week 8 journal. Davis, Planet of Slums.Baile-Funk watch the documentary Favela on Blast

Do NGOs help slum residents? Is there a negative side to improvements NGOs might make to slums?
NGO’s have done a good job at organizing the community and bringing forth local leadership. Their work opens up opportunities for change in the local politics and management of the slum community. A negative side to this is in how some NGO’s may miss the fact that slum dwellers have their own systems and organizations, NGO’s need to realize that the people of the slum have their own struggles and challenges which need pragmatic solutions.
“Illusions of Self-Help”, In Chapter 4, , Mike Davis depicts the activities of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund—two establishments that tried to "empower" poor people (Davis 71).
Davis makes the case that the World Bank looked to reinforce the "limit with respect to self improvement" (Davis 72) of people living in underdeveloped nations, instead of meaning to improve the economies of these countries. By building up that few people could make it out of destitution, the World Bank persuaded a significant number of the world's natives to accept that Western countries had no commitment to offer considerable guide or change.
Does land titling, as advocated by De Soto, help slum residents?
In chapter 4 of the book, the issue of land titling is addressed, and how these are affected by global forces. Titles accompany incredible advantages, for example, casting a ballot, beneficial charges, an indication of steadiness and riches. Even with these systems in check, the poor couldn't get to them or bear the cost of land.
For the lucky ones, they are able to assert ownership of the land that they own. However, in the bigger picture, the hierarchy within the slums exploit the poorest of the poor. The people who belong at the bottom of the social class are forced to rent space from the new land owners. This causes much more negative than positive. Non-Government Organization are profoundly applauded and regarded for their effect on underdeveloped nations. However, corrupt practices steps in with the slum areas when NGO’s do half-completed projects and the worldwide loan specialist contributors controlling how NGOs utilize their financial support.
What story or statistic about landownership in the slums stood out to you the most and what does it tell us about the landlord-tenant relationship in the slums?
The statistic that struck me the most involves the case of authority and violence. The people who live in the slums have their own way of enacting out justice, according to their own perspective. Many landlords assert their power through the use of physical force.
There is a hidden Imperialistic agenda on this issue - on the grounds that the government and world bank still control the underdeveloped nations capital even in the wake of being to advised to work with NGOs They neglect to understand that their ma...