Megacity Slums

Social Exclusion, Space and Urban Policies in Brazil and India

This book looks at slums and social exclusion in the four major megacities of India and Brazil, and analyzes the interrelationships between urban policies and housing and environmental issues. In Delhi, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the challenges they pose have spurred public actors into action through housing, rehabilitation and conservation programs, not to mention civil society and the inhabitants themselves. On the other hand, one must wonder whether these challenges were partly created by the deficiencies of these very public actors and civil society, be it their lack of intervention (as advocates of government intervention would argue), or the flaws and inadequacies of their actions (as supporters of the free market would suggest). Are policies alleviating or aggravating social exclusion? This book explores these questions and more.

Contents:

• Introduction: Social Exclusion, Space and Urban Policies in Brazil and India (Frédéric Landy and Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky)
• National and Urban Contexts of the Four Metropolises (Hervé Théry, Louise Bruno, Véronique Dupont, Frédéric Landy, Ailton Luchiari, Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky and Marie-Hélène Zérah)
• The Right of the City or the Right to the City? (Rafael Soares Gonçalves)
• Public Policies and the “Treatment” of Slums (Véronique Dupont and Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky)
• Public Policies, Environment and Social Exclusion (Neli de Mello-Théry, Louise Bruno, Véronique Dupont, Marie-Hélène Zérah, Benedito Oscar Correia, Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky and Wagner Ribeiro)
• Local and Translocal Systems of Actors (Frédéric Landy and Nicolas Bautès)
• Slum Demolition: Impact on the Affected Families, and Coping Strategies (Véronique Dupont and Damien Vaquier)
• Acting from the Slums: Questioning Social Movement and Resistance (Nicolas Bautès, Véronique Dupont and Frédéric Landy)
• Conclusion: Spatial Justice, Exclusion and Urban Policies in Brazil and India (Frédéric Landy and Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky)

Readership: Readers with an interest in slums (particularly in Brazil and India) and the political, environmental and sociological effects they have in their respective countries.
Key Features:

• The comparison between Brazil and India has never been developed in such a way. First book of its kind to encompass such a wide topic, articulating urban studies with geographical, demographical, sociological, juridical, economic and political perspectives
• Most comparative country or city studies develop monographs without further analysis. The authors have maintained comparative treatment of Indian and Brazilian case studies throughout the book. The volume consists of chapters co-written by several authors and none of them deal with only one city or country, to the benefit of the comparative and synthetic perspectives