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One Planet: What slums can teach us

Factual: Science & Nature

What slums can teach us

19/08/2011

BBC World Service - One Planet, What slums can teach us

The world's slums are booming - so what can they teach us about enterprise and community?

One billion people now live in slums - and the number continues to rise rapidly.

These unplanned, sprawling neighbourhoods quickly take root in cities and then boom in size. 

For a special two-part series on One Planet, Paul Mason is sent into one of the biggest slums in the world, Manila's Estero de San Miguel, to find out what slums can teach us about capitalism and community. 

In part one, Paul meets some of the millions who live in the slum, and then heads into the countryside to find out what's luring people to these makeshift towns. 

Next week, he takes a helicopter ride with the lady charged with cleaning up parts of the Estero de San Miguel, and meets the residents ready to resist the clearance. 

Plus we hear why the UN now believes city planners must embrace slums. 

As ever, tune in, have a listen and then let us know what you think, email the team at oneplanet@bbc.com, or join us on Facebook, the link's below.

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