Socioeconomic stuff in the developing world is something I think we can learn a lot from, but also has to be taken in context. There's one factor in particular

Socioeconomic stuff in the developing world is something I think we can learn a lot from, but also has to be taken in context. There's one factor in particular that's just so different. In the US crime is extremely strongly connected to low income. Alongside the crime also comes drug abuse and other related issues. In many developing nations this is not such an issue. Building regulations and 'NIMBY' in general are often, at least in part, proxies for this issue. It's not until you've lived in the developing world and seeing 6 figure condos next to rundown shanties that you start to see how things differ. At first it's a depressing sight, but then you eventually come to realize that it's a million times better than the self economic segregation that we resort to in the US as we try to collectively escape crime. In the developing world when you speak of a 'nice' area you are often talking overtly and only about the positives of an area, as opposed to any 'non-negative.' In the US when you speak of a 'nice' area there's an often undertone of 'Can I walk around in this area at 10pm without having to worry about falling victim to randomly targeted violent crime?' In my opinion this is the true fundamental root of so many of our social and socioeconomic issues. If it could somehow be solved everything else would begin to fall in place with the slightest of effort.