Slumming It

Expect to hear the word "poorism" in the future, as modern travelers flock to the developing world's slums and shantytowns, which could soon house one-third of humanity. Author Robert Neuwirth, who lived in and studied these settlements for two years, calls them the "cities of tomorrow."

The proliferation of "slum tours"—part of a growing trend dubbed "poorism" by some—could signal a new interest in learning how people live inside the many favelas, barrios or shantytowns around the planet. Journalist Robert Neuwirth, author of "Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World," argues that these communities might be the "cities of tomorrow." Neuwirth spoke with NEWSWEEK'S Ana Elena Azpurua about these settlements and his experience living in Rocinha (Rio de Janeiro), Kibera (Nairobi), Sanjay Gandhi Nagar (Mumbai) and Sultanbeylu (Istanbul).

What prompted you to leave New York to live for two years in different shantytowns around the world?

Robert Neuwirth: In aggregate, squatters are the largest builders of housing on the planet. They are more important for the future of the world than any developer or any government. To me, as a reporter, that's a story.

Why do you think these communities are the "cities of tomorrow"?

No one is building for these people, so they build for themselves. They create urban neighborhoods that, when they have the stability to stay for a while, are every bit as good as the urban neighborhoods in the legal city. In many countries in the world, like parts of Asia and Africa, squatters are a majority in the city.

But the quality of life is far from ideal in these communities.

I believe that these neighborhoods are the neighborhoods of the future. That doesn't mean that they have to stay without public services. It means that we have to find a way of bringing public services into these communities.

How do you think governments or outsiders can help them?

If you go talk with the squatters, they'll tell you, "We want water, we want electricity, and we are willing to pay for it." It is not a question of lack of resources, it is a question of governments not wanting to invest the time and energy and perhaps the money they are diverting for other things. It is not a difficult thing to do. We have the technology to bring water to a community. It is called water pipes, and it is used all over the world.

In your book you mentioned that people have an animosity toward these communities of squatters. Why do you think this is the case?

I'm not sure why. Some of it is based on disinformation. Once I was in the center of Rio de Janeiro at night and I took a taxi back to Rocinha because at that point the buses were not running. It was right around New Year, and everywhere in the city people were lighting fireworks, but my taxi driver thought it was gunfire just because we were in Rocinha. The image of the squatter community that is perpetuated is one of lawless people who shoot guns every day.

What else perpetuates that image?

There is also a lack of knowledge and economic opportunity. No one really engages these communities, so they don't really know who these people are. The economic system conspires to keep them that way. For example, in India people consider the squatters criminals, but they hire them to cook, to drive their cars, to pick up their kids at school, to raise their kids, to clean their houses. How can you have it both ways? Hiring these people at incredibly low wages to do all these household tasks for you but, when they amass, you deride them as criminals.

What was the most important lesson you got from living in these settlements?

The first thing is that squatters are not different from anyone else. They desire to be part of civil society. They want to work with the government, receive concrete benefits and improve their communities. They love their communities. The second lesson is that if we want them to get better and improve, we have to work with the people that are living in these neighborhoods.

What do you think of the "slum tours"?

I have mixed feelings. On one hand I understand the impulse. It is commendable that people want to see the reality of the country they are visiting. On the other hand, I do feel like driving through in a jeep as if somehow you were on a wild animal safari is overdoing it. It is not the way you should meet people. At a personal level, it was very funny that I would be eating lunch at a restaurant in Rocinha and the jeep tour would come through. I thought that if these people taking photographs only knew that the kid they are photographing in the pizza place is from Brooklyn, N.Y., it would break their image of what these communities are like.

What would be a better way to get to know these communities?

If you are staying in a hotel and you get to talk with the staff, you might find that the staff person says, "Why don't you come and visit me, if you are interested?" That seems to me a more legitimate way to go into these communities. You'd probably end up learning more because you really visit a person, rather than just driving through in a large four-wheel vehicle.

Did you at some point feel like you had become an insider?

Oh, yeah. People were amazingly welcoming. Now, I'll be honest, part of that feeling is false, because I'm not a squatter and I could always leave. I had the ability to keep one foot in both worlds, and I was always very conscious of that. But I was welcomed completely into every community, and that transcended language, economics and race.

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