Urban settlements are home to around half the urban population of Papua New Guinea. Since the end of the Second World War, PNG towns and cities have experienced significant growth of urban settlements. Urban dwellings were established on customary and untransformed state lands. With limited support for services from government, informal settlements in the urban landscape have often been perceived from the perspective of their deficiencies. However, residents of urban settlement communities play an important role in urban economies. The purpose of this article is to critically review perceptions of settlements and issues affecting settlement communities in PNG, both in the mainstream media and from within settlement communities. The authors first present a media content analysis of reporting on settlement communities on PNG’s main online media sites. Second, they examine urban market vendors’ personal experiences of the challenges and solutions of living in Kamkumung Settlement in Lae. Drawing on storytelling and photovoice workshops with market vendors at Awagasi market, they argue for the need for media actively to include the voices of settlement residents. The article suggests that, by better understanding the context and personal experience of residents, journalists and the media could make a stronger contribution to sustainable development and urban planning in PNG.

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“我想买自己的一块地”：巴布亚新几内亚城市定居社区的代表

巴布亚新几内亚约有一半的城市人口居住在城市定居点。自第二次世界大战结束以来，巴布亚新几内亚城镇经历了城市住区的显着增长。城市住宅建在传统和未改造的国有土地上。由于政府对服务的支持有限，城市景观中的非正规住区往往从其缺陷的角度来看待。然而，城市聚落社区的居民在城市经济中发挥着重要作用。本文的目的是批判性地审查主流媒体和定居社区内部对定居点和影响巴布亚新几内亚定居社区的问题的看法。作者首先对巴布亚新几内亚主要在线媒体网站上关于定居社区的报道进行了媒体内容分析。其次，他们考察了城市市场供应商在莱城 Kamkumung 定居点生活面临的挑战和解决方案的个人经历。他们利用与 Awagasi 市场的市场供应商进行的讲故事和照片配音研讨会，主张媒体需要积极纳入定居点居民的声音。文章建议，通过更好地了解居民、记者和媒体的背景和个人经历，可以为巴布亚新几内亚的可持续发展和城市规划做出更大的贡献。他们利用与 Awagasi 市场的市场供应商进行的讲故事和照片配音研讨会，主张媒体需要积极纳入定居点居民的声音。文章建议，通过更好地了解居民、记者和媒体的背景和个人经历，可以为巴布亚新几内亚的可持续发展和城市规划做出更大的贡献。他们利用与 Awagasi 市场的市场供应商进行的讲故事和照片配音研讨会，主张媒体需要积极纳入定居点居民的声音。文章建议，通过更好地了解居民、记者和媒体的背景和个人经历，可以为巴布亚新几内亚的可持续发展和城市规划做出更大的贡献。