Dilemmas of Development-induced Displacement

Millions of people are displaced every year due to urban development and creation of large-scale developmental projects, such as dams, and highways. Analysing the concept of development-induced development, this study merely questions the idea of dispossession being an indispensable byproduct of development. It examines the very rationale behind one such project in Pakistan - the Lyari Expressway - and demonstrates how the project was justified in the name of greater common good; nonetheless it ended causing insurmountable anguish and pain to thousands of displaced persons. Drawing attention to the dominant interests of the state and the powerful actors within a society, the study contends how these development projects often produce an anti-poor bias, thereby creating unequal benefits for the less powerful members of the society. As capitalism intensifies, the need for mega-projects will rise and subsequently its associated dispossession will escalate. Thus there is an ever greater need to strike a balance between development and the interests of the citizens. This book is recommended for academics in social and political sciences and to development experts and policy makers.