Lecture 5&6 Management of Urban Slums Flashcards
Define slums
UN-HABITAT define slum household as grp of individuals living under same roof in urban area LACKING one or more of following
- Durable housing, protect against extreme climatic condit n
-Enough living space
-Easy access to safe water, affordable
-Access to basic municipal services
-Security of tenure (ownership) preventing forced evict n fr house
What has been the trend for slums in cities?
> 1 billion or >15% of world’s pop n live in slums
no of slum dwellers in LDCs increased considerably fr 689million in 1990 to 880 million in 2014
abt 60% of these found in Asia, followed by Africa (23%)
Elaborate on slums in cities
The term ‘slum’ now include vast informal settlements (squatters) found in LDC cities.
Slums found in inner cities while squatters set up at edge/periphery of cities
Describe slums in LDCs
Usually squatter settlements (spontaneous, built in a haphazard manner using discarded materials eg zinc metal, corrugated cardboards - unstable living structures)
-occupy area illegally
-high housing density (overcrowded living condit n)
- lack basic amenities/services
-on undesirable land areas ie. prone to landslides, flooding
-near some for of amenities eg transport, water supplies
-urban slum dwellers work in informal economies (jobs are ad-hoc, not taxed, regulated by govt)
What are squatter settlements/shanty towns?
- Makeshift houses typically found at outskirts/periphery of cities and built on illegal land by poor rural migrants (searching for jobs)
- Squatters characteristic of cities in Third World countries eg in Asia, Africa
What are the causes of Slum format n in LDCs?
- Large scale RU migrat n
- Demographic reasons (LDC rapid rate of Natural increase in pop n living in slums/squatters)
- Poor governance
Elaborate on large scale RU migrat n as cause of slum format n
- large, rapid influx of rural migrants to city face severe housing shortage
- poorly skilled and uneducated migrants face difficulty gain formal job, cnt afford high cost housing at city centre
=>resort to stay in illegal housing, build own squatter settlement
eg Lagos, Nigeria
70% of pop n live in slums prone to flooding. Floods hv social and economic impacts (harm health, cause water shortage, deny job opportun)
Explain how LDC govt cause slum format n (particularly housing)
- Govt in LDCs often faced w challenge of econ constraint
- Inadequate capital, resources for new housing, as urban n process in LDCs occurred w/o benefits of industrialisat n
- W/o strong political will, govt trapped in cycle of never provide enough or improve country’s circumstances
Expound on poor governance being a cause of slum format n (HINT: factors)
i. Political instability
-housing issue not prioritised in times of turmoil, political instability
-much fund diverted to defence, maintain order -> less given to address housing issues
ii. Corrupt n
- eg Brazil govt og intend use 2016 Rio Olympics Games to relocate some residents to Rocinha Favelas (slums) -> due to corrupt n and mismgment of funds, many construct n projects left unfinished and favelas not upgraded as promised
iii. Lack of Proper Urban Planning
- weak control by local authorities to monitor, regulate use of abandoned urban land -> creat n of squatters eg Kolkata, India and Costa Rica, Central America
What are the four reasons slums form in DCs?
*Located in areas once prosperous, now suffer fr inner city decline/decay as
- Govt cnt provide jobs after change in economy (effect of deindustrialisat n)
- Suburban n and counterurban n processes (wealthy move out, depopulation bcos of centrifugal force)
- Lack of affordable housing, insufficient public housing
- International migrat n
Why does deindustrialisat n happen in DCs?Give supporting examples
- lack of diversificat n in economy
eg Detroit over-focus on specialise in car manufacture industry, prone to econ change - due to loss of comparative advantage to cheap, abundant labour
eg wage in West Europe countries cost>$20/h while in Bangladesh, merely $0.50/hour
Deindustrialisat n of industrial cities eg Detroit in Rust Belt of USA due to industrialisat n in many Asian countries eg in Japan, S. Korea, Malaysia
What is deindustrialisat n?
Long term absolute decline of traditional manufature sector and associated job opportun
Elucidate how suburban n and counterurban n processes result in slum format n in DCs
- Inner city decline of various American cities aka ‘White decline, white flight, black flight’
- poor migrants seeking job move in to live in inner city (invasion)
- such cities dealing w overcrowding, increased pa on infra and high cost of living (centrifugal force)
- inner city living condit n bcame unattractive to house owners due to poor quality of life and rising social crime
-> rich left inner city for btr housing and living environ at suburbs and rural areas
-poor migrants occupied neglected buildings at low rent (succession)
-cnt pay taxes -> less revenue collected to maintain city’s infra
->slums are dilapidated buildings found in inner cities due to invasion and succession processes
eg sub-standard housing in London - permanent, well-maintained sturctures but in disrepair
In what way does lack of affordable housing/inadequate public housing cause slum format n in DCs
- All DCs NOT the same
- Some may not experience inner-city decline, but houses in city may b too costly to afford, ppl forced to stay in slums
eg Hong Kong’s rooftop slums, subdivided flats, caged homes, coffin homes
Give evidence of slum format n in DCs due to international migrat n
In SG, 50 workers found crammed into two condo units in Selegie Centre w/o mattresses or in bunk beds crammed tgt