M.H. Planet of Slums is an eye-opening book that helps us see urban poverty not merely as a “social problem”, but as the direct result of political and economic decisions made on a global scale. Mike Davis presents striking examples of how neoliberal policies and international agreements produce concrete, everyday consequences in particular regions. 

The unequal structures behind rapidly growing cities make us question for whom – and at whose expense – this growth is taking place. The book shows, in particular, how IMF policies have spatially concentrated poverty, teaching us to read cities not as neutral spaces but as maps of power relations. In this sense, Planet of Slums is a reference work that can permanently change the way we look at the world and at the cities we live in.