Unfortunately that is the type of place I live as well and I am not sure if it is getting any better neither but a friend helped me understand something better. I know that when I tell people where I am from people think about places like London or New York, but the reality is that 55% of the population is either working for either minimum wage or not working at all (this is all the people between ages 18-65, so there are many more who are under 18 and over 65 that doesn't work as expected too, hence only 30% or so of the city takes care of everyone else).
Long story short we are talking about something that is horrible in the short term, but what my friend helped me realize was the fact that even while we are doing bad now, it is still better than what we had in history, I mean even the biggest King never had the chance to use computers, so it is still getting better.
I agree that even or sometimes especially in urban cities, if you live on the wrong side of the gap, it's really not a fun life. I went to my capital myself in my teens and it was a pretty big culture shock. No swanky neighbourhoods, renting spaces on the floor and not rooms, sharing with 20 other people and using communal taps and bathrooms.
But there, at least there was access to better your life and escape the cycle, is what I'm saying. You talk of a time when Kings didn't have computers. I talk of a time when most of the world will live and die without the opportunity to read or write, much less touch a computer.
But there is a mentality at play here for sure. You can't break out without the right one.