Book: Development in Africa’s Informal Settlements: Below the Proletariat
Dr. Angela Pashaya, professor at American University’s School of International Service, launched her new book on February 1st. With over 60% of Africans living in slums, her new book Development in Africa’s Informal Settlements: Below the Proletariat includes ethnography, quantitative and quantitative research centered on the effectiveness of international development programs in African informal settlements (slums). The book also features the voices of slum dwellers and how they view the programs offered. Dr. Pashayan examines the critical thinking disconnect between development professionals and slum dwellers, enabling practitioners, professors, and their students to investigate the gap between the types of development programs offered versus what is most beneficial to reduce extreme poverty in slum communities.
With a sample of 500 residents from Mukuru Slum in Nairobi, Kenya, and 100 development professionals with expertise in poverty reduction in slums, this book sheds light on the similarities and differences between various programs. Most importantly, it provides a theoretical way forward to the critical consciousness necessary for successful poverty reduction.
You can find a copy of the book here.
