LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CHAPTER 5: URBANISATION, SLUMS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
5.4 Informal settlements and slums: a global perspective
Informal settlements are defined as housing that is constructed on land without formal permission from the authorities, and which has not been properly purchased through the normal system and zone for residential development. The lack of permission from the local authorities implies that the households constructing houses in informal settlements do not necessarily abide by official planning regulations, enforced on formally planned, surveyed and serviced residential developments. Throughout the globe, informal settlements are often found on land that is unsuitable for human settlements such as on steep hillsides, swampy low lying land, landfill sites, beside open sewers and near noisy airports or industrial sites (Mitchell & Bevan, 1992).
In 1999, it was with the post Apartheid 'Cities without Slums' initiative of the World Bank and UN-Habitat (through their jointly funded Cities Alliance), that the term 'slum' drew international attention. Cities Alliance defined 'slums' as neglected parts of the cities, where housing and living conditions are appallingly poor. Slums range from high- density, squalid central-city tenements to spontaneous squatter settlements without legal recognition or rights, sprawling at the edge of cities (Cities Alliance, 1999, cited in UN-Habitat, 2005a). In 2000, the United Nations Millennium Development Declaration made reference to this initiative and a special task group was convened to give meaning to the term 'slum'. 'Slum' was then defined as any area that met the following six criteria: lack of basic services, inadequate building structures, overcrowding, unhealthy and hazardous conditions, insecure tenure, and poverty and exclusion (UN- Habitat, 2005a). In other words the United Nations Millennium Development emphasised that slums are unsustainable and actions should be taken to improve the living conditions of people living in them.
Slums arise from the poor people's need to find affordable and accessible housing.
They are created by the market or by the people themselves, when an increasing number of people in poverty meet inadequate housing and planning responses. The Global Report on Human Settlements (2003) defines slums as a contiguous settlement, where the inhabitants are characterised as having insufficient housing and a lack of basic services. The proportion of the population living in slums or squatter settlements in developing countries is more than a third of the overall population. Slums are seen in practically all parts of the world, but with higher concentration in the developing world cities. About 50% of slum dwellers were in South-central and Eastern Asia (if combined), 14% in Latin America and 17% in sub-Saharan Africa.
The studies carried out by UNCHS shows that between 70-95% of all post Apartheid housing built in developing countries in the last 30 to 40 years were built in informal settlements (UNCHS; quoted in Kombe, 2000). In some cities in developing countries, such as Dakar, Mombasa, Casablanca and Calcutta, between 60 to 70% of urban population are reported to be living in slums. In few cities, such as Douala, Uganda, Ibadan, Lome and Rabat, the proportion is said to be in excess by 70%. The proportion in Africa is rising rapidly as population increases and urban housing shortages continue, while it is falling in Latin America due to regularisation and slum improvement (United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2003). This estimate of the slum population in major regions of the world is reflected in Table 5.2. These Figures must be treated with caution. Doubt exists regarding the accuracy and comparability, since different definitions of slums have been used in different studies.
Table 5.2: Estimate of Slum Population in Major Regions of the World
Total Population
Estimated Slum Population Major area, region
(millions) Percentage of
(thousands)
urban population
World 63134 923,986 31.6
Developed regions 1194 54,068 6.0
Europe 726 33,062 6.2
Other 467 21,006 5.7
Developing regions 4940 869,918 43.0
Northern Africa 146 21,355 28.2
Sub-Saharan Africa 667 166,208 71.9
Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) 527 127,567 31.9
Eastern Asia 1364 193,824 36.4
South-central Asia 1507 262,354 58.8
South-eastern Asia 530 56,781 28.0
Western Asia 192 41,331 33.1
Oceania 8 499 24.1
Least developed countries (LDC's) 685 140,114 78.2
Landlocked developing countries (LLDC's) 275 47,303 56.5
Small island developing states (SIDS) 52 7,321 24.4
Source: a) Total population: World Urbanisation Prospects: The 2001 Revision, Table A. 1.
b) Slum population and percentages calculated by UN-Habitat using data from DHS (1987- 2001)
The lack of accurate data is also a major problem. As long as cities have no idea of how many dwellings are within their urban areas and choose to exclude slum dwellings from statistics, it seems almost unfeasible to map the substantial increase in the number of slum dwellers during the last decade. In Asia, general urban housing standards improved considerably during the decade, and formal building kept pace with
urban growth. This was also the case in South-East Asia until the Asia crisis of 1997. In some countries of Latin America, there was tenure regularisation and a large drop in the number of squatter households, which reduced the number of slums. Nevertheless, housing deficits remained high and slums continue to exist in most cities. Cities in sub- Saharan Africa and in some Arab states showed considerable housing crisis, with rents and prices rising substantially while household incomes fell, probably corresponding to higher occupancy rates. In addition, slum areas increased in most cities and the rate of slum improvement was very slow or negligible in most places (Global Report on Human Settlements (GROHS), 2003).
Figure 5.2 shows that a slum is a worldwide phenomenon that can be found in developing countries and in developed countries as well. Sub-Saharan Africa has a high rate of urban population residing in slums compared to other regions in the world.
In fact, the Figure also reveals that while cities in developed countries have only 6% of urban population living in slums, 72% of urban population in sub-Saharan Africa find their home in slums.
Figure 5.2 Slum Dwellers As A Percentage Of Urban Population By Region
Region Source: Global Report on Human Settlements, (2003)
The formation and extension of slums in the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa portray the negative impact of the rapid urban growth in Africa. A slum is the shelter dimension of urban poverty (UN Habitat, 2006/2007) and demonstrates the inability of governments to adequately deal with the housing needs of the urban poor.
Although, a slum is a major sign of urban poverty and the inability of governments to provide adequate shelter to urban poor households, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (2003) has emphasised the complexities surrounding slums issue in sub-Saharan Africa. Slums and poverty are in principle closely related and mutually reinforcing. However, not all the residents of slums are poor, some are capable to rent or to own a house in formal settlements and it is not exclusive to find poor people in adequate formal housing. The report also elucidates that even though most of the slum dwellers work in informal settlements, it is not unusual for them to have incomes that exceed the earning of formal sector employees. In most cities, slum settlements provide both affordable shelter and good access to employment. Urban squatters are not homogenous groups, some are better off than others. They are capable of maintaining an adequate shelter in rural areas or places of origin to ensure their base in rural areas, and it is the poorest, who are the most disadvantaged (Hardiman & Midgley, 1989).