Mike Davis's Slums Summary

The first chapter of planet of slums outlines Mike Davis’s concern for the ever-increasing urban population. His observation also shows that not only have the urban population increased but it has increased faster then expected. In this chapter he argues and shows great concern on the fact that the urban population around the world can and will outgrow the rural population.

According to him, “in 1950 there were 86 cities in the world with a population of one million; today there are 400, and by 2015 there will be at least 550” (Davis, 1). Along with that he also adds that by 2020, the global countryside will reach its maximum population and will begin to diminish. He says that, “Ninety-five percent of this final build out of humanity will occur in the urban areas of developing countries, whose populations will double to nearly 4 billion over the next generation.” (Davis, 2). This includes countries like china, Africa, and Brazil. He also points out that population in slums is still rising. For
He says, “in many cases rural people no longer have to migrate to the city; it migrates to them “(Davis, 9). This can be seen as more of a negative then a positive thing for example in Malaysia, the city moving to the rural towns has a negative impact on Penang fishermen. David explains that “After the fishermen’s homes were cut off from the sea by a new highway, their fishing grounds polluted by urban waste, and neighbouring hillsides deforested to build apartment blocks, they had little choice but to send their daughters into nearby Japanese-owned sweatshop factories.”(Davis, 9). He adds that in Colombo "communities are divided, with the outsiders and insiders unable to build relationships and coherent communities.”(Davis, 11). This shows how the population that were already living in the rural area are not happy with the attempt of combining the two very different lifestyles into a cultural