11.902 Independent Study on Slums and Informal Settlements

Faculty Advisor

Prof. Ceasar McDowell

Class Members

Joaquin Benitez

Daniela Cocco Beltrame

Neha Doshi

Andrea Grimaldi

Mario Goetz

Karenna Groff

Mora Orensanz

Suresh Subramanian

Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Department of Urban Studies and Planning

Report on Design and Implementation

1. Introduction

This course explores slums and informal settlements.  It critically examines the concept of informality in the context of human rights, policy, and environment.  It establishes informality as resulting from systematic exclusion, and considers the implications for residents of informal settlements and cities at a larger scale.  It applies these insights to generate recommendations for a framework of integration and development.

This independent study arose from the shared interest of a group of students towards informal settlements and was therefore designed as the opportunity to deepen our knowledge about slums from different perspectives. 

In light of our interests, and as a way of leveraging the academic environment at MIT, guest speakers were invited to speak about their work and spark discussions. 

To start with, the team had an open discussion on its requirements, following the basis of guidelines from our advisor.

The requirements we agreed upon during the kick-off session were the following.

  1. Class participation

  2. Shared management roles:

    1. Before class: handling lecturer relationships, share readings/logistic details with class. 

    2. In class: setup, chairperson, note-taking, picture-taking, board note-taker

    3. After class: Upload notes and pictures to the common folder.

  3. Individual office hours session with Advisor

  4. Embedded reporting collective assignment

  5. Final written assignment

This class is taken for-credit and is worth 12 units.

After the coronavirus epidemic hit, the class modified its deliverables to match the challenges and opportunities of the context. The only significant modification was the nature of final deliverable number five (5). Instead of presenting individual and atomized written assignments, the entire class came together to create a choral piece around COVID-19 preparedness and needs in informal settlements across the global south. Our aim was to contribute to bridge theory and practice between high-level, overarching guidelines from renowned global organizations, with practical challenges on the ground.

2. Implementation

Topics

The leading team identified an initial list of potential topics to include in the course. These were shared with all of the interested participants and a final topic list was created. Each topic would potentially occupy a full class session and guide discussions.

Screen Shot 2021-04-14 at 12.56.20 AM.png

Schedule

Based on the topics, a tentative schedule of classes and possible guest speakers was designed to cover most of the sessions throughout the semester. This included a diverse list of professors, both from MIT and other Universities, and representatives from organizations involved with slums and informal settlements. The diverse backgrounds of invited speakers were in concordance with the initial list of topics.

Additionally, student presentations and workshops sessions were included as midterm and final instances of the course. 

Different members of the team voluntarily assumed the responsibility of contacting the list of possible guest speakers to invite them to share their work with the class. Considering the final list of guests who would be able to join each class, the following schedule was finalized. 

Each session lasted 2 hours. Though this time generally provided enough time for the lecture and discussion or questions, we would suggest a bit more time to extend discussion and have a margin for “house-keeping” and organization after the session.

Screen Shot 2021-04-14 at 12.59.41 AM.png

Roles, Responsibilities, and Management

Considering this is a self-organized course and collectively built, it was important to share roles and responsibilities. To do so, the team divided organized tasks in order to split the workload and gain as much as possible from the richness of each session. These roles included: sending an email before class with information about the session, readings, etc.; managing the set up for the class including a remote video call if necessary; note-taking and picture-taking during class and uploading to shared folder; chairing the class; managing the relationship with the lecturers, including sending an invitation using an email template and sharing logistics details once they agree to participate.

The team used a Google Drive folder to share notes, pictures taken during each session and working documents that would allow us to collectively shape the path of the class and develop the final deliverables (syllabu, report and other documents).

3. Sessions

Session 1 - Introduction & Historical Account

Prof. Bish Sanyal (MIT)

Date: Thursday Feb 6th

For the kick-off session of our course, we had Prof Bish Sanyal give a 90 minute lecture on the history of slums and informal settlements from a socio-economic perspective, including an overview of development efforts to date. 

Note: The session extended beyond the 2 hour mark. We did not have the time to make a proper introductions activity, and we also had to rush through a series of administrative and 'housekeeping' issues, such as completing the Independent Study Form and going through the course for the students who are not on the organizing team.

Communications: For this session, we sent out an email to all MCP students who had filled out the google form indicating they were interested in this Independent Study. We told them that if they wanted to register already, they should use the course number given to us for this class (11.902) and indicate the number of units for the course (12). We also informed that, until we all had Stellar access, we would share readings through emails.

Session 2 - Slums in Media

Ezra Glenn (MIT)

Date: Thursday Feb 13th, 2-4 pm

For this session Ezra Glenn prepared a class that covered roughly 1.5 hours. It included lively debate. We then continued to discuss Slum depiction in the media through student selected pieces.

Note: During this session the issue of naming and conceptualization came up. While we did not fully address it during class, we did notice a need to include a discussion on it soon. This led the organizing team to propose a session topic change for Feb 20th, to allow for this matter to surface. Kate Mytty, who was scheduled for that date, was kind enough to re-schede. Additionally, there was not enough time to show the clips gathered by students but the links were shared for the whole class to have access.

Communications: 

Before this session, we asked students to:

Additionally, we included the following prompt:

  • “Please think of a film/series/TVshow/book/ad/song that somehow addresses slums and settlements. We will share title and synopsis, and, if available, you can also select a 1-2 min clip to share. Just send the link to dcocco@mit.edu before class.”

Session A (Ad-Hoc) - Perspectives from the ground: SDI

Dr. Beth Chitekwe-Biti (SDI HQ South Africa)

Date: Wednesday Feb 19th

This Ad-Hoc session was held in room 9-451 from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The skype call started at 9 am.

We had Dr. Beth Chitekwe-Biti, Managing Director of Slum Dwellers International.

Note: After the session, a couple of students stayed for a few minutes discussing reflections on the session and, in general, ad-hoc modality. Our initial comments prompted a working document on suggestions. We also agreed on sending out a feedback form after 3 or 4 sessions to gather opinions from students.

Communications: In preparation for the session, students were asked to familiarize themselves with SDI's website (http://knowyourcity.info/)​ and take a look at two reports and a paper (included in the working syllabus). Unfortunately they were sent the day before, on a very short notice. However, students were able to read them.

Session 3 - Naming and conceptualization of slums

Student-led 

Date: Thursday Feb 20th

From the session ‘Slum depiction on media’, we agreed on the importance of having a discussion on the naming and conceptualization of slums as soon as possible. Therefore, the class decided to try to reschedule the original session for this date (with Kate Mitty) so that we could devote it entirely to addressing this issue.

In the first 45 minutes of the session we introduced ourselves and shared both our interests in taking the course and our own experiences on the subject-matter and/or any topic. Then we spent the remaining 1.15 hours discussing conceptualization issues based on the two elements we had asked from the class.

Note: The discussion went beyond our finishing time, as usual. The overall feeling was that the session was necessary, useful and timely. We agreed on the importance of having another session without lecturers later on in the semester, as ongoing reflection on the issues and the class itself.

Communications: To prepare for discussion we asked students to (a) share readings on the matter and (b) complete a google form.

Session 4 - Climate change, vulnerability, resilience as it relates to informal settlements

Prof. Ronak Patel (Harvard Med School, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative).

Date: Thursday Feb 27th

From this session we had a video call with Prof Ronak Patel.  The discussion was fruitful, with high engagement and questions from students.

One of the notions discussed was that of 'complexity', which resonated with the experience of several students. There were also comments on the importance of understanding the work in the humanitarian-development nexus, as well as questions on the challenges to conduct research engaging with diverse communities across the globe.

Communications: To prepare for discussion Prof Patel asked us to go over the following resources related to climate change, vulnerability, and resilience in informal settlements: 


Session 5 - Governance, institutions and informal settlements

PhD Candidate Benjamin Bradlow (Brown University)

Date: Thursday Mar 5th

This session was led by PhD Candidate Benjamin Bradlow (Brown University). He posed some introductory questions to kickstart discussion, and then presented his research in Sao Paolo and Johannesburg. The discussion was lively, with high engagement and questions from students, who also brought examples from their realities and contexts.

Note: Dealing with the notion of informality as a site of critical analysis, a student commented "if we had had this session earlier, perhaps our course would not be structured as it is" referring to having structured topic-based sessions.

Communications: To prepare for discussion Ben asked us to read the paper below, challenging the dichotomy between informality and formality, and revealing the intimate linkages and utilitarian strategies across power groups within settlements as more than outcomes or typologies, but as sites of critical analysis. 

Nicola Banks, Melanie Lombard & Diana Mitlin (2020). “Urban Informality as a Site of Critical Analysis.” The Journal of Development Studies, 56:2, 223-238, DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2019.1577384.

Session 6 - Law

Prof Balakrishnan Rajagopal

Date: Thursday Mar 12th

For this session, Professor Balakrishnan Rajangopal shared a roughly 1 hour lecture through a video call, in which he elaborated on the responsibilities and initiatives forwarded through his new appointment as UN Special Rapporteur. 

Major themes included the conception of housing as a human right- not just the right to shelter, but to the security and platform for a livelihood connoted by a home, as well as the application of these ideas on an international scale, and through specific case studies in Kenya. The talk also illuminated the interconnections between the fight for housing justice and other aspects of a free, accessible society, noting how both advocates and residents depended on similar guarantees, which could be provided to a greater or lesser extent by international bodies such as the UN.

Communications: To prepare for discussion Prof Balakrishnan Rajangopal asked us to read four very interesting readings covering topics such as housing, evictions, human rights and social justice in the context of informal settlements. Readings are listed in the syllabus.

Session 7 - Last in-person meeting

Students only

Date: Thursday Mar 19th

In light of the imminent transition from in-person meetings to remote lessons due to Covid-19, the class met one last time to share a mid-term evaluation of the course, and chart a path forward. It was agreed that we would maintain the same schedule and hours. Different team members were responsible for reaching out to each guest speaker to inform the changes and organize each Zoom meeting.

Session 8 - Methodologies: Mapping Data for informality 

Prof. Sarah Williams

Date: Thursday April 2nd

For this session, Professor Sarah Williams prepared a lecture with slides that contained work related to informality. The work that she shared referred to the Matatus case in Nairobi. This project collected data on the “Minibus Taxi Service” in Nairobi and showed the power of visualizing such data of this complex and fundamental system that serves the city. Sarah shared the challenges of collecting data from and informal activity. Sarah explained that the tool developed was both for the government and the residents.

Questions related to the power and consequences of visualizing data of informal activities came up. Also, students questioned the relationship between this informal transportation service and informal settlements: Does the system serve informal settlements? What percentage of users live in informal settlements? Additionally, questions about the engagement with the community, drivers and government actors led the final discussion. 

Note: The class reflected on the importance of differentiating informal settlements from informality as a topic of analysis. 

This session started earlier so that Daniela Cocco Beltrame, one of the students and member of the organizing team, could share her work in Zimbabwe related to mapping informal settlements. The work shared was mostly developed by SDI.

Session 9 - Informal Economies and Markets

Kate Mytty & guests

Date: Thursday April 9th

For this session, Kate Mytty shared her work related to informal economies and settlements. She addressed the importance of infrastructure and systems, space and design, and policies that shape informal economies.

Kate Mytty invited Michael Ndiweni, the director of BVTA (Bulawayo Vendors & Traders Association) to speak about their fight for vending and trading rights and permits. Michael talked about the challenges that the community constantly faces in order to protect their livelihoods. 

This was a very interesting and fruitful session with questions about political structures and power dynamics shaping informal economies. 

Note: Kate Mytty suggested we read reports from WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing), a global network focused on securing livelihoods for the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy.

Communications: This class did not have a preparatory prompt sent out.

Session 10 - Informality and the State

Prof. Javier Auyero (UT Austin)

Date: Thursday April 16th

For this session, Professor Javier Auyero was invited to speak about his work around vulnerable populations and policing.

Auyero did not lecture nor did he prepare a presentation, instead he preferred to welcome questions and reflect as a group on the current challenges of informal settlements and COVID-19. Rich questions from students and solid relaxions from Auyero took over the full two hours of the session. Discussions ranged from challenging traditional methodologies and community engagement processes to understanding social and political power dynamics that perpetuate violence.

Communications: Professor Auyero had previously sent his full book titled “The Ambivalent State” (2019), which develops a political sociology of violence and highlights the large scale clandestine networks of police, judges, and politicians that structure daily life in most vulnerable urban areas and perpetuate violence.

Session 11 - Informal Settlements and the International Cooperation Field: Development Outcomes Evaluation

Prof. Gabriella Carolini

Date: Thursday April 23th

For this session, Professor Carolini presented for about an hour, centered mostly on her most recent work evaluating equity in settlement upgrading projects sponsored by international organizations. Alongside the historical context of upgrading projects in cities such as Maputo in Mozambique, she explored broader questions in the efficacy of such multi-layered upgrading projects. Her concept of “turbidity” in such efforts provided a framework within which to evaluate how interventions in certain cases would be ultimately best left to local or national authorities, or whether international influence provided a continuity that aided project goals. 

Questions related to the internal structures of the organizations and local authorities tasked with carrying out the projects, and the extent to which these relationships materially affected outcomes. The response was yes, and further discussion expanded on the applicability of substantiating through case studies the need for more scrutiny on these relational levels between institutions, toward a larger embracing of new frontiers of epistemology on how to understand the ethical and practical limits of upgrading projects led by national and international initiatives.

Note: Professor Carolini had to leave after about an hour and a half, and discussion continued among students, further fleshing out the necessity for internal analyses of projects.

Communications: Professor Carolini was kind enough to share three chapters of her forthcoming book on infrastructure upgrading projects in Maputo, which she requested we refrain from sharing. A fourth reading was an account of earlier attempts at planning and implementing systems in the 1980s in Maputo, highlighting the changes and continuities of upgrading approaches:

Saevfors, Ingemar (1986, Saevfors, 1984). “Maxaquene: A comprehensive account of the first urban upgrading experience in the new Mozambique.” UNESCO: Human settlements and socio-cultural environments.

Session 12 - Build Environment in Informal Settlements

Prof. Reinhart Goethert

Date: Thursday April 30th

For this session, Professor Reinhart Goethert shared a rich lecture that took almost the full two-hour session.  He mainly focused on the issues around the built environment, focusing on housing and land tenure. Main aspects of this class revolved around the benefits and challenges of incremental housing plans in informal settlements. Approaches such as Site and Services were also debated during the class. Professor Goethert showed case studies from Latin America, mostly from Peru, and Egypt. Interestingly, he pointed out the blurred limits between certain informal and formal areas of the same city.

Questions from students addressed the challenges of incremental housing for collective housing and political and financial structures that allow or support such developments. Since the lecture took up much of class time, there was not as much space for questions or discussion as in other sessions.

Communications: Professor Goethert had previously sent two readings which students had the chance to read before the session. Additionally, Professor Goethert was kind and generous enough to send us physical material of his own work, including booklets and digital information.

Session B (ad hoc) - Development, migration, and COVID-19 in India

Prof. Sai Balakrishnan (Harvard GSD)

Date: Thursday May 14th

Professor Sai Balakrishnan agreed to join us for an informal conversation. She is currently in India, reason why we changed the time of the class to fit her time zone. During the conversation we spoke at length about India’s current development model, the inequalities that exist between regions that motivate internal migration, and how these migrants, who mostly work for the informal sector, have been affected by the lockdown measures implemented by the government to deal with COVID-19.

Questions from students addressed the existing challenges of employment in the informal labor market, also the historic regional inequalities in India, and the impact of electoral politics in promoting participatory planning.

Communications: Professor Sai Balakrishnan shared with us an unpublished article she has been writing on how India’s COVID-19 lockdown has affected internal migrants.

4. Final Remarks

The process of creating and managing this class, under Prof McDowell’s guidance, was a fulfilling and enriching one. As a class/team we shared a double learning experience. On the one hand, we developed a better understanding of slums and informal settlements across the Global South, engaging in meaningful debates with renowned academics and practitioners in the field. On the other hand, we also “learned while doing” in terms of managing a class, relationships with lecturers and peers, and creating a project proposal out of the results of this experience.

As aforementioned, the coronavirus pandemic changed the path of the course and the output. Topics shifted to include the new context, making the course all the more relevant as regards current issues in slums and informal settlements. Lecturers were flexible and considerate to share their expertise, while at the same time allowing for reflection given the uncertain scenario.

As the class drew to a close, an opportunity emerged to extend our work into the summer term, through funding from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. The team was eager to engage and developed a proposal to continue building on the work done for this course.

During the summer, the team will work on COVID-19 impact in informal settlements. This project is aimed at contributing to bridge theory and practice between high-level, overarching guidelines from renowned global organizations, with practical challenges on the ground in informal settlements. This project will also be guided by Professor Caesar McDowell and carried out during Summer 2020.