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1 – 10 of over 2000The urbanization of poverty is a structural trend embodied in the sprawling urban slums of the developing countries. It remains a largely unacknowledged dynamic. This is…
Abstract
The urbanization of poverty is a structural trend embodied in the sprawling urban slums of the developing countries. It remains a largely unacknowledged dynamic. This is particularly true in terms of the population-level patterns of social well-being derived from urban slum prevalence or proportion of the total population living in urban slum conditions. In particular, there is increasing evidence of an “urban penalty” wherein urban slum dwellers exhibit poorer health outcomes than non-slum urban residents and even rural populations. We articulate the proposition that urban slum prevalence is a key factor shaping population-level rates of social well-being in the developing countries, measured at the national level. Further, we develop the proposition drawn from political economy of health theorization suggesting cross-national dependency relations substantially influence urban slum conditions. In turn, the structural dynamics of the world economy underlie urban slum prevalence which itself has a direct influence on population-level patterns of social well-being as measured by infant and under-five mortality, maternal mortality, and life expectancy at birth. We conclude by arguing for greater empirical attention focusing upon the consequences of dependency relations as expressed in the built urban environment and the impact of urban slum prevalence as a key social condition impacting well-being in the less developed countries.
This chapter deals with an important but neglected aspect of female labor force participation (FLFP) in urban India. Contemporary literature typically focuses on the entire urban…
Abstract
This chapter deals with an important but neglected aspect of female labor force participation (FLFP) in urban India. Contemporary literature typically focuses on the entire urban sector and ignores one important aspect of urban living – the slums and its dwellers. This study fills that critical gap by examining two different household surveys side-by-side: a primary survey of households living in slums and slum-rehabilitated colonies, and the nationally representative Indian Human Development survey-II. This study brings outs a comparative picture of nature/type of FLFP and its various correlates from both slum and non-slum areas of three metro cities of India, viz. Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. It further explores the similarities and the differences of the correlates for FLFP among the slum clusters of these cities. It is found that despite being poorer and marginalized, the slum dwelling women’s LFP rate is not extra-ordinarily high vis-á-vis their non-slum urban counterparts. In slums, a higher proportion of women are engaged in self-employment (including family business) and casual employments (includes domestic helps), whereas in non-slum areas relatively more women are engaged in regular salaried jobs. Regression analysis identifies correlates that have similar effects, but with different intensity, across-the-board – relationship between education and FLFP reflects a flat-bottom J-shaped pattern; being married, higher child dependency ratio and household heads with higher education significantly constrain women’s work choice; strong income effect of other household members earning on FLFP, but asset holding has no bearing. However, there are other factors that affect FLFP differently in slums and non-slum areas. Policy prescriptions are drawn.
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Saleh Ahmed and Khan Rubayet Rahaman
Slums, in urban areas of the Global South, are often manifested as the spatial manifestation of urban poverty. In many local contexts, eviction of slums is treated as the recipe…
Abstract
Purpose
Slums, in urban areas of the Global South, are often manifested as the spatial manifestation of urban poverty. In many local contexts, eviction of slums is treated as the recipe of urban development initiative, which is actually wrong and short-sighted unsustainable solution. This chapter addresses some of the interlinked issues and highlights how the megacities of the Global South can pursue a more holistic, pro-poor, and sustainable solutions by dealing this developmental challenge.
Methodology
This chapter is basically an outcome of a policy research, combining information and arguments from different secondary resources.
Findings
This chapter offers a better understanding on the causes and consequences of the slums, along with ideas for the government to tackle this issue and promote better livelihoods for the poor citizens. Even though this chapter focuses on the sustainability challenges in Dhaka, it can have policy implications in other regions with similar social, economic, and political conditions.
Research limitation
The discussion in this chapter does not include an empirical modeling or analysis technique so that the problems can be proven quantitatively. In some future research, a more quantitative approach can help to quantify the losses people are facing in terms of social value, monetary losses, and environmental cohesion.
Social implications
Without making any provisions for jobs and livelihoods for the poor slum dwellers, the process of eviction might cause the total “city management” system to collapse. Then it is no more an urban development initiative, but rather a government-initiated poverty generation process. Therefore, government can think for solutions at different levels – from local to regional scale, including long-term and short-term sustainability strategies.
Originality
Often the governments as well as the policy makers in the Global South treat the poverty problems (including slum formations) from a much narrower perspective. They should rather focus on the issue as part of a big developmental picture. The strategies can start both from macro- and micro-levels. On the macro-level, the government can initiate climate-resilient and pro-poor development strategies. On the micro-level, the government, along with nongovernmental organizations and national and international development partners, can focus on skill development opportunities and policies, so that the poor can live legally, wherever they want, with decent employment and livelihood opportunities.
The paper aims to look into the implications of urban informality in Chris Abani's Graceland as represented in slum life and urban poverty as products of over urbanization and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to look into the implications of urban informality in Chris Abani's Graceland as represented in slum life and urban poverty as products of over urbanization and globalization, seeking to unravel multi-layers of the human side of the slum.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines slum life from a descriptive approach to highlight how people survive under poverty. The study of the culture of slums entails an analysis of the survival techniques and everyday practices of slum dwellers, the relations and patterns of behavior and the outcomes of the interplay between place, culture and power relations in such communities.
Findings
The urban slum dwellers utilize everyday forms of resistance which comprise a number of “low-profile techniques” to subvert state-imposed power structures and break the cycle of poverty.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the relevance of a post-colonial approach to the texts, this paper is limited to the study of the impact of urban poverty on individuals.
Practical implications
The margin, represented in the urban poor, is brought into focus and perceived in a new light of empowerment which challenges alienating discourses.
Social implications
The multidimensional vision of Nigeria in Abani's text highlights the cultural and economic impacts of multiculturalism, neocolonialism and globalization on the urban poor.
Originality/value
The paper formulates a framework for understanding the culture of the slum as a space of a peculiar nature, seeking to deconstruct a fixed view of slum life and poverty culture.
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A.S.M. Shuaib and Md Masud Parves Rana
The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding about sources of water for the urban poor in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh. It evaluates water supply performances to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding about sources of water for the urban poor in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh. It evaluates water supply performances to identify priority areas of water supply for further improvement. The paper also illustrates whether location of slums in the city has a connection with water supply facilities or not.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a case study of water supply for the urban slum dwellers. Based on a questionnaire survey, it evaluates performances of water supply following a holistic framework for assessing dimensions of water supply system among three slum zones of Rajshahi city. The dimensions of water supply are as follows: technical, biophysical, political, institutional, economic and social.
Findings
The research finds that most of the slum dwellers do not have reliable and sufficient access to water supply. The performance of water supply is location specific, and all of the slums do not have equal access to all dimensions of water supply. Overall performance of water supply is moderate, but individual performances of dimensions are unsatisfactory and unequal among the slums.
Practical implications
The paper suggests location-specific identification of strengths and weaknesses of water supply for the poor. It consolidates a performance evaluation method for identifying priority areas and needs of the urban poor for making Rajshahi city more inclusive and sustainable.
Originality/value
The paper provides an assessment of water supply performance for the urban poor in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh.
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Anindita Mukherjee, Ashish Gupta, Piyush Tiwari and Baisakhi Sarkar Dhar
Achieving tenure security is a global challenge impacting cities of the global south. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of technology-enabled solutions as an…
Abstract
Purpose
Achieving tenure security is a global challenge impacting cities of the global south. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of technology-enabled solutions as an enabler for the tenure rights of slum dwellers.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, we adopted a case study approach to analyze the use cases for technologies aiding India’s securitization of land tenure. The flagship state mission of Odisha, named the Jaga Mission, and that of Punjab, named BASERA – the Chief Minister’s Slum Development Program – were used as cases for this paper.
Findings
It was found that technologies like drone imagery and digital surveys fast-tracked the data collection and helped in mapping the slums with accuracy, mitigating human errors arising during measurement – a necessary condition for ensuring de jure tenure security. The adoption of a technology-based solution, along with a suitable policy and legal framework, has helped in the distribution of secure land titles to the slum dwellers in these states.
Originality/value
Odisha’s and Punjab’s journey in using technology to enable tenure security for its urban poor residents can serve as a model for the cities of the global south, dealing with the challenges of providing secure tenure and property rights.
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Jaskirat Singh and Manjit Singh
This study investigates how enhancing slum dwellers' capabilities influences their entrepreneurship development and contributes to urban poverty reduction, providing insights for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates how enhancing slum dwellers' capabilities influences their entrepreneurship development and contributes to urban poverty reduction, providing insights for social policy design.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research design is adopted applying structural equation modeling to survey data from 585 beneficiaries of social welfare schemes across Indian slums.
Findings
Educational, economic and sociocultural capabilities positively impact quantitative and qualitative dimensions of slum entrepreneurship development, which reduces urban poverty, supporting the hypothesized relationships grounded in the Capability Approach.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional data limits causal inference. Wider sampling can improve generalizability. Capability antecedents of entrepreneurship merit further investigation across contexts.
Practical implications
Integrated policy initiatives focused on education, skill building, access to finance and markets can leverage entrepreneurship for sustainable urban poverty alleviation.
Social implications
Enhancing slum dweller capabilities fosters entrepreneurship and empowerment, enabling people to shape their own destinies and reduce deprivations.
Originality/value
The research provides timely empirical validation of the Capability Approach and evidence-based insights to inform social policy aiming to alleviate urban poverty via entrepreneurship in developing countries.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2023-0514.
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Sanoobia Iqrar and Azra Musavi
The present study intends to highlight the issues and challenges pertinent to sanitation practices among urban slum women in India.
Abstract
Purpose
The present study intends to highlight the issues and challenges pertinent to sanitation practices among urban slum women in India.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary qualitative data has been collected from 100 households sampled by stratified random and purposive sampling through in-depth interviews, and a structured interview schedule and themes were developed accordingly.
Findings
The main theme-based results of the study included the challenges of open defecation in slums, public toilets as an alternative, sanitation-related stress in slum women, compromised state of health of women and children, menstrual hygiene among women in slums and increasing burden on women in terms of water management. The study recommends the creation of toilets in every slum locality with maintenance and awareness to be raised.
Originality/value
Urban sanitation has received less research than rural sanitation. The present study focused on the issues of urban sanitation, which are often neglected. To ensure the study's uniqueness, researchers visited and mentioned each open defecation site to understand the situation.
Peer review
The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2022-0782
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Aisha Abubakar, Ombretta Romice and Ashraf M. Salama
Slums have existed as long as cities have and are a growing context in the developing world. The challenge is in their efficient, effective and inclusive management. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Slums have existed as long as cities have and are a growing context in the developing world. The challenge is in their efficient, effective and inclusive management. The purpose of this paper is to frame slums in the broad aim of urban development and the pursuit of prosperity, as active players and positive contributors in every right – a slum-prosperity framework. First, however, they need to be comprehensively defined in a non-exclusive, structured, dynamic and heuristic way; a previous publication was set to resolve this challenge.
Design/methodology/approach
Guided by a synthesized operative model for prosperity, such a definition for slums is used to precisely relate their characters to the pursuit of prosperity through a mapping process, whereby these characters are linked to potentials for prosperity, improvement goals, resources and intervention plans.
Findings
Both slums and prosperity are fuzzy, complex and variable terms; the only possibility to deal with them both is to break them down into simple and manageable yet operative units and establish the most influential and effective links between them to organize intervention according to patterns of change in both slums and city.
Research limitations/implications
An intervention agenda like the one proposed here, that gives room for contextual and temporal urban complexities, has the potential to augment urban practice and help curb the slum phenomenon. A final paper (forthcoming) will illustrate the application of both the comprehensive definition of slum and the implementation of a pathway toward prosperity.
Originality/value
The proposal in this paper is derived as part of research conducted for the award of a PhD at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow. This was in general set to contribute to the proactive and inclusive improvement of slums and cities. The proposal is further derived from the authors’ involvement and personal interest in developing regions and is designed on local experience and on wider expertise in urban renewal.
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Oluwaseyi Omowunmi Popogbe, Simeon Oludiran Akinleye and Mautin David Oke
This paper aims to measure multi-dimensional poverty in Lagos State slums. This study is relevant because slums are becoming a present-day reality for urban cities and it is now…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to measure multi-dimensional poverty in Lagos State slums. This study is relevant because slums are becoming a present-day reality for urban cities and it is now paramount to understand the dynamics of deprivations suffered under various dimensions in the slums.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-stage sampling technique is used to sample 400 respondents from five slums (Makoko, Iwaya, Ilaje, IjoraBadia and Amukoko) in Lagos State and information have gotten using a structured questionnaire. The fuzzy set approach to measuring multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) is used in estimating the MPI for the slums.
Findings
The findings from the study show that although all the slums have varying MPI; however, the average MPI for the slums is 0.49. Further findings show that majority of the households are largely deprived in the education dimension, proceeded by the living standards dimension and finally, health dimension.
Research limitations/implications
The current study focused on a few selected slums in Lagos State and findings show that it may be erroneous to absolutely adopt policy implications derived for other major slums in cities around the world.
Originality/value
This study advances the frontier of slum studies in Nigeria by following an analytical path in understanding the degree of poverty in the slums.
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