Informal settlement is not a euphemism for slum: Whats at stake beyond the language?

Abstract

Everybody knows that the phrase informal settlement is a widely used euphemism for slum, avoiding a word that can be seen to cast a stigma on neighbourhoods of the urban poor. Yet we have also long known that informal settlement is a verb-identifying self-organised modes of production through which the urban poor produce affordable housing and urban infrastructure. Here we argue four key points. First, the distinction between slums and informal settlement is evident in UN-Habitat data that suggests that informal settlement has rapidly expanded while slums have not. Second, informality is a paradoxical condition that can be identified with the illegality, insecurity and inferiority of the slu..