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Humans and technology

These drone photos show urban inequality around the world

From Mumbai, to Silicon Valley, to Long Beach, California, this drone photography project illuminates scars in the urban fabric.

April 28, 2021

The Moinho favela in central São Paulo is sandwiched between an overpass and railroad tracks. It has no public water, electricity, or sanitation.
On the eastern side of False Bay, in suburban Cape Town, South Africa, a prosperous beachside neighborhood, the Strand (right) is set off from subsidized government housing in Nomzamo (left) by rows of informal settlements (center).
With more than 2 billion users, Facebook has built a global empire of wealth and influence. A homeless encampment sits in the shadow of its headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
In northwest Long Beach, California, houses abut storage tanks used by the many oil refineries in the area.
A pawn shop on Minnehana Avenue in Minneapolis was destroyed by fire during the unrest following the killing of George Floyd.

This area of the Sante Fe neighborhood of Mexico City contains barriers and walls to separate two communities neatly and discreetly. Another way to see this is to enable street view on Google maps, and look at the available roads leading into and out of an area of exclusion.
The Moinho favela in central São Paulo is sandwiched between an overpass and railroad tracks. It has no public water, electricity, or sanitation.

These images are part of “Unequal Scenes,” a drone photography project intended to illuminate scars in the urban fabric. More images from this project can be found on the Unequal Scenes site or on Instagram.

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