In our #WhoAmI episode, we got an insight into the life of a young Roma woman living in a slum - right in the middle of rich Western Europe. We met Alina (in the back) who’s one of many Roma people living in this slum on the outskirts of Paris, France. Europe’s slums are home to many Roma people. One of the poorest communities in Europe, they often have little access to employment and education.

Most slums are constructed illegally but some represent an attempt by authorities to accommodate people in the outskirts of major cities. According to a European Commission study, one in four EU citizens say they would feel uncomfortable if they had a Roma as their neighbor. But Roma living outside of cities face discrimination, too: living in fear of being evicted at any time.

The United Nations defines a “slum household” as a group of people living under the same roof in an urban area who may lack one or more of the following: durable housing protecting against extreme weather, sufficient living space (not more than three people sharing a four square meter large room), access to safe water, adequate sanitation and secure tenure.

Although Europe is often associated with wealth and better living conditions, slums exist throughout the continent - from France to Serbia and Turkey. Europe’s biggest slum Cañada Real Galiana is located close to Madrid, Spain. 30,000 people live there, in a 16km-long, 75m-wide strip that was established more than 40 years ago.

But Europe’s biggest slum is rather small compared to what is said to be Africa’s biggest slum: Kibera. Located within Kenya’s capital Nairobi, it is home to at least 20 times more people at between 600,000 and 1.2million. Labeled as “informal” by officials, Kibera was long a blank spot on every map. Residents started changing that in 2009 - mapping their home via crowdsourcing: mapkibera.org

By 2020, 26.6 percent of the total population in Sub-Saharan Africa will live in slums, according to UN projections - a slight increase from now. In all other regions of the world, numbers decrease: In total, 57.7 percent of Asia’s population is projected to live in slums by then, whereas only 2.3 percent of Europeans will.

Europe’s slums are usually less deprived in comparison to other slums in the world. Amid this difference, all slums have one thing in common - their inhabitants are forced to improvise: this little boy is getting a haircut from his father in a camp near Belgrade, Serbia. As many of the residents do not have access to education, it is hard for them to escape the vicious circle of poverty.

European slums are not just home to Roma people or members of other minorities. During Spain’s financial crisis, many people could no longer afford their rent or mortgage and became slum residents.

This little family sits on a couch outside their home at a camp on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. However, a slum’s location and size is hard to determine - also because some are being gradually developed by authorities or abruptly evicted. Both make a proper assessment difficult. Thus, the number of people living in poor housing conditions are most likely higher than official numbers declare.

In our #WhoAmI episode, we got an insight into the life of a young Roma woman living in a slum - right in the middle of rich Western Europe. We met Alina (in the back) who’s one of many Roma people living in this slum on the outskirts of Paris, France. Europe’s slums are home to many Roma people. One of the poorest communities in Europe, they often have little access to employment and education.

Most slums are constructed illegally but some represent an attempt by authorities to accommodate people in the outskirts of major cities. According to a European Commission study, one in four EU citizens say they would feel uncomfortable if they had a Roma as their neighbor. But Roma living outside of cities face discrimination, too: living in fear of being evicted at any time.

The United Nations defines a “slum household” as a group of people living under the same roof in an urban area who may lack one or more of the following: durable housing protecting against extreme weather, sufficient living space (not more than three people sharing a four square meter large room), access to safe water, adequate sanitation and secure tenure.

Although Europe is often associated with wealth and better living conditions, slums exist throughout the continent - from France to Serbia and Turkey. Europe’s biggest slum Cañada Real Galiana is located close to Madrid, Spain. 30,000 people live there, in a 16km-long, 75m-wide strip that was established more than 40 years ago.

But Europe’s biggest slum is rather small compared to what is said to be Africa’s biggest slum: Kibera. Located within Kenya’s capital Nairobi, it is home to at least 20 times more people at between 600,000 and 1.2million. Labeled as “informal” by officials, Kibera was long a blank spot on every map. Residents started changing that in 2009 - mapping their home via crowdsourcing: mapkibera.org

By 2020, 26.6 percent of the total population in Sub-Saharan Africa will live in slums, according to UN projections - a slight increase from now. In all other regions of the world, numbers decrease: In total, 57.7 percent of Asia’s population is projected to live in slums by then, whereas only 2.3 percent of Europeans will.

Europe’s slums are usually less deprived in comparison to other slums in the world. Amid this difference, all slums have one thing in common - their inhabitants are forced to improvise: this little boy is getting a haircut from his father in a camp near Belgrade, Serbia. As many of the residents do not have access to education, it is hard for them to escape the vicious circle of poverty.

European slums are not just home to Roma people or members of other minorities. During Spain’s financial crisis, many people could no longer afford their rent or mortgage and became slum residents.

This little family sits on a couch outside their home at a camp on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. However, a slum’s location and size is hard to determine - also because some are being gradually developed by authorities or abruptly evicted. Both make a proper assessment difficult. Thus, the number of people living in poor housing conditions are most likely higher than official numbers declare.