Editing Slum clearance

{{Short description|Removal or destruction of slums}}
[[File:Dublin slum clearance circa 1900.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dublin slum]] clearance circa 1900]]
'''Slum clearance''', '''slum eviction''' or '''slum removal''' is an [[urban renewal]] strategy used to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; for example, [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|slum clearance plans were required in the United Kingdom]] in the [[Housing Act 1930]], while the [[Housing Act of 1937|Housing Acts of 1937]] and [[Housing Act of 1949|1949]] encouraged similar [[Slum clearance in the United States|clearance strategies in the United States]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=William J. |last1=Collins |first2=Katharine L. |last2=Shester |year=2013 |title=Slum Clearance and Urban Renewal in the United States |journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=239–73 |doi=10.1257/app.5.1.239 |s2cid=128788351 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=LaVoice |first=Jessica |date=2024 |title=The long-run implications of slum clearance: A neighborhood analysis |journal=Journal of Public Economics |volume=236 |doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105153 |issn=0047-2727|doi-access=free }}</ref> Frequently, but not always, these programs are paired with public housing or other assistance programs for the displaced communities.

==Reasons==
The concept of urban renewal and slum clearance as a method for social reform emerged in [[England]] as a reaction to the increasingly cramped and unsanitary conditions of the urban poor in the rapidly industrializing cities of the 19th century. The agenda that emerged was a progressive doctrine that assumed better housing conditions would reform residents morally and economically. Another style of reform, imposed by the state for reasons of aesthetics and efficiency, could be said to have begun in 1853, with the recruitment of [[Baron Haussmann]] by [[Napoleon III]] for the [[Haussmann's renovation of Paris|redevelopment of Paris]].

Slum clearance is still practiced today in a number of different situations. During major international events like conferences and sporting competitions, governments have been known to forcefully clear low-income housing areas as a strategy to impress international visitors and reduce the visibility of the host cities' apparent poverty.<ref>{{cite journal|last=J.|first=Greene, Solomon|date=2014-01-01|title=Staged Cities: Mega-events, Slum Clearance, and Global Capital|url=http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/yhrdlj/vol6/iss1/6/|journal=Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal|volume=6|issue=1|issn=1548-2596}}</ref> Other attempts at slum clearance have occurred due to other motivations, such as repressing political opposition or attempting to keep certain communities in check.

==Consequences==
Critics argue that slum removal by force tends to ignore the social problems that cause slums. Poor families who may fall below the income threshold to afford low-income housing replacements, often families including children and working adults, need a place to live when adequate low-income housing is too expensive for them. Moreover, slums are frequently sites of informal economies that provide jobs, services, and livelihoods not otherwise available in the community. Urbanologists Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava argue that many aspects of slums, namely the decentralized, mixed-use, tight-knit urban environment, are assets worth nurturing. Arguing that Slum upgrading (economic integration, infrastructure assistance) is partially responsible for the rapid economic success of Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Echanove |first1=Matias |last2=Srivastava |first2=Rahul |date=8 January 2013|title=When Tokyo Was a Slum |url=https://nextcity.org/informalcity/entry/when-tokyo-was-a-slum |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=[[Next City]]}}</ref> Slum clearance removes the slum, but neglecting the needs of the community or its people, does not remove the causes that create and maintain the slum.<ref>Stephen K. Mayo, Stephen Malpezzi and David J. Gross, Shelter Strategies for the Urban Poor in Developing Countries, The World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Jul., 1986), pages 183–203</ref><ref>William Mangin, Latin American Squatter Settlements: A Problem and a Solution, Latin American Research Review, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer, 1967), pages 65–98</ref> 

Similarly, plans to remove slums in several non-Western contexts have proven ineffective without sufficient housing and other support for the displaced communities. Academics describe such strategies as detrimental in Nigeria, where the slum destruction puts further stress on already short housing stock, in some cases creating new slums in other parts of the community.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sule|first=R. A. Olu|title=Recent slum clearance exercise in Lagos (Nigeria): victims or beneficiaries? |journal=GeoJournal|language=en|volume=22|issue=1|pages=81–91|doi=10.1007/BF02428541|issn=0343-2521|year=1990|bibcode=1990GeoJo..22...81O |s2cid=189888208}}</ref> Zimbabwe's [[Operation Murambatsvina]] was widely criticized by the international community, including a scathing report from the UN which noted human rights abuses alongside poor design of the program, which was estimated to displace at least 700,000 slum dwellers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6683619.stm|title=Zimbabwe slum evictions 'a crime'|date=2007-05-23|newspaper=BBC|access-date=2016-08-03}}</ref>

==Alternatives==
Some communities have opted for [[slum upgrading]] as an alternative solution: improving the quality of services and infrastructure to match the community developed in the slum.

==See also==
* [[Slum clearance in India]]
* [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Slum clearance in the United States]]
* [[Slum clearance in South Africa]]
* [[Operation Murambatsvina]], a Zimbabwean slum clearance program

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Slum clearance| ]]
[[Category:Squatting]]

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