"Forced evictions are incredibly violent and, of course, unconstitutional. And yet, they happen so often in so many of our cities, because the first thing we are taught to forget about poor people is that they are people. We believe that a home is a thing a person absolutely has a right to, unless the person is poor and the home is built a certain way in a certain neighborhood. But there is no single definition of the word "home." After all, what is a slum, besides an organic response to acute housing deficits and income inequality? And what is a shanty, if not a person making a home for themselves against all odds?
Informal settlements are incorrectly named as the problem. In fact, the real problems are the factors that create them, like the entrenchment of poverty, social exclusion, and state failures. Our realities may differ, but our rights don't. The only cities worth building - indeed, the only futures worth dreaming of - are those that include all of us, no matter who we are or how we make homes for ourselves." What I have to Offer from Eliot Rausch on Vimeo. But could I make you understand that falling from atop your precarious perch and breaking a few outgrown bones is better than keeping yourself caged in a world of monotony, no matter how safe it makes you feel? - Rose Clu |
If you know me, you likely know that I love a good TED talk, keynote or thought-provoking article. I've included this page to share some of my favourites, or just those that I think provide interesting perspectives worth considering. I don't necessarily agree with everything being said in all of them, but I think it's important to challenge your thinking and be exposed to different perspectives.
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November 2017
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