Latest Entries
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Bag by Bag, Janitors and Housekeepers Keep Bangkok’s Waste System Green
At the base of a pyramid that extends all the way up to a major global waste-export industry are hundreds of thousands of janitors and housekeepers, selling bottles and cans one kilo at a time.
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An Informal Currency for Slum-Dwellers, or a Nefarious Separatist Plot?
Officials are arresting spenders of Bangla-Pesa, an alternate currency that helps stabilize poor people’s finances, on charges that they’re trying to subvert the Kenyan shilling.
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Forefront Intro: Slow Jam
Can Lima finally untangle its transportation mess? In the third Forefront story of the Informal City Dialogues, Manuel Vigo explores the city’s attempts to dig out from its crushing congestion.
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Self-Appointed Traffic Cops Who are Always Around When You Need Them
Wherever construction snarls the roads or traffic lights go dark, you can find one of Accra’s many informal traffic cops, moving cars for small donations.
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Nigeria Will Soon Be Bigger Than the U.S. and Other Mind-Boggling Projections
A report released today by the UN shows that the developing world is growing even faster than we thought — and that the end of this century will look radically different than today.
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How to Buy a $17 College Education in Manila’s Forgery District
At a public market in Quiapo, for the price of a couple of drinks, you can purchase a counterfeit driver’s license, marriage certificate, or degree to your first-choice university.
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The Wizards Behind the Curtain in Lima’s Totally Insane Bus System
Lima’s 32,000 private buses would grind to a halt if not for the city’s dateros, who provide critical intel in coded language to drivers working in cut-throat competition.
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Amid Syringes and Skin-Burning Acid, a Search for Scrap Metal and Cell Phones
Trash picking is a dangerous trade, but Nairobi’s dumps draw treasure hunters who can turn even a pair of rusty scissors into shillings.
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Inept Regulation Leaves Autorickshaw Drivers and Passengers in a Jam
Haggling for an autorickshaw may be an art, but a lack of meters and standardized pricing means customers often feel ripped off, and drivers short-changed.
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Two Weeks in Photos
From stolen electricity in Nairobi to blind masseuses in Manila, our fortnightly roundup of photos from our bloggers.
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