My alter ego Rodrigo and I discuss deep-seated poverty of the type found in dirt-poor colonias or shantytowns located along the Texas border with Mexico. Many of the houses there lack basic amenities such as water or sewers, which would appear to violate basic norms of health and safety. Yet...

One of the most visible and enduring manifestations of urban poverty in developing countries is the formation and proliferation of slums. While attention has focused on the rapid pace of urbanization as the sole or major factor explaining the proliferation of slums and squatter settlements in...