Development, Urbanization, Migration, and Quality of Life - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 92

ideals of what possessions one should have, their “needs”
become commoditized.
Recent thinking regarding poverty is that it is best
defined by the people themselves—and they should be
the ones to decide what they need. Even the WB now
considers the poor to be “experts on poverty .”
The most important fact regarding poverty is that it
is multidimensional . Participatory studies show that poor
people are less concerned with income per se and more
concerned with assets (Table 4-2). In addition, security
from risk, crime, and violence; human rights and dignity;
education, health, and well-being are fundamental is-
sues. Participatory methods enable the poor to reveal
their own conceptions of deprivation in light of their
own values and priorities. For example, while literacy is
viewed as important, schooling receives mixed reviews.
Occasionally highly valued, frequently it is irrelevant in
the lives of the poor.
Definitions and categorizations based on what peo-
ple do not have and prescriptions as to how they should
live, based on Western standards, have shaped percep-
tions and altered landscapes around the world. More-
over, students from developing countries who study
abroad learn non-indigenous concepts of planning and

development and may return to apply these within their
homelands.
Crowded, winding “unplanned” streets, which were
once functioning, multifaceted communities, have been
seen (through newly trained eyes) as inappropriate spa-
tial geometries that must be rearranged for greater effi-
ciency and visual appeal. Squatter settlements, home to
millions, perceived as unhealthy warrens of poverty and
criminality , have been razed. These are rapidly rebuilt;
most governments now realize that it is more expedient
to implement self-help programs within existing squatter
settlements. The social costs of such upheaval cannot be
measured.
The vision of nations speeding along a trajectory of
technological advancement and material consumption
has been shattered in many cases. Things that were sup-
posed to happen under this rubric did not. China, for
example, has initiated broad economic reform and has
dramatically reduced its population growth, thereby
ending the specter of hordes of communist Chinese
overrunning the planet. Burgeoning middle classes in
both China and India are building mansions, driving
luxury cars, and patronizing glittering shopping malls
(Figure 4-3). Countries such as Singapore and Thailand

Table 4-2 Poor People' s Perceptions of Poverty

Relatively Well-Off Households Solid and stable houses (usually renovated every 15 years)

Have either a bicycle or motorbike (usually both).
•Own a TV and radio (usually both).
Can send children to school.
Never lack money and are able to save money .
Have a garden with useful plants and trees.

Average Households Have a stable house that does not need renovating for at least 10 years.

Own a TV or radio.
Have enough food all year.
Can send children to school.
Have a well, or easy access to water.

Poor Households Live in unstable homes, usually made of mud.

Have no TV or radio.
Are not able to save money .
Children cannot attend school or have to leave prematurely .
Have enough food only until the next harvest; go without for one or more months a year.
Are unable to use surrounding natural resources to their benefit.

V ery Poor Households Live in very unstable houses that need to be rebuilt every 2-3 years.

Have no wells or easy access to fresh water.

Source: Deepa Narayan, V oices of the Poor , W orld Bank, 2000.