ABSTRACT
Chapter 4, “Leading the slums: Governance, Politics and Brokers”, sets out to investigate the perceived characteristics of a successful community leader/broker in each of the settlement types. We seek to explore and then dispel the myth that residents are helpless and illustrate that they are actively trying to improve their neighbourhood with the support of their brokers who are passionate to help. There are two parts to the chapter. First, to fully assess the efficacy and distributive aspects, we listen to the voices of community members carrying out interviews to allow for an ethnographically informed picture of who leads the slums. Second, through a conjoint experiment using the theoretical framework set out in Auerbach and Thachil, we explore residents’ preferences around selecting brokers to assist them in the procurement of goods and services.
