How can urban slums be integrated into cities? 

 
 
 
how can urban slums be integrated into cities?
Posted by: IIPS Category: Real estate Comments: 0

Preamble

Slums can affect a city in many different ways. The unskilled youth living in slums are excluded from economic opportunities. The disabled persons suffer due to the dilapidated infrastructure found in slums whereas migrants, refugees and displaced persons can suffer from vulnerabilities worsened by financial instability. This blog will discuss how informal settlements can be integrated into urban areas to improve the living conditions of slum dwellers and to provide sustainable housing solutions amid rapid urbanization.

Research Questions

  1. What is the concept of urban slums? 
  2. How do urban slums develop?
  3. How to prevent the abrupt growth of urban slums?
  4. What are some of the ways to integrate urban slums into cities?

Introduction

Urban slums or informal settlements are often found in urban areas and are a global phenomenon. The people living in slums are usually subjected to deprivation on many different levels. These people live in slums due to poverty, socio-spatial exclusion, and the inability of the government to provide affordable housing to the lower-class. People living in slums experience discrimination and a lack of recognition in policymaking. They do not have access to the property, housing security, and the land which they have lived for years is considered illegally occupied (Hussain et al., 2019). Slum-dwellers often live in dismal conditions which makes them vulnerable to the effects of climate change and natural disasters, diseases, violence, crime, and many social issues such as teen pregnancies, child labour, and lack of education. (World Urban Campaign, 2020) 

The Concept of Urban Slums

Urban slums are found within cities which have become overcrowded and where there is inadequate housing. These settlements lack services such as water sanitation, waste collection, drainage, street lights, sidewalks as well as security. Slums, in many cities across Pakistan, have existed for over decades without any recognition or services being provided by the government.  Informal settlements are often built on land that is occupied illegally and lacks urban planning or adherence to construction or housing regulations. Slums are found in areas where there is a high crime rate, and they tend to expand when unemployment is on the rise in a country. Some slums may have better-living conditions than others. Slums are not the same as rural or undeveloped areas. Slum-dwellers are often a diverse group of people. Over 60 percent of the informal sector and employment comes from the population living in slums. Slums are home to over one billion people in the developing world which means that one in every three people living in a city, lives in a slum. (World Urban Campaign, 2020).

The Development of Urban Slums 

In most cases, the slums within a city are as old as the city itself. In the early years of industrialisation, slums attracted more and more people because housing within a city was not affordable and living in slums made the city accessible. Slums developed over time due to population growth and lack of governance. Population growth is correlated with rapid urbanisation. In cities where a large number of people migrate from rural to urban areas, the people usually resort to living in slums if the housing in the city is beyond their means. (Cities Alliance, 2020). 

Urban migration takes place for several reasons. People move to urban areas in search of better jobs, education, and health facilities. Cities offer people with better living conditions, social mobility, improved access to transport and communication. Urbanisation if left unchecked, can quickly result in the growth of slums. The inability of the government to recognise the right and needs of low-income groups is one of the major factors that contribute to the development of slums.

Many countries do not have the infrastructural capacity to cater to the rapid rate at which urbanisation is taking place. More people are moving to cities than the government has made plans to house and so it is physically impossible for them to live inside the city. This has resulted in the development of urban slums (UN Habitat, 2020). In some cases, the government takes a passive approach to the development of slums which results in poor living conditions, crime and environmental degradation. While in other cases, the government does take action by viewing slums as illegal occupation of land. Destroying slums can hurt the economy of a city significantly while also resulting in the displacement of many (Cities Alliance, 2020).

Steps Towards Preventing the Growth of Urban Slums 

There are many ways in which the government can help prevent the development of slums. First and foremost, the government must recognise and accept that urbanisation will take place, and that there isn’t much that can be done to stop it. Upon accepting that urbanisation is inevitable, the government must create a plan for urban growth and land allocation, which would determine where formal urban settlements will be and what kind of services the government can provide.

Land tenure is the right of an individual to live on a designated piece of land determined by ownership or lease. Land rights give people confidence in their future. People are more likely to live somewhere and invest if they know they are safe from eviction. The lack of clear legal framework behind land rights and inappropriate standards and regulations imposed on property acquisitions make it even more difficult for slum dwellers to own and develop the land legally. Moreover, the state of corruption in a country makes matters worse by making it difficult to access clear information regarding land ownership. 

Slum-dwellers may be a part of the urban population, but they do not enjoy the same democratic rights to a clean environment and proper living conditions. The government must take necessary measures to remedy this discrimination by not only providing slum dwellers with their democratic right but also communicating these rights to them. Only after the slum dwellers realise their democratic rights can a dialogue be initiated between the government and the slum dwellers to upgrade the settlements and integrate them into cities (Cities Alliance, 2020).

Integrating Urban Slums into Cities: 

To integrate slums into cities, a systematic and city-wide approach must be taken. Policies must be formed that take into account the planning, financing, and regulation of the informal settlements to strengthen the existing urban structure. Slums must be operationalised in a way that the lives of the inhabitants are improved, and the formation of newer slums is prevented (World Urban Campaign, 2020). The integration of the slum population at all levels of the government will help integrate the policy-making and planning process in a way that the complete understanding of slum-living is represented. This would help achieve a broader perspective on the lifestyle of the slum-dwellers and help upgrade their environment in the best way possible while also following through the development plans of the city (Kulshreshtha & Bhattacharya, 2019).

Streets could play an essential role in the incorporation of slums into formal settlements. Slum up-gradation projects in many cities have shown that through well-defined holistic strategies, informal settlements could begin to mesh with cities and help achieve urban transformation. Streets act as natural conduits in facilitating the movement of people and vehicles. Roads fall under the public domain, and when built in a way to facilitate the inclusion of slums into urban areas, they attract business activity, law and order enforcement, as well as a sense of public safety and means of communication. The link between urban and informal settlements through streets could lead to housing investments, economic activity and an overall sense of security which is crucial for the up-gradation of slums. This can be achieved through the involvement of the local government, NGO’s, pirate entities and the civil society (Arcila, 2008).

Conclusion

Many city planners and policymakers consider slums to be a sign of backwardness in the social structure which results in crime and economic instability. Slums are often viewed as a threat to the sustainability of a city. Yet, to achieve sustainable development, there is no practical solution besides formally incorporating slums into the city’s master plan. Keeping in mind the rapid urbanisation which is taking place, it is too expensive for the government to meet the soaring demand for housing by providing mass public housing. The government must also keep in mind that efficient transport integration, waste management and water and energy services must be provided alongside an effective plan for public housing. Accelerating urbanisation could lead to the destruction of productive land, congestion, and air and water pollution. All in all, viable alternatives are required to achieve slum up-gradation as they must be integrated into the existing urban structure. The problem of informal settlements cannot be solved if they are not accepted and integrated. The informal settlements must be transformed to make them livable for the lower-income groups to achieve social cohesion and to achieve economic resilience in the face of the mass urbanisation crisis. 

 

Key Takeaways

  1. Slums or informal settlements are found within cities which have become overcrowded and where there is inadequate housing. 
  2. The government must create a plan for urban growth and land allocation, which would determine where formal urban settlements will be and what kind of services the government can provide. 
  3. Slums must be operationalised in a way that the lives of the inhabitants are improved, and the formation of newer slums is prevented. 
  4. Streets could play an important role in the integration of slums into formal settlements. They fall under the public domain and can be built in a way to facilitate the inclusion of slums into urban areas. 
  5. The link between urban and informal settlements through streets could lead to housing investments, economic activity and an overall sense of security which is crucial for the up-gradation of slums.
  6. The informal settlements must be transformed to make them livable for the lower-income groups to achieve social cohesion and to achieve economic resilience in the face of the mass urbanisation crisis. 

 

Bibliography

Arcila, C., 2008. Learning From Slum Upgrading And Participation A Case Study Of Participatory Slum Upgrading In The Emergence Of New Governance In The City Of Medellín–Colombia. [online] KTH Architecture and the Built Environment. Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277745637_Learning_from_Slum_Upgrading_and_Participation_A_case_study_of_participatory_slum_upgrading_in_the_emergence_of_new_governance_in_the_city_of_Medellin-Colombia> [Accessed 9 December 2020].

Cairns, S., 2019. What Slums Can Teach Us About Building The Cities Of The Future. [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: <https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/why-slums-could-provide-the-housing-inspiration-of-the-future/> [Accessed 9 December 2020].

Cities Alliance, 2020. Slum Upgrading | Cities Alliance. [online] Citiesalliance.org. Available at: <https://citiesalliance.org/about-slum-upgrading> [Accessed 9 December 2020].

Humphrey, M., & Hossain, S.  (2018, January 11). Expanding Urban Slums. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies. Retrieved 9 Dec. 2020, from https://oxfordre.com/internationalstudies/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.001.0001/acrefore-9780190846626-e-434.

Hussain, T., Abbas, J., Wei, Z. and Nurunnabi, M., 2019. The Effect of Sustainable Urban Planning and Slum Disamenity on The Value of Neighboring Residential Property: Application of The Hedonic Pricing Model in Rent Price Appraisal. Development Advocate Pakistan, [online] 5(4). Available at: <http://file:///C:/Users/momina.arif/Downloads/sustainability-11-01144.pdf> [Accessed 9 December 2020].

Kulshreshtha, S. and Bhattacharya, L., 2019. Has Urban Planning Improved Living Condition In Slums? Evidence From Million Plus Cities In India. [online] Conference: CAS Young Scholars’ Seminar 2018At: Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Delhi. Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330506501_Has_urban_planning_improved_living_condition_in_slums_Evidence_from_million_plus_cities_in_India> [Accessed 9 December 2020].

UN Habitat, 2020. Streets As Tools For Urban Transformation In Slums: A STREET-LED APPROACH TO CITYWIDE SLUM UPGRADING. [online] Ohchr.org. Available at: <https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Housing/InformalSettlements/UNHABITAT_StreetsasToolsforUrbanTransformationinSlums.pdf> [Accessed 9 December 2020].

World Urban Campaign, 2020. Integrating Slums To Their Cities And Towns | World Urban Campaign. [online] Worldurbancampaign.org. Available at: <https://www.worldurbancampaign.org/psup/integrating-slums-to-their-cities-and-towns> [Accessed 9 December 2020].

 

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