Megacities : The Politics of Urban Exclusion and Violence in the Global South

This book examines the massive urbanization of the world's population. All around the world "Megacities" are becoming scenes of vast deprivation, especially in the global south. In such gigantic and dense social environments, complex sets of relationships link poverty and exclusion to urban politics, power relations and public policy. In these cities, local urban politics and policy-making is the strategic prey of violent actors. The urban poor are confronted with the challenge of dealing with their inevitable encounters with violence. Megacities examines recent world-wide trends in poverty and social exclusion, urban violence and politics, and links these to the challenges faced by policy-makers and practitioners in "megacities" across the globe. Cover ......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 About the editors......Page 2 Figures and tables......Page 7 Figure 1.1 Grey areas of urban exclusion and contestation......Page 29 Figure 4.1 Map of dangerous locations......Page 86 Figure 7.1 Evolution of the membership renewal rate of the Participatory Budgeting Council......Page 145 Final considerations......Page 146 Figure 9.1 National employment by economic sector, 1946–2006......Page 170 Figure 9.2 Changing proportion of primary, secondary and tertiary jobs in South Africa, 1946–2006......Page 172 Figure 9.3 The urban population by race, 1921–2001......Page 173 Figure 9.4 Total urban versus rural population, 1921–2001......Page 175 Figure 9.5 Urban/rural trends in the black population, 1920–2000......Page 176 Figure 9.6 Urban/rural trends in the African population, 1921–2001 ......Page 177 Table 7.1 Distribution of total available tax revenue in Brazil, after transfers......Page 134 Table 9.1 Typology of settlements showing urban dominance, 2008......Page 165 Table 9.2 The changing labour force......Page 171 Table 9.3 The growing significance of the three major city regions, 1921–2001......Page 174 Acknowledgements......Page 8 About the authors......Page 9 Introduction......Page 10 1 | The rise of megacities and the urbanization of informality, exclusion and violence......Page 17 Megacities......Page 18 Patterns of urbanization: the forerunner case of Latin America......Page 20 The shifting debate on poverty, inequality and social exclusion in megacities......Page 24 The ‘grey zones’ of urban exclusion......Page 28 Livelihood, mobilization, violence......Page 31 Notes......Page 35 PART ONE: The social dynamics of exclusion and violence in megacities......Page 36 2 | From popular movements to drug gangs to militias: an anatomy of violence in Rio de Janeiro......Page 38 How violent?......Page 39 Slums of hope......Page 40 Slums of despair......Page 41 Police violence......Page 44 Police corruption and violence......Page 47 Recent attempts at reform (and their violent consequences)......Page 49 Marginality and violence......Page 54 Notes......Page 56 The ‘Marvellous City’ as a violent city......Page 61 The police: the violent face of the state in the favelas......Page 62 Ten interacting factors of violence......Page 64 The vicious cycle of violence and its consequences......Page 71 Notes......Page 76 4 | Coping with urban violence: state and community responses to crime and insecurity in Guayaquil, Ecuador......Page 78 Background issues......Page 79 Violence and insecurity in Indio Guayas contextualized in the broader urban environment......Page 80 The state’s response to drugs and violence in Guayaquil......Page 84 Increasing levels of violence and insecurity in Indio Guayas......Page 85 Example of a violent incident in Indio Guayas and the community’s response......Page 88 Concluding comments......Page 89 Notes......Page 90 Urban ‘activism’ in the Middle East......Page 91 Urban mass protests......Page 93 Trade unionism......Page 95 Community activism......Page 96 Islamist movements and social development......Page 99 The politics of the NGOs......Page 103 Quiet encroachment......Page 106 Conclusions......Page 109 Notes......Page 111 PART TWO: Political and policy dimensions of urban exclusion and violence......Page 114 The creative potential of cities......Page 116 The ambiguity of urban governance......Page 119 The destructive power of urban violence......Page 124 Conclusion......Page 127 Bare citizenship as a neoliberal dystopia......Page 129 Urban governance, citizenship and participatory budgeting......Page 131 From the Third Wave to the Third Way: the emergence of decentralization and participatory governance in Brazil (1989–2007)......Page 133 The battle over participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre......Page 135 Notes......Page 148 ‘Mini-Venices’......Page 150 Fragile states and the violent city......Page 152 Post-9/11 and state fragility......Page 154 Human security: the people at the centre......Page 156 Box 8.1 Practices of peace-building in post-conflict scenarios......Page 157 Security and poverty......Page 159 Notes......Page 160 9 | Urban exclusion and the (false) assumptions of spatial policy reform in South Africa......Page 162 The spatial impasse of the developmental state in South Africa......Page 163 Notes......Page 178 Livelihood......Page 180 Mobilization and participation......Page 182 Violence......Page 183 Political and policy implications......Page 184 Bibliography......Page 187 Index......Page 204 The Rise Of Megacities And The Urbanization Of Informality, Exclusion And Violence / Dirk Kruijt And Kees Koonings -- From Popular Movements To Drug Gangs To Militias : An Anatomy Of Violence In Rio De Janeiro / Robert Gay -- Megacity's Violence And Its Consequences In Rio De Janeiro / Janice Perlman -- Coping With Urban Violence : State And Community Responses To Crime And Insecurity In Guayaquil, Ecuador / Caroline Moser -- Middle Eastern Megacities : Social Exclusion, Popular Movements And The Quiet Encroachment Of The Urban Poor / Asef Bayat -- Urban Governance And The Paradox Of Conflict / Jo Beall -- Shoot The Citizen, Save The Customer : Participatory Budgeting And Bare Citizenship In Porto Alegre, Brazil / Sérgio Baierle -- Crisis Of The State, Violence In The City / Mariano Aguirre -- Urban Exclusion And The (false) Assumptions Of Spatial Policy Reform In South Africa / Susan Parnell And Owen Crankshaw -- Conclusions : Governing Exclusion And Violence In Megacities / Kees Koonings And Dirk Kruijt. Edited By Kees Koonings And Dirk Kruijt. The Chapters Of This Book Were Originally Presented As Draft Papers At The Conference 'the Politics Of Urban Poverty, Exclusion And Violence: Comparative Analysis And Policy Insights,' Organized In The Hague On 27 And 28 September 2007--p. Vii. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 178-194) And Index. "The twenty-first century is set to be the stage for the massive urbanization of the world's population. Particularly, the so-called 'megacities' around the world are rapidly becoming the scene for deprivation and exclusion, especially in what has come to be called the 'global south'. In such large-scale yet concentrated social environments, a complex set of relationships links poverty and exclusion to urban politics, power relations and public policy. Violent actors look for power in strategies that seek access to urban politics and policy-making. The urban poor are confronted with the challenge of charting pathways in their 'encounters with violence'. Local politicians, administrators, grass roots leaders and NGO officials are faced with the puzzle of how to restore effective non-violent institutions, legitimate governance and citizen security. Featuring case studies from across the globe, Megacities examines recent world-wide trends in poverty and social exclusion, urban violence and politics, and links these to the challenges faced by policy-makers and practitioners."--Publisher description. For the first time in history, the majority of the world's population lives in cities, the result of a rapid process of urbanization that started in the second half of the twentieth century.'Megacities'around the world are rapidly becoming the scene for deprivation, especially in the global South, and the urban excluded face the brunt of what in many cases seems like low-intensity warfare.Featuring case studies from across the globe, including Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Megacities examines recent worldwide trends in poverty and social exclusion, urban violence and politics, and links these to the challenges faced by policy-makers and practitioners.