Many of the reading in class and many of the case studies talk about solutions and succes that comes to slums and the informal.  Often outside intervention is used to help those who are negatively affected by their current conditions. But outside intervention does not always translate into a successful application. Understanding this succes is important to developing future projects of succes. The key trend to understand is that outside intervention has to be smart in its application. What this means is that outside intervention, when done ineffectively results in a wasted allocation of assets and funds. Even though the available capital is being distributed to those in need it often has little effect. The moments when outside intervention is successful is when the outside intervention is seen less as charity being distributed, creating the relationship of those who give and those who take, and instead is intervention creating an environment of self help and empowerment.

“Slum Networking” shows how this is true. What was given to the community was a sewage and drainage system. The drainage system was not a limited resource that would run out. It was not a service that would disappear as soon as the outside intervention exited. It instead gave the the people agency. They had the choice to use personal facilities as opposed to public facilities. Individuals had the agency to buy their own appliance and connect them to the city. The system was successful not because of handouts or charity but was successful because personal agency was delivered to the people of slums.

Agency has more potential then charity. Creating the give and take relationship is always temporary, limited and creates a needy group that will continue to need. Instead creating an open system that the individuals and community as a whole can take ownership of creates a much more successful system and one that can exist indefinitely. This system also gives the community members more of a sense of community and shows that the slums and informal may not need complete overhauls and replacement but would instead benefit from systems that promote self help and self worth.

Himanshu Parikh, “Slum Networking Along the Inodre River”