth investigation of the Third World cities’ new ‘primary mode of livelihood’ （p178） taking place in modern slums across Africa， Asia， Latin America， the Caribbean， and the Eastern Europe which Davis uses as his case studies。 Davis shows that there is an important difference between 19th/20th century urbanisation in Western cities like Manchester caused by industrialisation where workers followed opportunities to get an employment in manufacturing sector and wage labour and modern urbanisation the Global South which ‘closely resemble Victorian Dublin’ that ‘suffered more from the problems of de-industrialization than industrialization’ （p16）。 Throughout the book， Davis often compares modern slums to the Victorian era where the poorest urban population lived in conditions characterised by ‘overcrowding， poor or informal housing， inadequate access to safe water and sanitation， and insecurity of tenure’ （p23）。First chapters of ‘Planet of Slums’ tell story about historic urbanisation that has been continually developing since the beginning of the 20th century and portray diversity of existent slum settlements and bring attention to struggles that their inhabitants encounter every day。 Davis （2006） examines formal and informal typology of slums that exist both in the cities and on its peripheries where informal settlements are the most striking as they show dramatic everydayness of city slum dwellers （Chapter 2&3）。 Author explains the phenomena of urban homelessness that engage into ‘squatting’ where they ‘occupy no-rent’， ‘low-value urban land’ （p39） - like the example of Mumbai’s pavement-dwelling where more than million people ‘live on sidewalks’ （p36） or poor inhabit ‘shantytowns landscapes with large percentage of self-built， substandard housing’ （p38） – like Cairo’s City of Dead， where poorest live on graveyards （p33）。 Davis brings attention to working-class struggle whose homelessness and even lives have a price in capitalist’s system。 He reports that squatters often are forced to pay ‘bribes to politicians， gangsters or police’ in form of ‘informal rents’ to avoid eviction and arrests or tearing down their tents by authorities （p38-9）。 This is because slum-dwellers are criminalised by the system and very regularly killed by police and right-wing militant groups （Davis 2006）。The strength of Davis’ book lies in the fact that ‘Planet of Slums’ does not simply describe the current crisis of urban informal settlements but provides a full picture of the issue and analysis its causes – capitalism， globalism， postcolonialism， classism and racism on which Davis focuses mainly in the second part of the book。 Davis’ main argument illustrates how the Third World’s biggest megacities have been pushed towards ‘‘overurbanization’ （…） driven by the reproduction of poverty， not by the supply of jobs’ （p16）。 Those processes were linked to harvesting ‘world agrarian crisis’ （ibid） caused by ‘policies of agricultural deregulation and financial discipline enforced by the IMF and World Bank’ which pushed ‘rural labour to urban slums even as cities ceased to be job machines’ （p15）。 Davis talks about ‘the needless destruction of farmland by unnecessary urban overspill’ in the Third World that ‘systematically polluting， urbanizing， and destroying their crucial environmental support systems’ （p134-5） including food and job security。 Davis links it to the Western attempts of making Global South dependent on its liberal market policies and trade through post-colonial ‘soft imperialism’ in the form of ‘the Structural Adjustment Programs （SAPs） imposed upon debtor nations’ （p62）。 Davis states that ‘although some slums have long histories （…） most megaslums have grown up since the 1960s’ （p27）。 He blames it on ‘the minimalist role of national governments in housing supply’ and ‘death of welfarism’ which has been ‘reinforced by current neo-liberal economic orthodoxy as defined by the IMF and the World Bank’ （p62） that championed ‘privatisation of housing supply’ and markets in the Third World （p71）。 The book shows evidence of how this foreign investment into privatisation advantages ‘landowners， foreign investors， elite homeowners， and middle-class commuters’ （p98） and impacts ‘hundreds of thousands， sometimes millions， of poor people - legal tenants as well as squatters - are forcibly evicted from Third World neighbourhoods’ in order to accommodate profitable ‘redevelopments’ （ibid）。 Misplaced population has no choice but live in slums to ‘clung desperately to neighborhoods closer to centrally located jobs and services’ （p99）。 Importantly， the book while paying a lot of attention to class， does not ignore the problem of racism and racial discrimination which is inseparable to the development and functioning of capitalism。 Davis brings attention to the post-colonial racial segregation in slum creation in post-colonial spaces where ‘polarized patterns of land use and population density recapitulate older logics of imperial control and racial dominance’ （p96）。 Among others， he gives example of the case of South Africa where ‘white South Africans and other Europeans’ are put ‘in charge of planning’ what led to segregation of middle class living the developed cities from ‘dusty periphery of poor barrios and musseques’ （p97）。 Alongside race， Davis pays attention to gender and illustrates how the neoliberal urban reconstruction ‘has had a devastating impact on the public provision of healthcare， particularly for women and children’ （p147）。 The book presents feminist rhetoric that condemns SAP adjustments that led to cuts on public spending and thus， decreased ‘reproductive rights of women and gender equity in medicine’ （p149）。 Poor women living in slums face not only issues related to AIDS or increasing infant mortality （ibid） but also are pushed to ‘improvise new livelihoods as pieceworkers， liquor sellers， street vendors， lottery ticket sellers， hairdressers， sewing operators， cleaners， washers， ragpickers， nannies， and prostitutes’ （p159） in the wake of urban deindustrialisation。 To sum up， ‘Planet of Slums’ written by Davis is a holistic and important contribution to the research on the post-industrial urban settlements， housing crisis and neoliberal privatisation policies that produce disadvantaged informal urban working class。 The book strongly links capitalism， racism， and colonial legacies to the urban （under）development and shine a light on the reality of inhabitants of modern urban world in the Global South。Bibliography: Davis， M。 （2006）。 Planet of Slums。 London Verso。 。。。more

severyn ，

So many facts， and a kind of creeping existential despair。

Lo ，

long avec beaucoup d’exemples mais ça reste intéressant

AJ ，

Well， time to fetch the guillotines 🙃

John Verghese ，

a caustic， excoriating critique of neoliberalism。 absolutely essential reading

Julio Pino ，

Damn Mike Davis for stealing my idea！ In FAMILY AND FAVELA: THE REPRODUCTION OF POVERTY IN RIO DE JANEIRO Julio PINO analyzed how industrialization was not the way out of urban poverty but the cause of it。 Industry moves in and out of areas with combine low wages and subhuman housing。 Davis simply shows how this operates on a planetary scale， with the whole earth one giant slum for sucking out capital from the shantytown dwellers and then leaving， usually for another country。 Essential reading， Damn Mike Davis for stealing my idea！ In FAMILY AND FAVELA: THE REPRODUCTION OF POVERTY IN RIO DE JANEIRO Julio PINO analyzed how industrialization was not the way out of urban poverty but the cause of it。 Industry moves in and out of areas with combine low wages and subhuman housing。 Davis simply shows how this operates on a planetary scale， with the whole earth one giant slum for sucking out capital from the shantytown dwellers and then leaving， usually for another country。 Essential reading， yes， but not original thinking。 。。。more

Jeremy ，

Really helpful。 Definitely has a very anti-neoliberal perspective。 Could be seen as sort of ranty screed， but the realities he is speaking of are indeed urgent。

Laxmi ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The author tries to cover the slum scenario in different countries and builds a narrative that covers: how and why do slums come into existence， how they are then fueled to prosper in some cases （only to be eventually destroyed）， what are the major issues people in the slums face and what are the major issues people outside slums face due to their existence around them。While there is quite some data covered in the pages of this concise book on such an important topic， the book does not conclude The author tries to cover the slum scenario in different countries and builds a narrative that covers: how and why do slums come into existence， how they are then fueled to prosper in some cases （only to be eventually destroyed）， what are the major issues people in the slums face and what are the major issues people outside slums face due to their existence around them。While there is quite some data covered in the pages of this concise book on such an important topic， the book does not conclude well and leaves the reader with a feeling of an abrupt end。This book is a good beginner for anyone willing to read about one of the most important issues faced by cities today。 。。。more

Simon Parent ，

I was continually mind blown。 So clear， so direct。 I may be blending some of my impressions of "The Darker Nations"， by Vijay Prashad， with this book， but overall， here's the gist:- Commodification + urban encroachment + environmental destruction push desperate people to seek work in the cities。 - No affordable housing， scant jobs， so people reclaim "free land" on the outskirts of the city （in deserts， garbage dumps， in endangered habitats， in places prone to mudslide， without any infrastructure I was continually mind blown。 So clear， so direct。 I may be blending some of my impressions of "The Darker Nations"， by Vijay Prashad， with this book， but overall， here's the gist:- Commodification + urban encroachment + environmental destruction push desperate people to seek work in the cities。 - No affordable housing， scant jobs， so people reclaim "free land" on the outskirts of the city （in deserts， garbage dumps， in endangered habitats， in places prone to mudslide， without any infrastructure）， and the commute 2-3h to the spot where they can earn a meager survival pittance。 - After years of clearing them up， burning the slums， bulldozing them， sending police， etc。， the state/cities sometimes try to co-opt a part of it， at least to profit from the people， so they recognize the rights of land of some that are now permanently there。 This creates slumlords， embedded in a web of corrupt police officials， that exploit even more the completely downtrodden， becoming advocates of the regime that supported them。 - Corporations move in （or are sprung up by the exploitation shown above）， and benefit from an army of desperate poor WOMEN。 Because women are often more servile （patriarchal culture）， are more easily exploited。 All that while expected to take care of children at home， with kids often alone as a consequence。 In that time， the men are hustling， trying to get hired for the day， fill odd jobs， leading to an over-competition for any craps of job possible， transforming everyone in entrepreneurs making barely enough to survive。 A lot of the world's labor exploit those desperate people， thanks to Neo-Liberal reforms opening up the world to use the cheapest labor internationally。 - IMF loans keep the country locked in this dynamic， forcing them to be export economies of primary goods （as opposed to processing the goods in the country and move up the value added chain）。 The IMF also favor austerity and reforms that keep the market open， even when it goes against the national interests of the country， keeping the corrupt elite in place to administer this。 When countries push back， become more socialist， their democratically elected leaders get killed by the CIA or groups funded/trained by them， ushering dictators and reign of terrors conducive to religious extremism， purges against socialists and social repression + militarization against the citizens。 Actually， many such militaries purchase training and equipment to litterally wage wars against their slum population， since they recognize them as enclaves of power that is harder to control and the source of the despair that has no other alternative than lash out to survive （when the people are not crushed by natural disasters and pollution）。 - Pollution is another point。 The companies that exploit the slums also pollute like there's no tomorrow， because of a mix of government corruption， and a disreguard for the people in the slums， who breathe and drink their environment。 There's a lot of easily treated diseases that kill a lot of kids every year， due to the lack of proper sewer infrastructure， and heavy contamination of waterways， soils and air。 Again， the solution is simple， just need some money spent on equipment and infrastructure。 But "upper class" people in those cities want to keep them out of sight， out of mind， segregated， ignored by services in the hope they go away。 In fact that's a huge reason for the constant attacks against them: international events organized by the rich， who don't want people to see the poor。 But just as the homeless guy does not disappear when you ask the police to remove him from the front of the restaurant， the slum population actually increase， but are pushed to even more desperate and unsafe places。 It's a rat paradise， with no toilets， people needing to relieve themselves in the street， and women that need to wait for nighttime to go （chastity + risk of rape）。 Imagine living there， that this is your life。。。It was an incredible book。 I'll listen to it again。 。。。more

Malia Losa ，

kept using the word neoliberalism。 whose gonna tell my soc prof that i️ don’t know what that means

dianne ，

The title is a tip-off - but before you think I’d rather not。。。 - this is a very readable， fascinating book。 Yes， it’s a tale of greed， human tragedy and depersonalization， hopelessness and death all brought to you courtesy of the neo-liberal policies that were wrought on the world via the Structural Adjustment Programs pushed onto the developing world by the IMF and the World Bank - starting in the 1970s and continuing today despite the fact that they've been a dismal failure。The neo-liberal r The title is a tip-off - but before you think I’d rather not。。。 - this is a very readable， fascinating book。 Yes， it’s a tale of greed， human tragedy and depersonalization， hopelessness and death all brought to you courtesy of the neo-liberal policies that were wrought on the world via the Structural Adjustment Programs pushed onto the developing world by the IMF and the World Bank - starting in the 1970s and continuing today despite the fact that they've been a dismal failure。The neo-liberal restructuring beginning in the 70s has devastated healthcare especially for women and children。 SAPs （structural adjustment programs） - the protocols in which indebted countries surrender their economic independence to the IMF and World Bank - usually require significant cuts in public spending， including health and education spending （but not military spending， of course， as that is the only product the USA still makes）。 In Latin America and the Caribbean， SAP enforced austerity during the 1980s reduced public investment in sanitation and potable water， thus eliminating the infant survival advantage previously enjoyed by poor urban residents。 In Mexico， after a second SAP in 1986 the percentage of live births attended by medical personnel fell from 94% in 1983 to 45% in 1988， maternal mortality soared from 82/100，000 1980， to 150/100，000 in 1988。In Ghana “adjustment” led to an 80% decrease in education and health spending， and the departure of 50% of the nation's doctors。 In thoroughly “SAPed” Nigeria， one out of every three children die before age 5。 Nigeria’s extreme urban poverty increased from 28% in 1980 to 66% in 1996。There is much to learn about even those we might consider “the good guys”。 Clarification of the role of slum oriented NGOs （often of the recipients of philanthropic and international grants） is elucidated by an activist in Mumbai， P。K。 Das:“Their constant effort is to subvert， dis-inform and de-idealize people so as to keep them away from class struggles。 They adopt and propagate the practice of begging favors on sympathetic and humane grounds rather than making the oppressed conscious of their rights。 As a matter of fact these agencies and organizations systematically intervene to oppose the agitational path people take to win their demands。 Their effort is constantly to divert people’s attention from the larger political evils of imperialism to merely local issues and so confuse people in differentiating enemies from friends。”Gita Verma， the author of Slumming India characterizes NGOs as the new middlemen who， with the benediction of foreign philanthropies， usurp the authentic voices of the poor。“She rails against the World Bank paradigm of slum upgrading that accepts slums as eternal realities…” The effects of these neo-liberal policies have devastated women and children， forcing brutal working conditions on children， and placing women in impossible situations of attempted survival: “SAPs cynically exploit the belief that women’s labor-power is almost infinitely elastic in the face of household survival needs。 This is the guilty secret variable in most neoclassical equations of economic adjustment: poor women and their children are expected to lift the weight of Third World debt upon their shoulders。” This book， now 15 years old， describes the cruel inequality then， which has become orders of magnitude worse now*:“Global inequity， as measured by World Bank economists across the entire world population， reached an incredible GINI coefficient level of 0。67 by the end of the （last） century - this is mathematically equivalent to a situation where the poorest two-thirds of the world receive zero income， and the top third receives everything。” Now， it seems we have reached the late-capitalist triage of humanity: “A point of no return is reached when a reserve army waiting to be incorporated into the labour process becomes stigmatized as a permanently redundant mass， an excessive burden that cannot be included now or in the future， in economy and society。” *https://www。theguardian。com/business/。。。 。。。more

Charlie Kruse ，

mike davis doesn't miss， and he's eminently readable。 A great book detailing the many international calculations that cram human beings into less and less livable conditions。 mike davis doesn't miss， and he's eminently readable。 A great book detailing the many international calculations that cram human beings into less and less livable conditions。 。。。more

Mel ，

DNF it was fine。 I have read better books on very similar topics。

Gauri Parab ，

Eye opening and very well researched。 Needs an update though。 A lot has changed in over a decade since this book was written。 Most prominent events being， the 2009 financial crisis， climate change effects and covid-19。

Kiko León ，

Una cosa que me resultó muy interesante de este libro fue el planteamiento de un posible escenario para el futuro cercano en que cada vez más y más ciudades constan de un gran cinturón de miseria donde la gente subsiste como puede， una clase "media" precarizada que trabaja bajo la amenaza de pasar al bando de los desposeídos en cualquier momento， a menudo reprimiendo a éstos y una clase alta cada vez más alejada del resto， blindada。 Es verdad que el panorama es deprimente， pero es una deriva que Una cosa que me resultó muy interesante de este libro fue el planteamiento de un posible escenario para el futuro cercano en que cada vez más y más ciudades constan de un gran cinturón de miseria donde la gente subsiste como puede， una clase "media" precarizada que trabaja bajo la amenaza de pasar al bando de los desposeídos en cualquier momento， a menudo reprimiendo a éstos y una clase alta cada vez más alejada del resto， blindada。 Es verdad que el panorama es deprimente， pero es una deriva que amenaza nuestro futuro。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Planet of Slums

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Planet of Slums&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Planet of Slums&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0