William Gibson supposedly said that “The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.” Planet of Slums makes me ask if the future in question is represented by the glittering cities of the developed world, or by the slums we associate with the global south. Of course the future will be both Dubai and Kinshasa, probably side by side. Planet of Slums is kind of a “State of the Slums” report from 2006. Reading this almost 20 years later, I wish knew where to find an updated “state of the slums”. I can't imagine the recession years did much for the state of state investment in the developing world's cities, but what do I know. I was a little surprised to learn that the urban growth in much of the world in the later 20th century has not been driven by economic growth, but by disruptions to rural life. Also interesting is the discussion of the hot hot rental market in slums throughout the world. I have often wondered whether the constant rousting and moving of the unhoused population in my city is a means to prevent the development of unsanctioned, semi-permanent shantytowns, and if that would even be a worse outcome than people currently sleeping rough on the sidewalks and in the floodways. Mike Davis would probably say that the City would have to at the very least provide sanitation. Planet of Slums makes going to the bathroom in a slum sound like an incredible ordeal. Lack of a pot to piss in seems to be one of the defining features of a slum.