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Avo
Pr
oiding
P
reser
g the D
Figu
La
PR620 P
rving
DisplacComm
ure 1: Slum dwPhoto court
aura Ca
Preserv
Spri
g the
cemenmuniti
wellers in Mutesy of Nenad
asas Fo
vation
ing 20
“Slu
nt of Imies.
umbia, India.d Zuza.
ortuño
Colloq
12
ums”
mpove
quium
erishe
ed
2
Table of Contents
I. Introduction 4
What is a “Slum”? 6
Goals in Preserving “Slums” 10
Problem Statement 10
II. Literature Review 12
Values in Preservation 12
Pressures of Tourism 17
The Myth of the “Slum” 19
The Effects of Slum Clearance 22
III. Case Studies 23
La Perla – San Juan, Puerto Rico 23
Pom Mahakan - Bangkok, Thailand 39
Soweto East – Kibera Slum, Kenya. 41
IV. Evaluative Criteria 45
Stakeholders 46
Criteria 48
3
V. Alternatives
Global: 49
Local : 50
VI. Evaluating Alternatives
Global 52
Local 54
VII. Conclusion 55
VIII. Bibliography 56-61
4
A group of young Indian boys are playing cricket on what appears to
be an airport tarmac. The boy’s cloths are tattered, and only some have
proper shoes. It becomes apparent that they are some of the most
impoverished youth in the world. One of the boys forcefully hits the ball
towards Jamal, the main character in this story. As Jamal struggles to catch
the ball, an airplane takes off appearing to glide closely above their heads.
Suddenly, police officers appear scolding the children and chasing them on
their motorbikes. The boys take off, running through piles of trash,
scattering into different direction, as they have done a million times. Jamal,
our protagonist, and his brother continue on through the pile of trash until
they reach a wall. The trash is stacked so high that they can easily jump
onto the corrugated roofs of the settlement next door. They jump off the
roof and the pursuit continues through narrow corridors filled with trash,
flanked by shacks made out of a variety of materials such as concrete, scrap
metal and wood. The journey takes them running on sewage pipes of a
contaminated river, where local woman are doing laundry. Finally, the
boys are caught by their mother, who promptly dismisses the officer. This
is the first scene depicting Jamal’s childhood in the 2008 film Slum Dog
Millionaire, a chronicle about a young man who grew up in the Dharavi slum
of Mumbai, India. In the film Jamal, goes on to win the Indian version of
Who Wants to be a Millionaire. This scene is first thing that comes to mind
when asked to define a slum. It is great illustration of what is wrong, but
also what is right in popular cultures portrayal of slums.
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8
nostalgia. In contrast, figure four is an example of a place that defines the
word slum today. It depicts one of Brazil’s infamous slums or favela. With
its layers of colorful concrete-block houses containing corrugated metal
roofs, it’s a big departure from the architecturally rich Gas House District.
Yet both of these images have and still define the word slum. If the word
slum does not mean a particular place, or behavior, then what does it really
describe? One of the portions of the Webster definition is lack of social
organization, but in reality no community can exist without it. Slums, just
like other communities have hierarchies and networks that are integral to
their existence. In addition, the only parts of Webster’s definition that offer
truth are density, neglect and poverty. Slums generally suffer from all three
of these symptoms no matter how architecturally rich society deems them.
They tend to be over crowded, due to low paying jobs and lack of affordable
housing. In addition, they suffer from neglect because those who live there
cannot afford improvements themselves, and the government does not
provide it. Most importantly slums are the homes of the urban poor,
although the level of poverty fluctuates from place to place.
Still, the concept of the slum is a very complicated subject. The birth
of a slum can occur to two very distinct ways. The first type is seen in
countries that are economically developed and are considered of the 1st
world. These slums are created by the fluctuation of taste and lifestyle
choices of the rich and middle classes. Neighborhoods that were once
popular to live in are abandoned and over time become housing for the
9
poor. Because the poor do not have the economic means to maintain the
housing stock, they fall to disrepair. An example of this kind of slum is the
Gas House District in New York City. While the living conditions of those in
the district was not to the standard of the time, it certainly was better most
slums. The second type appears in developing countries and describes the
majority of slums in the world. These are informal settlements that lack
urban plan and are constructed out of basic materials. They tend to lack
infrastructure and range from having illegal connections to electricity and
plumbing, to none at all. They are truly primitive in design as their main
purpose is to provide shelter. Within this second type there are
subcategories, of those settlements that are primarily filled with squatters,
or people who illegally settle in lands that do not belong to them, and
settlements of people who actually rent, or own the land. Yet, a slum can
still stratal the line of both major categories. A prime example of this is
that of the nineteenth century Pre-Law Tenements in New York City. They
were legally planned buildings in which people lived in conditions equal to
those of the informal settlements today.
Finally the word slum has a heap of associative words that one could
only begin to list. For the sake of this study we are only going to recognize
some of these words such as; caserio, barrio, shanty, favela, ghetto and
hood. What all these words have in common, is that they are used to
describe a geographic place, in which the lowest social class of a particular
10
society lives. This lowest class is usually bonded to poverty, because of lack
of formal education as well as economic opportunities.
What do we mean by “Preserving the Slums”? The idea of preserving a
slum is quite controversial, as slums are seen by outsiders as places people
should strive to escape and not keep. However, what is missed is the rich
community that develops in a slum, which has distinct customs and
traditions that deserve to be respected. This community is integral to the
survival of the indivual and should not be dismissed so easily. Yet, what
should we or should not we preserve about a slum? We cannot expect to
have the ability of preserving the physical fabric of all slums, especially
those in which people live in the worst conditions. In addition we should
not preserve the aspects of slum dwellers lives, which cause harm, such as
participation in organized crime and lack of formal education. Nevertheless
what we should preserve is the community within the slum. By preserving
the community we in turn preserve the corresponding heritage. It is
important that by trying to improve the lives of those in living in slum, we
preserve the community and the aspects that they consider important.
In 2005, it was estimated that 1 billion people worldwide were living
in slums; this was around a third of earth’s population. Due to rapid
urbanization in developing countries this amount is projected to double by
2030. (New Internationalist 2006) Governments are at odds with how to deal
with the growing slums and in turn displacement and demolition seems
eminent. In addition there is a large sector of the non-for-profit
11
organizations and non-governmental organizations that provide immense
amounts of help to slum communities. The urban poor today face eviction
in massive numbers, each year it is estimated that millions of people are
forcefully displaced, including; almost a million in 2000 out of Rainbow
Town in Port Harcourt-Nigeria, in 2004 one hundred and fifty thousand out
of Delhi and seventy seven thousand out of Kolkata in India, and three
hundred thousand people out of their Beijing homes due to the preparations
for the 2008 Olympic games. In the majority of these cases the residents of
these slums where moved to housing projects built a distance away from
their homes. The communities end up splitting up completely, causing
significant harm to the individuals who depend on the network for survival.
The twist to this narrative is the immense cost that governments take in
order to eliminate slums and provide suitable shelter. The cost on average
is ten times more than upgrading. (New Internationalist 2006)
In a combination with the effects of the destruction of the urban
poor’s community as well as their cultural heritage, slum clearance and
displacement is the wrong path for countries to take. With the increasing
number of those living in slums in the future, it is important for countries
to not devalue these communities. Just because they live poverty does not
mean they lack community, one with culture, traditions and although
organized differently than our own, is still just as rich. However, this does
not detract from the importance of improving living conditions of slums.
Instead of displacement we should promote the improvement of slum
12
communities without destroying them. As discussed earlier, slum
communities come in different sizes, shapes and living conditions
worldwide. They also vary from communities of “squatters” and
communities of legal residents. Outside of all the specifics, all these
communities face one common problem; the devaluation of their heritage
which ultimately leads to its destruction.
In the Historic Preservation/Cultural Heritage field, what was initially
protected was the finest our human culture had to give. Examples of what
was preserved include; the monuments of the ancient world, such the
Pyramids of Giza, the Coliseum and the Parthenon. Also preserved were the
castles, cathedrals and palaces of Europe. Finally in the United States we
fought to save the places associated with great historical figures and
architects. Over the years, the field has expanded beyond the Grand Central
Terminals, especially in New York City, reaching as far as the residences and
workplaces of the impoverished working class. The idea of preserving
beyond Architecture to heritage that is intangible is now at the forefront of
the field. But what happens when the culture is separated from the place?
When the architecture behind an important cultural value is in turn
devalued and the residents displaced? Surely we as a society have come to
value the importance of the working class poor historically, but what about
today? What about communities that have survived the different forms of
displacements the twentieth century brought. There seems to be no
quandary in devaluing the history, culture and sense of place a community
13
owns, to serve the greater purpose of economic development. When they
are located near tourism zones, the pressure for removal is increased. By
hiding the poor we do not solve the problem of poverty, and in turn devalue
their culture and destroy the community bond, which is integral to their
survival. This paper will attempt to review the literature related to the
“problem” of the devaluation and destruction of slum communities.
Understanding that this problem is caused by larger socio-economic,
political and historic causes, this paper will focus on following subjects: the
values in the preservation field, the pressures tourism brings to historic
areas, the myth of the “slums” and finally the effects of their clearance.
In 2000 The Getty Conservation Institute published a report
called Values and Heritage Conservation. In that report the authors, Erica
Avrami, Randall Mason and Marta de la Torre analyzed the values of the
field. The report starts by noting that it is values that are fundamental to
the assessments of what to conserve. Often during these decisions, the
what, why and how are made independent from each other. Also stated is
the importance of the contexts in which heritage objects are fixed in. This
context is the “…real source of the meaning of heritage…” (Avrami, Mason
and de la Torre 2000)
The Getty Report continues by emphasizing the importance of
focusing on the “Public Good of Conservation” and states that past research
has not covered this topic at all. In the field today, cultural context
14
increases the pressures and risk factors of conservation. Traditionally the
rubrics in qualifying heritage, albeit constant were concepts like
“masterpieces, intrinsic value and authenticity”. It argues that these
rubrics cannot be fixed within the traditional notions established, because
“culture is a set of processes, and not a collection of things” and that these
objects are selected to be heritage. This selection process, which is assigns
value to the object or place, reflects the community, individual or
institutions intent on what they want to remember about their past. It is
important to understand the why’s and the how’s of heritage conservation,
especially in relation to the whom’s, because so often those decision makers
have private agendas and “greater” interests. (Avrami, Mason and de la
Torre 2000) In relation to historically impoverished communities, often the
decision makers are not within the community and in turn their heritage
could be devalued, misinterpreted or erased. A larger societal structure
could be ashamed of the allowance of poverty, thereby easily dismissing the
culture and heritage of the community.
The report communicates how heritage is preserved in a variety
of ways because of the different motivations, such as economics, culture,
aesthetics, and politics. It confirms that conservation decision making for
cultural significance cannot be left to academia solely. Instead it should be
a negotiation between the different stakeholders that value the resource.
The report identifies the “democratization” of the field in which the
decisions become “complex negotiations”. Most importantly the report
15
recognizes that “local, place- and community bound values” are the key
impulses that drive conservation. (Avrami, Mason and de la Torre 2000) In
this respect, the drive of a slum community to preserve an area they have
existed in for generations is stronger than the economic drives behind a
possible re-development.
In his essay, Stewarding the Past in a Perplexing Present, David
Lowenthal criticized the field of artifact heritage, in which artifacts are
preserved but are no longer part of the culture. He states that it would be
better for future generations if the memories “of traditional creative skills,
institutions in good working order, and habits of resilience in coping with
the vicissitudes of existence” are preserved instead of artifacts that have
lost their functional meaning. According to Lowenthal most people value
their own heritage differently than others, and in turn it contains more
value to them. (Lowenthal 2000) Therefore, the culture and place of a
particular community has utmost value to those within the community.
Since that community is integral to its value, by relocating a community you
destroy it and its heritage.
In Cultural Heritage and Globalization, Lordes Arizpe analyzes
how cultural heritage tends to fall into the “politics of difference”, in which
by dividing cultures according to social constructs, some cultures are often
shielded. According to Arizpe these cultures tend to be treated severely by
the government and society. This severe behavior can amass to the point of
16
“cultural heritage cleansing”, which occurs in order to “forget negative
aspects of the past.” (Arizpe 2000) In the case of historically impoverished
communities “cultural heritage cleansing” can easily occur by displacement
due to a society’s effort to forget or “make right” with past offenses.
Uffe Juul Jensen in his essay Cultural Heritage, Liberal Education, and
Human Flourishing; Values and Heritage Conservation, articulates “It is we
who bestow on ourselves our own cultural heritage.” (Jensen 2000) A point
that is profoundly important in the cultural heritage of all, but especially of
the marginalized, who lack opportunities for cultural preservation. Jensen
goes on to mention the importance of experiences and insights acquired by
these groups, which are essential in conducting holistic heritage
conservation. The author references the instance of the Watts Towers, in
Los Angeles, where the community made the towers a valuable heritage
object, by not destroying them during the LA riots of 1965. (Jensen 2000)
This is a great instance of community action, albeit not with traditional
preservation motives, that conserved an object that they valued.
Instances where culture is deemed “bad” affects the judged values of
place and as well as the culture and heritage of a community. According
Susan Pearce, it is caused by clashes over population and places. (Pearce
2000) Who decides that this culture is “bad”? This clash is related to the
social divisions of class that has evolved in a particular society over time.
While the details vary with the place, this division often is about power and
17
money. Those who are financial sound tend to be in a higher class than
those who are not. Often slum communities suffer from this designation of
“bad” and because they are deemed “bad” their culture and place is easily
dismissed.
According to academia the values of Cultural heritage have not always
been centered on the interest of marginalized communities. The field of
cultural heritage has compartmentalized culture, and often heritage that is
seen as “bad” is excluded and eliminated. The cultural significance of these
communities, especially if they have survived decades of marginalization
and displacement policies, is recognized. Nevertheless so often their
culture is dismissed because of economic interest. It is recognized that the
continuation of the community is integral to its cultural conservation thus
displacement would be catastrophic.
The 2000 The Getty Conservation Institute report, Values and Heritage
Conservation also touches on the subject of tourism. The report covers
dilemmas in the creation, globally, of heritage tourism. These dilemmas are
due to the economic pressures of creating tourism as well as the fast
decisions local governments are forced to make. (Avrami, Mason and de la
Torre 2000) In making tourism the primary goal, so often cultural heritage
that is not valued locally, is eliminated.
In her essay Preserving the Historic Urban Fabric in a Context of Fast-
Paced Change; Values and Heritage Conservation, Mona Serageldin takes
18
into consideration the importance of conservation for the residents of a
community. She expresses the difficulties in the preservation field, where
so often preservation occurs for scholars and tourist rather than the
corresponding community. Consequently, what is preserved fall into three
main categories: monuments, key buildings and archeological sites.
(Serageldin 2000) By “key buildings” she means buildings associated with
religion, government and the elite. This perspective falls perfectly into the
struggled of impoverished communities living within or near a declared
historic district. Because their community does not fall into a category of
what is preserved, it is devalued.
Consideration of Historical Authenticity in Heritage Tourism by Craig
Wiles and Gail Vander Stoep, reports the benefits of collaboration to
effectively develop historic resources. The essay addresses how the
pressures of tourism, such as “providing an engaging and entertaining
experience” often create “inauthentic contexts, stories and experiences at
some sites.” The authors argue that by making heritage a commodity within
the tourism industry tensions are created over use, function and
authenticity. (Wiles and Vander Stoep 2007) These tensions are additional
to the ones that heritage conservation faces alone. The tensions of heritage
tourism for a community that is determined as “bad”, but which still
contains cultural importance, is at conflict with the preservation of that
area. If a local government interest lies with tourism, the mistake of
19
displacing a population can occur. Displacement would be destroying a
community as well as creating a false story for the sake of tourism.
Impoverished communities all over the world are called names such
as favela, shanty, ghetto and barrios. All of these words are associative with
the term slum and each other. They are used destructively and carry
negative connotations and false perceptions. All four mean different things,
but so often are grouped together without a thought on how that may
devalue a community, historically.
In The Victorian Slum: An Enduring Myth? David Ward analyzes the
perceived “myth” of slums, but specifically those that occurred during the
Victorian Era. As discussed earlier, the term slum is a not fixed. It is
universally and incorrectly used to describe the behavior of the poor. But
the poor do not have one set of behaviors and the word slum is really
referring to place. According to the author, since the early nineteenth
century till now, society has presumed the marginalized poor “live a deviant
life either by preference or cultural predisposition, or as a consequence of
their deprivation.” This perspective was often exaggerated by popular
chronicles created to expose the elite to the “unknown, foreign, threatening,
and exciting world of the slums.” What is often not noted, according to
Ward, is that residents of slums often were content with their
neighborhoods and protested displacement. In these neighborhoods,
marginalization created a strong community bound and social networks that
20
“more closely resembled the social life of the traditional and largely rural
world than that of the modern city.” Ward goes on to describe the existence
of social organizations and their importance within the community.
Criminality in a slum organizes itself and is viewed as possible paths to
“economic advancement” when marginalization is limiting. The most
important point Ward makes is that the isolation of the poor causes a
“different style of life” which “is distinctive enough to be described as a
separate culture.” (Ward 1976) This separate culture is not recognized
within the larger society, nor is it valued, but is still culturally and
historically important.
In The Park and The People; A History of Central Park, Roy Rosenzweig
and Elizabeth Blackmar write about the poor working class communities
that were displaced with the construction of Central Park. The book
highlights the decisions behind the park, masked as “democratic rhetoric”,
and being “fundamentally rotted in the interest of New York’s wealthiest
citizens”, who “advocated creating a grand public park in order to promote”
their city’s as well as their own “cosmopolitan stature.” These elites also
had interest to enhance real estate values in the part of Manhattan. The
residents of the lands where Central Park sits were considered “nuisances”
to the wealthy elites, whose goals were to create an ideal neighborhood. In
addition those within the government reference the area as “covered with
shanties and filled with the most degraded of our population.” The authors
continue to tell the story by explaining that most accounts of the citizens
have be
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The greatest harm to a community, displacement, is described
in Mindy Thompson Fullilove’s book Root Shock: How Tearing Up City
Neighborhoods Hurts America, and What We Can Do About It. Fullilove
describes the term of “root shock” as “the traumatic stress reaction to the
destruction of all or part of one’s emotional ecosystem.” The loss of the
community becomes a collective loss. She explains that places such as
buildings and neighborhoods are more than just “brick and mortar” and
shelter, they are places where people live, and have memories and most
importantly feelings. The effects of “root shock” are not so easily treatable,
according to the author, and they often last lifetimes and through
generations. “Root shock” causes people to “undermine trust, increases
anxiety about letting loved ones out of one’s sight, destabilizes
relationships, destroys social, emotional, and financial resources, and
increases the risk for every kind of stress-related disease, from depression
to heart attack. Root shock leaves people chronically cranky, barking a
distinctive croaky complaint that their world was abruptly taken away.” To a
community “root shock” is guilty of breaking bonds and dispersing people.
The author emphasizes that the community is forever lost, even if those
people manage to relocate to the same place. Another important aspect is
that the geography isn’t everything, and even if it is rebuilt, it won’t be
enough to fix what is lost. (Fullilove 2004) This emphasizes the harsh
effects of the displacement of a slum community; it goes beyond the
individual to the larger community and its descendants.
23
The communities that have been chosen for examination in this
paper represent only a fraction of the assortment of slum communities that
exist world-wide. It would take years of scholarship to examine each kind
of “slum” and its corresponding social economic and political strife. For
purposes of this study three very different slums where chosen. One of the
slums will be looked at carefully, while the other two will be analyzed in
relation to the main case study. This primary case is that of La Perla, a
“slum” community that has evolved outside the old city walls of San Juan,
Puerto Rico. This case, the inspiration of this topic, is extremely unique in
its location, history. The second case is of Pom Mahakan community in
Bangkok, Thailand, which is located next to Fort Mahakam, a national
treasure and a canal. Finally, this study will briefly cover Soweta East, part
of the Kibera Slums in Kenya. Soweta East is the first part of a Slum
Removal project, by the Kenyan government, in which the locals are being
relocated to new apartment’s buildings. Both the Pom Makahan and the
Soweta East cases were chosen because of certain relationships to La Perla.
Another reason these cause studies where chosen because they each
represent the three places slum occur most often; Latin America, Asia and
Africa. It is in the differences between the cases that one can find possible
alternatives for La Perla, and as well for slum communities worldwide.
La Perla is a “slum” community that developed, just north of the city
walls in the old city of San Juan, Puerto Rico. San Juan, the second Spanish
settlement on the island, was originally called Puerto Rico. Due to a
cartogr
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24
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25
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The
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26
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(Sepulv
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By
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La Perla.
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27
ital
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1898 to
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The settle
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Figure 1
States inva
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ming rates
thy, could
the north
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Farage 20
1: View northPhoto co
aded the i
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28
ce
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ants
e
29
By 1936 the population had peaked at an alarming five thousand, five
hundred and forty nine people. The slums of Puerto Rico, especially La
Perla, became so infamous that Eleanor Roosevelt came down to see them
herself. La Perla was not the only place where “barrios” formed. Puerto de
Tierra, the area south of the city, between the walls and the piers, was
another large barrio community that formed in the early 19th century. This
community once called Miranda, is described as being populated “by
hundreds of workers who lodged in big poorly ventilated wooden houses,
the living quarters for modern slaves…” These wooden houses were often
rented out to craftsmen and service people who worked inside the walls but
could not afford to live there. (Vivoni Farage 2000) This area now contains
a series of counterfeit buildings filled with chain retail and restaurants.
They serve the purpose of greeting tourist once they disembark the cruise
ships that dock there. Financed by the New Deal, the government of Puerto
Rico, which at this point was still dominated by Americans, began a series
construction programs with attempting to eradicate the slums. They started
by building a public housing project just west of Miranda. El Falansterio a
beautiful moderne complex built in 1935, was intended to house residents
of both Miranda and La Perla. However the government miscalculated how
many people resided in these slums and only some of those living in
Miranda moved in. Miranda was significantly larger than La Perla, and since
the destruction of the southern walls, its population was not as “hidden” as
that of La Perla. According to sources, those living in La Perla had been
offered
most d
twentie
La Perla
d to move
id not. Alt
eth centur
a failed. (
to the Ele
though th
ry, there is
(Vivoni Fa
F
eanor Roos
he populat
s no doub
arage 2000
Figure 1Photograph
Figure 13: ThPhoto Co
sevelt hou
tion decre
bt as to wh
0)
2: La Perla. 1h by Edwin Ro
he Falansterioourtesy of PR
using proj
eases in ea
hy this att
937. osskam.
o in 1937. RRA.
ject in Hat
ach decad
tempt at d
to Rey, bu
de of the
demolishin
30
ut
ng
L
family
author
La Perla wa
in the cul
does not
as also the
ture of po
call the n
Figure 14Photograp
Figure 1Photogra
e subject
overty--San
eighborho
4: La Perla, 1ph by Jack De
5: La Perla, 1aph by R.J. Ho
Oscar Lew
n Juan and
ood the fa
941. elano.
947. ower.
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ugh the
uan as La
31
32
Perla, it is well known that he spent time in La Perla amidst research. In the
book Lewis made assumptions and created stereo types, which Puerto
Ricans, especially those who are poor are still fighting today. According to
Lewis the people in his book, “like most of the other Puerto Rican slum
dwellers I have studied; show a great zest for life, especially for sex, and a
need for excitement, new experiences and adventures…Theirs is an
expressive style of life. They value acting out more than thinking out,
self-expression more than self-constraint, pleasure more than productivity,
spending more than saving, personal loyalty more than impersonal justice.
They are fun-loving and enjoy parties, dancing and music. They cannot be
alone; they have an almost insatiable need for sociability and interaction."
(Lewis 1966) Instead of trying to understand a culture, Lewis exaggerates
its. He masks critique within suppose academic study and instead of
celebrating cultural differences he misinterprets them. Lewis and his
“Culture of Poverty” become another popular chronically for those above
poverty to be entertained by it. (Chicago Tribune 1998)
Today, La Perla is quite different from the crowded wooden bohio’s
which lacked toilets or access to running water of the past. Physically the
buildings have evolved from those wooden shacks to small towers of
concrete block painted an array of colors. Because these buildings have
been constructed, without any building permits or inspection, there is no
real way to know how structurally sound they are. The slaughterhouse still
exists and has been repurposed as a community center. The buildings have
electric
connec
still po
roads.
city, runni
tions are
ssesses th
ing water
illegal and
he organic
FigPho
and plum
d potentia
c plan, cre
gure 16: Viewotograph cou
Figure 17:Photograp
mbing, yet
ally hazar
eating nar
w of La Perla furtesy of Sonr
: Barriada La h by Jorge Ig
it’s most
dous. Fin
rrow and c
from above. risa Digital.
Perla. gnacio.
likely tha
nally the s
curving pa
at these
settlement
athways a
33
t
and
34
According the 2010 Census there are one hundred and ninety four
housing units of which twenty nine are vacant. What is striking is that there
is only two hundred and forty nine residents.(United States Census 2010) It
is very likely that the census takers where unable to properly count
everything who lives there, but still the numbers are incredible. The legality
of the community is the center of debate. The government claims to own
the land, and the community started to “squat” there more than a century
ago. Yet those living community claim ownership of their dwelling.
Additionally there is a family who claims ownership of a portion of the
lands. Due to the low population, and vacancy rate, the claims of the family
are suspicious. Did this family perhaps quietly “buy” from residents, in
hopes of one day making a fortune developing the land? What is interesting
is that Puerto Rico property law does have a usucapion clause. Usucapion
is a legal term that refers to the legal acquisition of an object within a
period of time. Puerto Rico’s law sets a time frame of thirty years before
that land officially passes ownership, without monetary transaction. So
theoretically, a squatter who has lived on lands for thirty years has legal
claim to that land. However, if at any point during those thirty years the
landowner submits a formal complaint to the courts against the squatter, he
or she has loses all rights to the property. There is one huge exception in
this law, which is if the land is owned by the government, whether it is city,
state or federal, the squatter can never acquire the rights to the land, no
35
matter how long they reside there. (Corretjer Hernández 2001) According
to this law, the people of La Perla do not have legal claim to their lands and
could be easily evicted.
Any person who every visited Old San Juan is asked about La Perla,
the first thing that will come to mind is drugs. La Perla is infamous for
being the biggest drug point in all of Puerto Rico. Due to limited
accessibility, especially by the authorities, drugs are sold on the streets as if
it was street fair, selling refreshment and sweets. Just a year ago, the FBI
and local police conducted one of the biggest police raid on the barrio to
date; seventy individuals were arrested. One of the biggest surprises was
the arrest of Jorge Gomez Gonzalez. Gomez-Gonzales serves as president
of the Association for the Rescue and Development of La Perla and was
charged with being the leader of the operation. While drug trafficking has
decreased significantly since the raid, La Perla’s reputation is harder to
combat. (Fox 2011)
La Perla’s location adjacent to the historic districts of Old San Juan
makes it prey to those with higher interest in the lands potential. One of
the players with the biggest interest in the potential of the lands is the city
of San Juan. In 2011, the city with the collaboration of Antonio Di Mambro
and Associates produced a compressive urban plan for the whole island of
Old San Juan. Named The Walkable City, plan tackles the problem of
transportation and a neglect which the islet contains. (Antonio Di Mambro +
Associa
district
Howeve
commu
ates, Inc. 2
ts, while m
er, what th
unity and
2011) Ad
making tou
he plan at
its heritag
FigureDiagram
FigureDiagram
ditionally
urism the
ttempts to
ge indefin
e18: Diagramm by Antonio
e19: Diagramm by Antonio
y it attemp
main obj
o do in La
nitely.
m of The Walko Di Mambro
m of The Walko Di Mambro
pts to repo
ective of
Perla, wo
kable City Pla and Associat
kable City Pla and Associat
opulate th
Old San Ju
ould destro
n. tes.
n. tes.
he differen
uan.
oy the
36
nt
A
redevel
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with th
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does no
As the plan
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ngs and im
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pletely diff
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nts a clear
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Figure 20Renderin
n clearly i
he plan co
mprove the
pt. The im
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a is being
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usand, fou
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: View of La Png by Antoni
llustrates
ontradicts
e infrastru
mage above
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designate
n that the
ngs at all. A
ur hundred
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Perla in The Wio Di Mambro
, La Perla
itself by s
ucture, ye
e is of La
nd signifi
ed to hold
e creators
Also the a
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Walkable Cityo and Associa
is going t
stating it
t the imag
Perla, wit
icantly lar
d an additi
of this pl
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ve thousan
y Plan ates.
to be com
wants to r
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h an expa
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undred an
37
ond
ch,
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nd
38
ninety six vacant residential properties in the City of San Juan alone.
(United States Census 2010) Similarly the expectation of the majority of the
spaces not to fall within the affordable housing range is unrealistic for a
real estate market in which affordable housing is the only demand and all
other properties have experienced a significant slum in prices since 2008.
(Global Property Guide 2009) Another alarming concept is the goal to
“protect and celebrates the isletas culture and relevant history". (Antonio Di
Mambro + Associates, Inc. 2011) What does the author mean by “relevant”
and who is deciding which history is up to par with relevancy and which is
not. Another startling statement is the goal of assimilating La Perla
“socially and economically as a touristic attraction that offers visitors a
taste of the local culture." (Antonio Di Mambro + Associates, Inc. 2011) By
making La Perla a tourist attraction, aimed to give tourist glimpse of
authenticity, it actually removes the authenticity completely. It is also clear
that the author is all together denying the La Perla’s community of historic
relevancy. Finally, the expansion of the beach, which involves building an
artificial barrier aimed at preventing erosion, is an offense against the
natural environment and history of that shore. The north coast of Old San
Juan is one of the only spots in the metropolitan area were the surf is great
enough to have attracted surfers historically. The Walkable City plan has
good intentions, but its failures are so completely standard, that it is
unbelievably disappointing. By separating history into “relevancy”, it
ultimately dooms the community and its heritage into extinction.
T
Thailan
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40
canal put it at risk of displacement. The government who refuses to deem
the community any cultural or historic relevancy has plans to turn the lands
as a recreational park. Similar to La Perla, the government was condemning
the community by denying it any significance at all. This according to
Michael Herzfeld falls within the “politics of significances orchestrated in
terms of a populist anti-intellectualism typical of the stance of the
government.” (Herzfeld 2010) Herzfeld continues by making an excellent
point; “We should not passively accede to the assumption that small
communities are irrelevant to the future of humanity; the questions they
raise about official historiography are often a salutary reminder that
humanity has more than one narrative up its sleeve.” (Herzfeld 2010) The
Pom Mahakan community just like that of La Perla, in addition has serious
problems socio-economic problems which one can only begin to explain.
The unemployment rate in 2010 had peaked to almost seventy percent.
Furthermore, similar to La Perla it at one point suffered from a “serious
drug problem”, which by the time Herzfeld has arrived had be eradicated.
They community collaborated with the local police and were successful in
pressuring the drug pushers to leave or stop dealing all together.
Community leaders were given status of community police or “Tamruat
Chumchon.” The Tamruat Chumchon was trained by local police and were
given permission to make arrests. Another feature were educational
sessions to teach parents and children the dangers of drugs. (Herzfeld 2010)
This example of a community getting through the problem of drugs without
41
on its own, gives hope to La Perla, another slum communities in similar
situations. With threat from of eviction from a government that saw it as
only a “nuisance” the community took charge of their prospects, by leading
a publicity campaign unlike no other. They found allies with the media and
the royal family. In a manner of years Taxi driver, who once didn’t even
know about the community, started taking tourist there on a daily basis.
There is also the “Squatter” element, in which the residents lack
documentation of ownership. The “squatter element” puts a community at
even more risk. (Herzfeld 2010) This case is a prime example of how a
community can overcome the prejudices of a state. If Pom Mahakan was
able to do it, there is no doubt in my mind that La Perla can do so as well.
The final case is that of Soweto East, a section of the Kibera slum in
Kenya. This community was selected for study because its residents are
currently being displaced. The Kibera slum is located in the Nairobi, Kenya.
It is the largest slum in the world and it is said to have a million inhabitants
and is extremely overcrowded. (BBC NEWS 2009) The dwellings are
composed of “muddy iron sheet-roofed hovels” that lack proper sanitation.
Additionally there are water shortages and electricity is not easily available.
In relation to these problems residents illegally connect to electricity and
water, which has caused clashes between the guilty residents and the
companies. (NewsfromAfrica 2011) The lack of sanitary facilities in their
homes, causes them to pay three cents to use public toilets or alternatively
use “fly
thrown
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class K
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BBC NEWS
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42
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44
several families sharing the two bedroom apartments. (BBC NEWS 2009) In
this case the land ownership is also disputed. More than 80 residents and
landowners have filed a law suits against the government claiming they own
the land. What is special about this cause is area is its history. Nairobi is the
ancestral lands of the Nubian ethnic group, and those in community are in
opposition. Ibrahim Diaby, a Nubian elder believes the government should
allow improvements to the structures rather than tearing the settlement
down. He states “my house has water and electricity, but I’m restricted
from putting up a permanent building because the government says the
land belongs to them… It’s a question of natural justice. We’ve lived in
Kibera long before Nairobi was Nairobi, long before Kenya was Kenya.” (BBC
NEWS 2009) How can a government claim lands belonging to community
that has existed long before the government itself? Spokesperson for the
project clarifies that the Kibera slum today, is inhabited by many other
Kenyan groups. However he makes a statement that corresponds with the
false motivations. According to the spokesperson, Kibera’s magnitude is
“not a reputation we can be proud of.” (BBC NEWS 2009) He is right to be
shameful of the living conditions of the Kibera Slum, yet his main concern
seems to be about how the country appears rather than the lives of the slum
dwellers themselves. Another concern of the Nubian community is the
design of the new dwellings. Nubians traditionally prefer to live in larger
homes, where extended families live. It is part of their culture and if they
are forced to move into small apartments, therefore separating, they will
45
lose that tradition. (NewsfromAfrica 2011) There is something that the
government is doing right here, they have created a program that promotes
the ownership of the new apartments. Saccos, short of savings and co-
operative societies, in which the dwellers themselves will utilize as a bank
for savings. The Sacco will then give loans to members to make the down
payments in order to buy new units. (Omondi 2012) While there is merit in
the program, how can one be sure that the residents, who survive on a
dollar a day, be able to accumulate money? However, programs that
promote ownership over renting form the government have proven to be
more successful. What is really important about the Soweto East example is
to illustrate the complications of displacement. It is clear that the UN and
the Kenyan government need to step in to improve the lives of the
community, but at what cost? There needs to be lines and methods to
protect the cultural rights of slum dwellers. This would provide a guide for
governments so destruction of a community and its heritage is avoided.
This study attempts to solve the problem of devaluation of a slum
community’s culture and heritage. This problem causes the community to
be subjected to displacement, which in turns destroys them and the
corresponding heritage. Because we do not care about their heritage, we
destroy it. This “problem” is realized in localized cases, yet it is a symptom
of greater global trends persuaded by false perceptions of slums.
Understand they are interconnected, this study will attempt provide
46
solutions for both the “Global” problem and the “Local”. The local is
manifested in solutions for the primary case study of La Perla.
In all these cases and with the multiple “slum” communities in
danger of extinction, there are specific stakeholders, but there are also
global stakeholders. These global stake holders include; governing bodies at
all levels because they ultimately responsible for these communities. Slum
dwellers world-wide are affected in a multitude of ways as discussed
throughout this study. In addition heritage organizations are affected
because they are missing an opportunity to help slum dwellers “save” their
heritage. Developers and those trades within the building industry have
potential financial gain by redevelopment at stake, therefore are affected.
The disputed land owners are affected because, decisions that are made will
ultimately be positive or negative financially. Finally, all of us are at risk
because, especially in the age of globalization, we are all part of the same
global community and anything that happens to one group will ultimately
affect us all. It is clear today that Urban Renewal’s slum clearance policies
of the 20th century affected more than just the people who were displaced,
it affected everyone and still affects us all today.
For our local case of La Perla, there are more particular stakeholders.
The most important stakeholders are the residents of La Perla, who live in
slum conditions and are subjected to the constant threat of displacement.
Also an important stakeholder is the government of Puerto Rico and the
municipality of San Juan, who are trying to improve the area, although these
47
attempts are misguided. Next the residents of the other fragments of Old
San Juan have a stake, especially since so often drug related violence has
spilled beyond La Perla, putting those residents in danger. In addition these
residents face the potential gentrification of their neighborhood especially
if the Walkable City Plan is followed through. The business owners and the
tourist industry of San Juan is also a stakeholder, as the threat of La Perla
often hurts business. The disputed land owners have the most to risk
financially, because the real estate value of the land is so high, that
development of those lands would turn a large profit. Developers and those
in the building industry in Puerto Rico potentially can make money if the
land were to be developed. The Association for the Rescue and
Development of La Perla is a huge stakeholder, considering their failures
will result in the displacement of the people. Additionally, heritage based
organizations such as The Institute of Culture, are stakeholders, because
although they celebrate the art and literature that personifies the poor of
the past, they fail to recognize the heritage and culture of the poor of the
present. If La Perla is lost, the Institute of Culture will have lost an
important evolving cultural resource. Furthermore residents of other
“barrios” in Puerto Rico have a huge stake in what happens in La Perla. If La
Perla, one of the oldest and culturally rich barrios on the island cannot be
saved, what chance do the other communities have? Finally, all Puerto
Ricans have a stake in this case. If we as Puerto Ricans eliminate undesirable
48
parts of our history and culture, we not only lie to ourselves, but we put all
parts of our history at risk to the creation of “relevant” history.
Before developing possible alternatives for the two problems, it is
important determine what is important to solve in both cases. Because the
local case of La Perla falls within the global problem, one set global criteria
is examined. The first criterion is that “slum” communities should no
longer be subject to displacement. This criteria is integral to the
underlining thesis of this paper, thus becomes the most important.
Secondly, the cultural heritage and history of slum communities should not
be devalued, or erased. The second criteria are integral to the first, as so
often devalued communities are displaced and thus their heritage is erased.
The third criteria, is extremely important, and is that slum communities
should no longer be subjected to substandard living conditions.
Recognizing the importance of economic development and tourism for a
local economy, it is important that slum communities are intergraded and
become economically viable. This previous criteria refers to the community
and as well as the place. Finally, slum communities are no longer seen as
blight for the greater society and government. The stigma that corresponds
to slum communities ultimately hurts community’s opportunities for
improvement, yet it cannot be the sole solution. These criteria should be
used in evaluating the possible alternatives or scenarios that can occur in
both the Global and the Local (La Perla) problems.
49
The “Global problem is integral to the final solution of this growing
problem. Four possible alternatives have been generated, not necessarily all
solving the issue, but covering all the possible global scenarios. The first
alternative, labeled as the “nothing” plan, required literally nothing to
happen at all. In this alternative the number of people living in slum
communities continues to grow globally, at alarming rates. Nothing is done
at all improve the lives of slum dwellers who are subjected to horrid living
conditions and social inequality. The “Status Quo” plan, the second
alternative, is the real do nothing scenario. In this scenario slum dwellers
continue to be displaced at the global level. They are moved into new, yet
incompatible, dwellings constructed by local governments or developers in
efforts to improve lives masked by guilt, or even worst private interest. In
some of these cases it is possible that communities are displaced and
consequently become homeless. The third alternative, named “Cultural
Heritage Advocacy”, involves a global campaign bring the problem to the
public eye. In this paper we have already established the Heritage
Preservation field’s role in the fight against community displacement. This
scenario therefore assigns the field as leaders in a global advocacy
campaign. To head the campaign UNESCO is nominated, as they are one of
the key players promoting the importance of cultural heritage that is
intangible. UNESCO creates a slum dweller branch of their Culture and
Development Committee. This alternative directly asks UNESCO to lead the
fight against displacement by advocacy and outreach. UNESCO can work
50
with the United Nations to create a “Declaration on the Rights of Slum
Dwellers” similar in concept to the 2007 “Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.” By leading the campaign, UNESCO would bring the
problem tot the eyes of governments and its citizens at a global scale. This
advocacy campaign would promote community upgrade and improvements
in place of displacement. Finally, the last alternative, labeled as “Aggressive
Advocacy” takes “Cultural Heritage Advocacy” one step further. This plan
would entail UNESCO, the United Nations and other participating
organizations to put pressure on nations violating the rights of the slum
dweller. Violating countries would be subjected to be revoked of financial
aid as well as membership in the UN.
It is important for this study to analyze the alternatives of the
individual slum. There is no standard slum improvement alternative, thus
the alternatives of La Perla are only serve as examples to other slums. The
first of the La Perla alternatives is the “Nothing” plan. In this scenario
nothing happens at all to La Perla. The community remains stigmatized,
marginalized and crime ridden. Due to lack of educational and economic
opportunities the drug trade in La Perla continues to flourish. In addition
the community is continuously threatened by future development, a mental
state which causes significant harm. The “Walkable City Plan” becomes the
second alternative. In this scenario, with the development of the plan, the
dwellings of the community are condemned and the community is moved to
the new public housing developments currently being built on the south
51
side of the Islet. The addition of a large population in La Perla, means that
the area is completely redeveloped to promote tourism on the island. The
only thing saved is the slaughter house which is converted to a trendy
restaurant. The unique heritage and culture of La Perla is lost forever. The
third Alternative, known as the “Public Use” plan is a circumstance could
easily occur. In this scenario The Walkable City plan is attempted. The
community of La Perla is displaced and relocated to the new public housing
mentions in the previous plan. As plans for complete redevelopment that is
geared towards tourist and local elite’s leaks, the public is outraged that
land, which is esteemed as one of the most beautiful spots in the world, is
planned to be inaccessible to the public. A combination of the outrage and
lack of demand for such a development, the government decides to give the
public what it wants and La Perla becomes a recreational park. The park
serves both tourist and locals, and holds the place for potential future
development. The only structure that is saved is the slaughterhouse, which
becomes a museum commemorating the history of La Perla. Finally the last
alternative, the “Community” plan envisions collaboration in order to
improve La Perla, without displacing the community. In this scenario a
committee involving the Institute of Culture, the University of Puerto Rico’s
school of Architecture’s Community Development Workshop, The
Merchant’s association of Old San Juan, the Association for the Rescue and
Development and the City of San Juan . They would create a comprehensive
long term plan that would improve infrastructure as well as the
commu
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In
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The glob
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promoted
vitality in
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st the pos
ves tested aga
ould invo
ombat the
ic opportu
d within th
n the area
ugh it wou
ould be be
as created
ssible solu
ainst the crite
lve the lo
e drug rela
unities, pe
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uld be insu
est for bo
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eria.
cal police
ated crime
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ured that
oth the Glo
iteria, whi
52
e to
e
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ich
53
Each alternative was tested with each criteria as illustrated above.
The first, of the global alternatives the “Nothing” plan, while avoids
displacement and destruction of the slum community’s heritage, it fails to
do anything else. Ultimately the living conditions of slums needs to be
improved, thus this alternative easily ruled out. Alternative number two, the
“Status Quo ” solves the living conditions of the community, yet it still
displaces them thus destroying what we are trying to preserve. This plan,
does not solve the stigma of the community. In terms of economics and
tourism, this alternative in some cases might increase the districts tourism,
but it certainly does not necessarily improve the economic vitality of the
community. Providing decent housing for a community does not solve all
the socio economic problems that doom it to poverty. Governments need to
solve bigger issues such inequality and lack of opportunities in addition to
improving living conditions. The “Cultural Heritage Advocacy” alternative,
recognizes both sides of the picture. It promotes the improvement of slums
communities and at the same time strives to protect the culture from
destruction. This alternative advices as well as provides support to
countries dealing with slums. It passes all the criteria except in the case of
stigma. Stigma is one of the hardest things to overcome and it takes
generations for it to change. The last alternative, the “Aggressive
Advocacy” plan might be too forceful. Countries are their own entities for a
reason, and putting that much pressure might cause some to ignore
campaign all together. In conclusion to the global problem, this paper
recomm
campai
commu
T
case th
are not
conditi
tourism
might b
econom
alterna
mends the
ign to brin
unities.
The La Per
he “Nothin
displaced
ons are st
m is not ad
be displac
mic and to
tive is tha
e third alte
ng awaren
The loc
la alternat
ng” alterna
d; therefo
till substa
ddressed a
ced. They
ourism goa
at the cult
ernative o
ness to the
al alternative
tives were
ative gave
re their h
andard, th
at all. In t
y would no
al would b
ture and h
of a “Cultu
e growing
es tested aga
e also test
the same
eritage is
e stigma t
the “Walk
ot live in s
be realized
heritage is
ural Herita
problem
inst the crite
ted agains
e results.
not lost.
thrives an
kable City”
substanda
d. The pr
s lost and
age Advoc
of displac
eria.
st the crite
La Perla’s
Yet, the l
nd econom
” plan the
ard condit
roblem wi
the stigm
cacy”
cements o
eria. In th
s residents
living
mics and
residents
tions, and
th this
ma will mo
54
of
his
s
s
the
st
55
likely carry on with the community. The “Public Use” plan only solves the
living conditions of community, but it does so by displacing them and
destroying their heritage. In addition since the stigma carries on the
community and not the place, it continues with them. Since this alternative
is not utilizing the land for any profit what so ever it only promotes tourism
in the area. Finally it is the “Community Plan” that passed most of the
criteria. In this plan the community and its heritage is retained, while
improving its living conditions and promoting tourism and economic
development. Recognizing that stigma is very hard to overcome, this
alternative might prove successful in that respect. This study recommends
the “Community” Plan above all in order to solve the problem of La Perla.
As highlighted by this paper the devaluation of impoverished
communities combined with economic pressures such tourism as well as
misguided attempts to “make right” causes slum communities to be
subjected to displacement. This displacement expunges them from cultural
history, destroying the community and its heritage. This causes deep
rooted psychological problems not only to the individuals but to their
descendants. It harms us as a society because we choose to only remember
what we perceive as ours, but what is not understood is that we are all
interconnected. As Mindy Fullilove eloquently states “Ask not for whom the
bell tolls: it tolls for all of us.”
56
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