Dear Lindsey and all Sebastian and I are still at an early stage of investigation - it seems (but still has to be properly confirmed) that the majority of the squatters are refugees who fled (possibly from Kirkuk - now in the disputed territories between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish Federal Government) after the 1991 Kurdish uprising. The jail still preserves graffiti and (some say) blood stains from the time it was an actual prison - people live around those signs in what seems to be like a "resigned indifference" There is so much there yet to explore and understand! Best francesca recchia kiccovich@xxxxxxxxx it +39 338 166 3648 iq +964 (0) 750 7085 681 http://www.veleno.tv/bollettini/ ________________________________ From: "Lindsey, Delario" <LINDSEYD1@xxxxxxxxx> To: slumstudies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wed, 11 November, 2009 10:53:55 Subject: [slumstudies] Re: Let's Brainstorm! Thank you so much for this fascinating introduction Francesca. I like your use of term 'slum-like', this may prove to be an important distinction once our work begins. Who are the people (their demographics) living in the 're-claimed' prison? I wonder what it is like for them to 'make home' in such a place knowing it's history. Delario Lindsey, Ph.D. Department of African, African-American and Caribbean Studies Department of Liberal Studies William Paterson University - New Jersey ________________________________ From: slumstudies-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of francesca recchia Sent: Tue 11/10/2009 11:38 PM To: slumstudies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [slumstudies] Re: Let's Brainstorm! Dear all I would like to take the chance to thank Lindsey for starting this project and opening such a possibility: I find it really exciting and a further motivation for my research! I am currently based in Hawler (Erbil), the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan - I teach Urban Sociology, but since our institution is very small I find myself doing whatever is needed. I have done a bit of research in the past on slums both in Mumbai and Caracas. There are very few slums as such in Kurdistan - but there are several situations where squatting, land occupation and readaptation have created slum-like conditions. Coming from a postcolonial perspective I am also interested in the re-imagination of the relations between centre and periphery. My main focus is the connections between spatial/ territorial design and social control as a macro-level, which translate on the micro-level in the ways in which people adapt and subvert spatial models that are meant for oppression - one of the main slum-like situations in Kurdistan is a Saddam Hussein's jail that people have squatted and made into a village while keeping all the signs of memory of the past (I am working on this case study with photographer Sebastian Meyer http://sebmeyer.com/) I also look at ways in which people "make home" or "make sense of home" in he context of transient/ provisional/ informal settings. I am interested in what Indians would call Jugad - a form of creative responsiveness that produces practical and creative solutions in response to situations of spatial, social and economical hardship. Best francesca francesca recchia kiccovich@xxxxxxxxx it +39 338 166 3648 iq +964 (0) 750 7085 681 http://www.veleno.tv/bollettini/ ________________________________ From: "Oretsky, Nicole" <oretskyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "slumstudies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <slumstudies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Mon, 9 November, 2009 19:12:37 Subject: [slumstudies] Re: Let's Brainstorm! Hi Everyone: I am very interested in participating in the Slum Studies Project. My current research concerns the struggle for housing and environmental justice for the American ghetto. More specifically, I am concerned with 1) how public policy contributes toward the concentration of substandard housing supply and the severe housing cost burden in isolated, low-income neighborhoods, and 2) the disproportionate environmental burden that poor communities face while they reap very little environmental benefits. I am now launching our Urban Studies and Environmental Justice Project (USEJ), which is primarily concerned with consequent health disparities. USEJ engages in community outreach; designs and instructs university courses; and conducts applied research in environmental justice and health disparities. In the current initial start-up period, USEJ will focus on toxin exposure and housing, with a particular focus on lead exposure and health disparities. My take: Environmental Injustice and Health Disparities In American cities, environmental disparities are common across racial and class lines. Inner-city minority and low income communities are disproportionately affected by air, water and soil pollution. Inadequate abatement of negative externalities from historical industrial manufacturing activities, and lack of enforcement of building codes, has left a toxic environmental legacy. Older and under-maintained housing is a source of health disparities due to higher frequencies of exposure to lead and other industrial toxins, mold, and pests; lack of adequate insulation and modern heating or air conditioning; and health threats such as hypertension and other stress-related illnesses due to housing insecurity and slumlord activity. In addition, due to spatial and socio-economic segregation, disadvantaged communities have unequal access to such environmental goods as fresh, nutritious food; green parks and outdoor recreation facilities; health care clinics and quality schools, public transportation, and secure employment. Research Interests · The American ghetto and political economic theory · Urban policy and low income housing · Environmental Justice, the 'right to know,' and health disparities Best Regards, Nicole Dr. Nicole Oretsky Assistant Professor of Urban Studies Urban Studies and Planning Program Savannah State University 3219 College Street Savannah, Georgia 31404 (O) 912-303-1886 912-303-1886 (C) 917-584-2465 917-584-2465 oretskyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From: slumstudies-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:slumstudies-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Prof. Delario Lindsey Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 3:40 PM To: Slum Studies Research Group Subject: [slumstudies] Let's Brainstorm! Greetings All, I was thinking, as part of the process of developing the Slum Studies project and getting to know one another, each of us should contribute a series of topics or issues about which the group can collectively brainstorm and discuss. I believe this to be a necessary process as it helps us to collectively frame the parameters of the project in accordance with our individual scholarly interests. Also, what better way of getting to know someone (particularly an academic) than by familiarizing yourself with their scholarly/intellectual priorities. I have listed a few of my scholarly priorities regarding Slum Studies below. Submit your own lists, and please share your thoughts about my topics and issues. -D Topics/Issues of consequence: - Re-imagining the core/periphery relationship - The relationship between national development and urban development - The relationship between the urban and the rural (push/pull forces) - Slum, Favela, Shanty: regional interpretations of profound (urban) inequality - Crime, Safety, and Social Control in the slum - The Slum and the Lives of Women and Children - Cultural Contributions of the Slum (read: the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and Carnival) -- Delario Lindsey, Ph.D. Department of African, African-American and Caribbean Studies Department of Liberal Studies William Paterson University - New Jersey