Barrios, Caracas, Venezuela
Founded in 1567 by the conquistador Diego de Lozada, Caracas was named after Los Caracas, aboriginal people who lived in the region. The city has grown enormously in the last 40 years, attracting people from all over the world and especially from neighbouring countries. These new districts, known as barrios or ranchos – slums – are home to more than 50 percent of Caracas’s 3.8 million inhabitants. People living in slums are particularly vulnerable to disasters. Due to rapid urbanisation, they are forced to live on unsafe land and in poor constructions. Slums are the first to be washed out by landslides caused by floods, causing death and massive destruction.