Let's take a fun trip to the city! 🏙️ But, uh-oh, not all parts of the city are glittering skyscrapers and fancy coffee shops. So, buckle up, as we explore the contrasts within urban areas!

In cities, life isn't the same for all. You can find posh neighborhoods right next to impoverished ghettos. These poorer areas are zones of deprivation, poverty, and exclusion. This means the people there don't have the same opportunities or resources as their wealthier neighbors. Think of it like having a party next door, but you're not invited!

For example, in developed countries like the U.S., inner-city areas or ghettos like Detroit's neighborhoods often struggle with poverty. In contrast, in developing countries like India, the slums of Mumbai showcase harsh living conditions.

There are many ways to measure how deprived an area is. It's like checking the health of a person. Just as you measure temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, etc., for health, you check various aspects for deprivation. They include:

• Physical indicators: quality of housing, pollution, crime, vandalism, graffiti. Think of it as the "body health" of the city.
• Social indicators: crime rates, health standards, access to health care, education standards, lone-parent families, population on benefits. These are the "emotional health" of the city.
• Economic indices: employment access, unemployment and underemployment, income levels. These show the city's "financial health."
• Political indices: voting opportunities, participation in community organizations. They're like the "social life" of the city.

Slums aren't just random, unfortunate pockets of cities. They usually spring up in areas that no one else wants - places with steep slopes, floodplains, or next to big, noisy factories. Think of them like the awkward, unpopular kid at school who ends up sitting alone at the back of the classroom.

In 2015, almost a billion people lived in slums! That's almost one-third of the world's urban population. In less developed countries, about 78.2% of people live in slums. To understand the conditions they live in, the UN defined a slum household as lacking one or more of five basic amenities:

• Durable housing: It's like having a sturdy roof over your head, not one that leaks when it rains.
• Sufficient living space: Imagine not having to share your bedroom with more than two people.
• Access to improved water: Having clean, affordable water without having to run a marathon to get it.
• Access to improved sanitation facilities: Access to private or reasonably shared toilets.
• Secure tenure: Protection against forced eviction. It's like having a permanent address, not a temporary one.

Despite attempts to reduce extreme poverty, more than 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and 190 million in South and East Asia still live in slums.