He echoes development specialists and slum dwellers themselves in arguing that slums have assets along with their obvious shortcomings. Their humming economic activity and proximity to city centers represent big advantages over the subsistence farming that many slum dwellers have fled. Numerous observers have noted the enterprising spirit of these places, evident not only in their countless tiny businesses, but also in the constant upgrading and expansion of homes. Longstanding slum communities tend to be much more tightknit than many prosperous parts of the developed world, where neighbors hardly know one another. Indeed, slums embody many of the principles frequently invoked by urban planners: They are walkable, high-density, and mixed-use, meaning that housing and commerce mingle. Consider too that the buildings are often made of materials that would otherwise be piling up in landfills, and slums are by some measures exceptionally ecologically friendly. Some countries have begun trying to mitigate the problems with slums rather than eliminate the slums themselves. Cable cars are being installed as transit in a few Latin American shantytowns, and some municipal governments have struck arrangements with squatters to connect them with electricity and sanitation services.
And there are thinkers who take the idea a step further, arguing that slums should prompt the rest of us to reconsider our own cities. While the idea of emulating slums may seem absurd, a number of planners and environmentalists say that we would do well to incorporate their promising elements. One architect, Teddy Cruz, has taken the shantytowns of Tijuana as inspiration for his own designs; he is currently working on a development in Hudson, N.Y., that draws on their organically formed density.
Vale la pena leerlo enterito porque analiza el fenómeno con bastante profundidad. Más allá del lirismo al que soy ciertamente proclive, cada vez rescato más la idea de "comunidad" como elemento fundamental en la vida de nuestras ciudades. El anonimato de cualquier edificio de departamentos de Buenos Aires contrasta fuertemente con la alegre promiscuidad de los pueblos más chicos o las señoras que aún hoy sacan su silla a la vereda en algunos suburbios porteños. Hace siglos imaginé el proyecto "capitanes de cuadra" con la idea de generar "presidencias" rotativas entre vecinos aledaños para solucionar problemas comunes y fomentar la solidaridad (el proyecto fue víctima de mi vagancia). Mucho más tarde, la experiencia de San Telmo Limpia me demostró que vale la pena descorrer ese velo invisible para entrar en contacto con las personas que comparten intereses y geografía.
Como bien dice el artículo, las villas en sí mismas no pueden ser un modelo de desarrollo sustentable pero muchos de los elementos presentes en dichos asentamientos son sumamente valiosos y debieran ser preservados a la hora de plantear cualquier solución urbanística.
