shanty town
Scrap-material neighborhood
A shanty town is a settlement of improvised dwellings built from scrap materials—corrugated metal, plywood, plastic sheeting.
Shanty towns typically lack basic infrastructure like running water, sewage, or electricity, and arise when people cannot afford formal housing.
They cluster at city edges in developing countries, though they appear wherever poverty concentrates.
Also called a shantytown.
Brazilian informal settlement
- barrioHispanic urban district
- coloniasUnregulated border settlements
- informal settlementUnplanned, unofficial housing area
- squatter campIllegal improvised housing settlement
refugee camp · encampment · slum · ghetto · tenement · undercity
Ridged metal sheeting
- tarpaulinWaterproof protective sheeting
- plywoodEngineered layered wood panels
- scrap metalDiscarded reusable iron and steel
- patchworkFabric scraps sewn together
jerry-built · ramshackle · makeshift · improvised · lean-to · pallets · cardboard · canvas
Extremely lacking in money
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- unemploymentBeing without paid work
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
inequality · underprivileged · disparity · deprivation · homelessness · scarcity · day labor · begging
Capacity exceeded dangerously
- unsanitaryLacking proper cleanliness
- open sewerUncovered wastewater channel
- unelectrifiedLacking electrical power supply
- pollutedMade impure by contaminants
vermin · disease · dilapidated · disrepair · flooding · contaminated water · muddy · dusty
Mass departure from countryside
- migrationMovement to new territory
- urban sprawlUncontrolled peripheral development
- megacityUrban area exceeding ten million
- peripheryBoundary or outer region
outskirts · land invasion · eviction · displacement · gentrification · redevelopment · relocation · densification
favela
Brazilian informal settlement
- barrioHispanic urban district
- coloniasUnregulated border settlements
- informal settlementUnplanned, unofficial housing area
squatter camp · refugee camp · encampment · slum · ghetto · tenement · undercity
corrugated iron
Ridged metal sheeting
- tarpaulinWaterproof protective sheeting
- plywoodEngineered layered wood panels
- scrap metalDiscarded reusable iron and steel
patchwork · jerry-built · ramshackle · makeshift · improvised · lean-to · pallets · cardboard · canvas · salvaged
impoverished
Extremely lacking in money
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- unemploymentBeing without paid work
subsistence · inequality · underprivileged · disparity · deprivation · homelessness · scarcity · day labor · begging · malnutrition
overcrowding
Capacity exceeded dangerously
- unsanitaryLacking proper cleanliness
- open sewerUncovered wastewater channel
- unelectrifiedLacking electrical power supply
polluted · vermin · disease · dilapidated · disrepair · flooding · contaminated water · muddy · dusty · fire hazard
rural exodus
Mass departure from countryside
- migrationMovement to new territory
- urban sprawlUncontrolled peripheral development
- megacityUrban area exceeding ten million
periphery · outskirts · land invasion · eviction · displacement · gentrification · redevelopment · relocation · densification
- settlementsvillage, cities, hamlet, city, towns
- mining townsmining camp, Leadville, Virginia City, Tombstone, Deadwood
- Historic DistrictsFrench Quarter, historic district, Latin Quarter, historic buildings, historic building
shanty townplanned development
Predesigned residential or commercial area
planned community · master-planned community · subdivision · housing estate · new town