Rethinking Slums ~ Towards Inclusive Upgrading

Thanks to Africa Unchained's Emeka Okafor for Reframing 'Slums' and pointing to Bombastic Elements and spotting this piece by Stretch Ledford on Ajelogo: After the Bulldozers in Lagos...

"Since 1997, Funmilayo Omotosho lived and worked in a market in Ajelogo, a neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria. For reasons it has not made public, the Lagos State Government ordered that the Ajelogo market be destroyed during the early morning hours of March 7, 2010. More than 10,000 residents and vendors were displaced. With her business, home, and community in ruins, and with nowhere else to go, Fumilayo still lives in Ajelogo, amidst the ruins of her home and business."

Destroying markets seems like the very last thing one should do in order to improve peoples lives. What the hell is going on here? And here's a similar situation in Mumbai's Dharavi... And in Nairobi's Kibera...