As of last year, more people live in cities than rural places.

A billion of the world's people live in slums. The UN expects this number to double in 25 years.

The Places We Live presents 16 stories from four of today's huge city slums.

These stories are worth taking in, it only takes about a half hour of your time. There are voices of despair and resignation but also hope and resilience.

The panoramic VR images are powerful glimpses of the tiny living spaces in these slums. The narrator voices (though not always natural translations read in English) tell stories that are informative and real.

I find that without regular exposure to real stories of people who live in poverty, I am more likely to become numb to the reality of poverty in our world. I'd prefer to regularly be confronted, by choice, with the realities of the human struggle, because many of the choices I make and the economics of my own north American society have threads of influence interwoven with those who live in poverty half a world away.

My suggestion is to not just take this in and then move on with life as usual; but rather, after taking this in, choose one action you will take to respond to extreme poverty. It doesn't have to be a big action. Choose something small and achievable. Write it here in the comments, to help others.

"If we tell people about our house, will anyone believe us?" - Nagamma Shilpiri, Mumbai