Improving Shanty Towns

1. Improving Shanty Towns A Decision making exercise

2. Aim: To Understand Life in Shanty Towns • To understand how shanty towns develop. • To understand how the people live in shanty towns. • To understand the needs of people in shanty towns. • To understand the possible improvements for shanty towns.

3. A Shanty Town Ariba is a shanty of poor quality, self-built houses on the fringe of a large city in Brazil. As with shanties in many LEDC’s it began as temporary housing, but is becoming more permanent by the day! Most residents came from poor rural areas or country towns, but with few skills of use in urban areas and little savings. Others are young adults from other poor areas of the city setting up their first homes. Unemployment is not an option. They have to do something to survive!

4. What is life like? There is no school in the area. Self-built with cheap or recycled materials In the rainy season it often floods. Infant mortality is very high. Work is often temporary, informal and low paid The population of Ariba is 975 Many illegal activities Poor transport and communications. Only 1 woman and 2 men have a good education There is no electricity or sewage systems.

5. Roads are not paved and are used as refuse dumps. In winter they turn to mud. Poor sanitation so diseases are common Adult Literacy is 32% The stream is very polluted Many shacks are painted Public services like refuse collection do not come into areas that pay no local taxes Almost everybody that has work, works in the informal sector. People keep their shacks tidy Water is obtained from the stream, or from the nearest public tap which is one mile away. There are usually queues here and sometimes there is no water. Often close to industry on marginal, sometimes polluted land