October 19, 2007

Squatter Communities aka Bostee

Robert Neuwirth a journalist who has lived in squatter communities in parts of Africa, Brazil, India and Turkey, talks below about how squatter communities develop (or could develop in some cases) into livable towns and then hopefully into cities of the future. First policy rule he outlines: do not evict! Anybody listening in Dhaka shohor?

I dealt with legal rights as a way of dealing with rapid urbanization and the informal economy it brings with it in the "Lungi Post" on UV a few months back. Neuwirth disagrees with De Soto, whom I quoted on that post, on the value of property rights. He states that a guarantee to not evict is the better option, combined with "access to politics" or political rights.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am kind of scared to open the youtube Video. Does it show how to use a squatter toilet?

a said...

Hahahahah! Funny but telling point. And no it doesn't, it's simply a lecture series.