The gap between the living conditions of the poorest and the rich is terrible – Aerial photographs of housing communities

Groups of cities around the world show different degrees, but social and economic differences. Income imbalances and disparities in access to education, health, hygiene and infrastructure are increasingly leading to less visible but certainly noticeable gaps and rifts. This gap and the separation of social groups paints an unforgiving picture of individual neighborhoods and residences of different groups. To prevent these contradictions from remaining invisible, photographer Johnny Miller shows the real differences in his “Unequal Scenes” photo series.

The future of sustainable businesses will be discussed at the Sustainable World conference on September 9. You only have a few days until the hybrid conference, register and watch online, or come in person!

Nairobi, Kenya

The Royal Nairobi Golf Club is located right next to the Kibera slum. Twice a day, a passenger train crosses the neighborhood, passing within a meter of people’s homes and shops. Meanwhile, the neighbors enjoy the game in a completely green environment. There, road development is planned that will divide one quarter in half, displacing thousands of people living in extreme poverty.

The government’s housing program, which offers affordable housing, will be the focus of the Housing Conference on September 10.

Johannesburg, South Africa

Miller’s aerial photographs of the drone clearly show the huge gap that exists to this day between the living conditions of the poorest and the rich. In fact, it could even be enlarged. The photographer started his project to present inequalities in Johannesburg, South Africa. Among them is, for example, the organically formed neighborhood of Kya Sands, where people from the country and even from other countries come en masse in the hope of finding a livelihood in the most developed city in the region. Although the houses with swimming pools are lined up across the road, each of them is more expensive than 1 million South African rand (equivalent to about 18 million florins).

Mumbai, India

Starting in 2018, Miller expanded his photography series and took aerial photographs in some cities in the United States, Mexico, Tanzania, Kenya, and India. Each of the places has a different shape and extension, but what they have in common is that they limit and define urban social and spatial development.

The Indian slum of Dharavi is one of the most famous slums in the world. Neighboring Mahim Park has been developed to breathe a little – it’s affordable, but it helps reduce the extreme urbanism that characterizes most Indian cities. The area around the Bandra Kurla complex is a mix of extreme wealth and extreme poverty, including the consulates of various countries, the headquarters of large companies and the national stock exchange.

Mexico City, Mexico

In Mexico City, not only the arrangement, size and condition of the apartments show clear differences in wealth, but in the aerial photographs even the color of the roofs of the apartments of the two social groups helps to do so. The residential area of ​​Ixtapalapa is located right next to a poorer neighborhood, as is the residential area of ​​Santa Fe, which has become such an exclusive part of the city that developers are taking development areas from the adjoining slum . If you were born on the wrong side as a Mexican, you will definitely not have the same opportunities as students from a neighboring school: La Malinche has access to a private school for tennis, basketball, and a well-maintained swimming pool, while neighboring students have access to a distorted soccer field.

“Sometimes it is difficult to see from the ground how much difference there is in people’s living conditions, but from above we can see them from a new perspective and according to reality. Incredible social inequalities arise from hundreds of meters up, some communities deliberately separated from the rest of the city; organically formed “ the photographer commented on the images.

Extremely wealthy and privileged communities are often just yards away from squalid conditions, shacks, and tinsmiths.