1 billion people live in slums
Monday, October 6, 2003 by paxx | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
About a sixth of the world's population - nearly 1 billion people - live in slums, and that number could double by 2030 if developed nations don't reverse course and start giving the issue serious attention, according to a United Nations report. (click here for link)
Not skinning related, but just a little reality check. *sigh*
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Orion
Reply #22 Tuesday, October 7, 2003 9:52 AM
Who gives a rat's behind (besides those that live in the slums)...
Reply #22 Tuesday, October 7, 2003 9:52 AM
| About a sixth of the world's population - nearly 1 billion people - live in slums... |
Who gives a rat's behind (besides those that live in the slums)...
IPlural
Reply #23 Tuesday, October 7, 2003 10:00 AM
Reply #23 Tuesday, October 7, 2003 10:00 AM
Drop 
been there more than once. RF Datacom made our Microwave Heads for us. THough I was always have mindless while there because I was always thinking about the site and what was needed and stuff.
Nice place though
been there more than once. RF Datacom made our Microwave Heads for us. THough I was always have mindless while there because I was always thinking about the site and what was needed and stuff.Nice place though
Aqua.
Reply #24 Tuesday, October 7, 2003 12:22 PM
Reply #24 Tuesday, October 7, 2003 12:22 PM
Question: Is the number of people in slums increasing or decreasing as a percentage of the population?
I believe that's the important question, not the absolute number. The absolute number will always increase due to simple population growth.
On a somewhat morbid note, AIDS should drastically reduce the numbers of those who live in slums within a decade or two. Some countries are closing in on an 80% infection rate
I believe that's the important question, not the absolute number. The absolute number will always increase due to simple population growth.
On a somewhat morbid note, AIDS should drastically reduce the numbers of those who live in slums within a decade or two. Some countries are closing in on an 80% infection rate
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Reply #21 Monday, October 6, 2003 8:38 PM
There really are a lot of people who simply don't care enough about the filth around them to do anything about it. My son doesn't like to clean his room. But we make him clean his room. Hopefully, by the time he grows up, he'll see why it's important to take care of your things and your surrounding environment.
But not all people want to learn that lesson. I've known a LOOOTT of people who simply have no problem living in their own garbage. Sure, they'll let someone else clean it up for them but otherwise...
For example, even before the Marshall plan went into effect, Europe, particularly western Europe (and ironically especially Germany for some reason) managed to get their services back in order. It wasn't the US army doing it, the civilians simply got together and cleaned things up.
I am not suggesting that all people who live in slums are lazy or non-industrious. What I am, however, suggesting is that we're applying a sort of cultural relativism. We're defining "slum" based on our rich western civilization terms. What we call a slum today would have been a paradise 200 years ago. It was only 200 years ago that raw sewage flowed thorugh the streets of Paris (even the nicer areas).
It was only 200 years ago that thousands and thousands of people died of Cholera and other "diseases of the slum".
There is no magic bullet here. You can't spend your way out of it. The societies in question will have to do the work themselves. There is no short cuts going from an agrarian society to a industrial one from a cultural point of view. And frankly, as I said, a lot of people in the world, even here in the west, simply don't care enough to do anything themselves.