
Contents
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Defining Slums Defining Slums
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Ignoring the Problem Ignoring the Problem
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Reasons to Act Reasons to Act
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Getting Rid of the Problem Getting Rid of the Problem
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Fixing up the Slums Fixing up the Slums
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The Growing State The Growing State
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The Diffusion of Democracy The Diffusion of Democracy
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The Rise of Homeownership The Rise of Homeownership
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Conclusion Conclusion
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Notes Notes
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Bibliography Bibliography
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13 Slums: Neglect, Clear, or Improve?
Get accessRichard Harris is an Emeritus Professor of urban geography at McMaster University, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and past-president of the Urban History Association (2017–2018). He has written about the history of housing, housing policy and finance, neighborhoods, and suburbs in Canada, the United States, and British colonies. His most recent work is How Cities Matter. He is currently writing a history of Canadian neighborhoods, 1880s–2020s.
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Published:16 August 2023
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Abstract
This global historical survey considers how governments have dealt with slums. The term “slum” is used broadly, to denote low-income and often stigmatized areas that contain substandard or illegal housing, overcrowding, insecure tenure, and unhealthy living conditions, while lacking basic services. Faced with such conditions, a government has three options: It can ignore them, hoping the problem will go away of its own accord. It can flatten them, hoping they will not reappear elsewhere. Or it can work to make them better. Which option is chosen depends in large part on governmental resources, but also the balance of local power. Over the past century, clearance has been discredited and has declined, but is still employed. Improvement (upgrading) has become relatively more common. The reasons are complex but include the growth of the state, the diffusion of democracy, and the rise in urban homeownership.
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