Monday, October 29, 2007

My heart's in Accra - Stewart Brand and thinking about Megacities

My heart's in Accra - Stewart Brand and thinking about Megacities: "Brand argues that squatters care about:
- Security of tenure - they want assurances that they'll own their homes before they improve them
- Location - they want to be near jobs
- Water, sanitation, electricity
- Protection from crime, whether it comes from the police, or from gangs
- Education - it's one of the main reasons to move to cities

They don't care about:
- Housing - they build it themselves
- Phones - everyone's got a mobile phone
- Starvation - people don't starve in cities, while they still do in the countryside
- Medical care - it's available to a much greater extent than it is in rural areas
- Unemployment - Everyone works, though generally in the informal economy: food stalls, internet cafes, mobile phone booths, bars, hairdressers, churches, tailors, copy shops [...]"

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