ABSTRACT
The capital city of La Paz, Bolivia, sits in a bowl, surrounded by spectacular mountains whose efforts to reach the heavens often leave them veiled by passing clouds. The view is awesome, and easily lulls one into a state of deep reflection. A closer look, however, reveals the somber reality. Reaching out from the urban center and making their way up the mountain slopes on all sides of the bowl are the slums and shantytowns of La Paz. Here, plumbing and electricity are scarce or nonexistent, roads sit unpaved, and the escarpments that afford such distant photogenic vistas conspire to create an ideal setting for floods and landslides. The outlying slums are the first and often last stop for the unemployed, downtrodden, and desperate who have made their way from the countryside with hopes of a better life in the city.
