The challenge of slums : global report on human settlements, 2003 / United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

Format:

Book

Contributor:

United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Slums.

Slums--Case studies.

Slums--Government policy.

Urban poor--Housing.

Urban poor.

Urban poor--Statistics.

Genre:

Statistics.

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xxxiv, 310 pages : illustrations, maps ; 30 cm

Other Title:

Global report on human settlements, 2003

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, VA : Earthscan Publications, 2003.

Summary:

The Challenge of Slums presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects. Using a newly formulated operational definition of slums, it presents estimates of the numbers of urban slum dwellers and examines the factors at all levels, from local to global, that underlie the formation of slums as well as their social, spatial and economic characteristics and dynamics. It goes on to evaluate the principal policy responses to the slum challenge of the last few decades.

From this assessment, the immensity of the challenges that slums pose is clear. Almost 1 billion people live in slums, the majority in the developing world where over 40 per cent of the urban population are slum dwellers. The number is growing and will continue to increase unless there is serious and concerted action by municipal authorities, governments, civil society and the international community. This report points the way forward and identifies the most promising approaches to achieving the United Nations Millennium Declaration targets for improving the lives of slum dwellers by scaling up participatory slum upgrading and poverty reduction programmes.

The Global Report on Human Settlements is the most authoritative and up-to-date assessment of conditions and trends in the world's cities. Written in clear language and supported by informative graphics, case studies and extensive statistical data, it will be an essential tool and reference for researchers, academics, planners, public authorities and civil society organizations around the world.

Contents:

Key Findings and Messages xxv

Prologue: Urban Growth and Housing xxix

Population Explosion and Urban Expansion xxxi

Accommodating Growth xxxi

The Focus of this Report xxxii

Part I Sharpening the Global Development Agenda

1 Development Context and the Millennium Agenda 5

Cities Without Slums? 5

The failure of governance 5

Institutional and legal failure 6

The Millennium Development Agenda 7

Understanding Slums 8

The notion of slums 9

Defining and measuring slums 10

Characteristics of slums 11

Lack of basic services 11

Substandard housing or illegal and inadequate building structures 11

Overcrowding and high density 11

Unhealthy living conditions and hazardous locations 11

Insecure tenure; irregular or informal settlements 11

Poverty and social exclusion 11

Minimum settlement size 11

Operational definition of slums 12

Number of slum dwellers: assessments and estimations 12

Trends in numbers of slum dwellers 13

2 Urbanization Trends and Forces Shaping Slums 17

Socio-Economic Inequality 17

Spatial organization and residential differentiation 17

The ecological school and the neo-classical model 17

Factorial ecology 18

Measuring spatial inequality and separation 20

Spatial concentration of poverty 20

Urban form and disadvantage 22

Mosaic post-modern cities in the developing world 22

Measuring urban development and disadvantage 23

Challenges to Sustainable Urbanization 23

Demographic changes and slum formation 23

Urban growth 24

Rural-urban migration 25

International migration 27

Declining areas and depopulation 27

Poverty 28

Poverty and slums 28

Defining poverty 29

Measurement of poverty incidence 30

Targeting of poverty reduction programmes 31

3 Cities and Slums within Globalizing Economies 34

Inequality and Poverty 34

Inequality: a recent history 35

Globalization: poverty amid affluence 39

Trade, globalization and cities 40

Trade theory and inequality 40

Trade: the reality 40

Finance, information and economic volatility 41

Labour markets under free trade regimes 42

Africa: economic stagnation in a globalizing world 43

The Retreat of the State 43

Privatization of utilities 44

Structural adjustment, cities and poverty 45

The Local and the Global 46

Insecurity and the diffusion of the local 47

Subsidiarity and the weakening of national governments 48

Transurban cooperation and integration: towards new urban economies 50

Slums and globalization 52

Looking ahead 52

Part II Assessing Slums in the Development Context

4 Social Dimensions 62

Historical Context and Evolution of Social Stratification Patterns 62

Views on inner-city slums 63

Slums and urbanization 64

Slums and capitalism 64

Slums and reformism 65

Are slums inevitable? 65

Social diversity of contemporary slums 66

Social Attributes and Functions of Slums 67

Accommodation of low-cost labour 67

Network for migrant absorption 68

Mobilization of political power 68

Environmental externalities 69

Service provision 70

Slums within Urban Society 70

Contribution to cultural developments 71

Co-location and social aspects of poverty 71

Health issues 72

Slums and disease 74

Crime issues 75

Community risk factors 75

Findings of recent research on crime 76

5 Territoriality and Spatial Forms 79

Slums Formation Processes and Spatial Types 80

Inner-city slums 80

Slum estates 81

Squatter settlements 82

Illegal settlements and subdivisions 83

Diversity of slums' spatial forms and associated opportunities 84

Origins and Age 85

Historic city-centre slums 85

Slum estates 86

Consolidating informal settlements 87

Recent slums 87

Location 88

Central 88

Scattered slum islands 89

Peripheral 90

Size and Scale 90

Large slum settlements 90

Medium-sized slum estates 91

Small slums 91

Legality, Vulnerability and Spatial Forms 92

Illegal 92

Informal 92

Development Dynamics 92

Ongoing individual and community-led development 93

Intervention-led improved slums 93

Upgraded slums 93

Lacking community incentives for improvement 95

Incipient slum creation 95

6 Economic Dynamics 96

Labour Force Growth 96

The creation and distribution of income 96

The global labour force 97

Unemployment and underemployment 98

Labour market abuses 99

Informality within Urban Settings 100

The informal economy 100

Defining the informal sector 100

The nature of informal-sector enterprises 101

The reasons for the informal sector of the economy 102

The scale of the informal sector 103

Informal housing 104

Slums in the Housing Sector 104

Tenure and security: the formal-informal housing continuum 105

Formal home-ownership 105

Formal private rental 105

Informal home-ownership: squatting 105

Informal home-ownership: illegal subdivisions 106

Public rental 106

Informal rental 106

Customary tenure 106

Tenure distribution 106

Slums and tenure insecurity 106

Renting in slums 107

Home-ownership in slums 109

Land prices 112

Adequacy: extent of housing disadvantage 112

Networked services 113

Water 113

Waste management 114

Adequacy of housing and inadequacy of planning 114

Part III Searching for Adequate Policy Responses and Actions

7 New Policy Developments at the National and Global Levels 123

Search for Affordable Alternatives at the National Level 123

Public housing in developing countries 124

Assisted self-build and slum-improvement programmes 125

Housing capital subsidies 127

Past and Present Approaches to Slums at the National and Local Levels 128

Negligence 129

Eviction 130

Self-help and in situ upgrading 130

Enabling policies 131

Resettlement 131

Current best practice: participatory slum improvement 132

Recent Contextual Changes 133

Increased inequality within and between cities 133

New political influence of cities 135

International Actors Dealing with Slums and Their Priorities 136

Range of actors 136

The shifting priorities 136

Bilateral cooperation: diversity of political objectives 136

Multilaterals: a growing convergence 136

Inter-institutional programmes and initiatives: emphasis on slum upgrading, innovative partnerships and local development 139

The Cities Alliance 139

The Urban Management Programme (UMP) 140

The Municipal Development Programme (MDP) 140

Emerging common themes 141

Integrated approaches to slums 141

The promotion of partnerships and inter-institutional networks 141

Decentralized cooperation 142

Sectors addressed 142

Urban management and finance 142

Urban land management and tenure 143

Service provision and delivery 143

Environment and public health 143

Housing delivery 144

Population and social issues 144

Capacity building, research activities and knowledge exchange 144

Pressing Issues 145

Financial constraints 145

Contradictions between economic and social objectives 145

Coordination and cooperation 145

8 Civil Society in Action 148

Residents in Action 148

The strategies of slum households 148

Inside the household 149

Reciprocity and remittance 150

Vulnerable households 150

Community-Based Organizations in Action 151

The growth and range of community-based organizations (CBOs) 151

Working with CBOs 152

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Action 153

Defining NGOs 153

The growth of NGOs 155

The range and diversity of NGOs 156

The increasing power and decreasing autonomy of NGOs 158

Urban-Sector CBOs and NGOs 159

The Challenges Faced by NGOs and CBOs 161

9 Towards Inclusive Cities: Reconsidering Development Priorities 164

Policy Issues and Strategies for Inclusive Cities 165

From slum upgrading to cities without slums 165

Lessons learned from past experiences of upgrading 165

The

Cities Without Slums action plan 167

Tenure issues and access to land for the urban poor 167

Security of tenure: a key to the 'inclusive city' 168

Alternative approaches to security of tenure 170

Diversity of situations and objectives requires diversity of responses 171

Inclusive infrastructure: making the connections between transport and housing security 172

Dilemmas of housing security versus access 172

Resistance to displacement and negotiated outcomes 172

Increasing housing choice through greater mobility for the poor 173

Impacts of transport and land-use regulation 173

Impacts of the location of housing for the urban poor 174

Improving the livelihoods of slum dwellers 175

Poverty, governance and empowerment 175

Generating employment from shelter development programmes and civil works 176

Mobilizing finance for urban development 178

Financing slum upgrading and shelter development: current challenges 178

Improving municipal finance for investment in low-income residential areas 179

Improving housing finance for low-income shelter development 180

Enabling Local Policy to Work 182

Good urban governance and the 'inclusive city' 182

Sustainability in all dimensions of urban development 183

Subsidiarity of authority and resources to the closest appropriate level 183

Equity of access to decision-making processes and the basic necessities of urban life 183

Efficiency in the delivery of public services and in promoting local economic development 183

Transparency and accountability of decision-makers and stakeholders 183

Civic engagement and citizenship 183

Security of individuals and their living environment 183

Enhancing development potential through partnerships 183

Capacity building 185

Low-income households as financial and political partners 185

Local businesses, city elites and local media as partners 185

NGOs as partners 185

Women's participation 186

Self-help and management of projects 186

Scaling-up and spreading the movement 186

Partnerships based on trust 186

Horizontal partnerships 186

Effective policy coordination 186

Epilogue: Looking Forward

Moving Ahead 189

Towards Cities Without Slums: Turning the Dream into Reality 189

Action Needed to Tackle the Current Trends 189

Part IV Summary of City Case Studies

Overview of Case Studies 195

Origin of Slums 195

Slum Definitions 196

Types of Slums 196

Tenure in Slums 197

Slum Dynamics 197

Slum Socio-Political Characteristics 197

Policy Actions Taken or Proposed 198

Policy Impacts and Development Prospective 198

Case Study Highlights 200

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire 200

Ahmedabad, India 201

Bangkok, Thailand 201

Barcelona, Spain 202

Beirut, Lebanon 203

Bogota, Colombia 205

Cairo, Egypt 205

Chengdu, China 206

Colombo, Sri Lanka 208

Durban, South Africa 208

Havana, Cuba 209

Ibadan, Nigeria 211

Jakarta, Indonesia 211

Karachi, Pakistan 212

Kolkata, India 213

Los Angeles, US 214

Lusaka, Zambia 215

Manila, Philippines 215

Mexico City, Mexico 216

Moscow, Russian Federation 218

Nairobi, Kenya 219

Naples, Italy 220

Newark, US 221

Phnom Penh, Cambodia 222

Quito, Ecuador 223

Rabat-Sale, Morocco 224

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 225

Sao Paulo, Brazil 226

Sydney, Australia 227

Part V Statistical Annex

Technical Notes 231

Explanation of Symbols 231

Country Groupings and Statistical Aggregates 231

Nomenclature and Order of Presentation 234

Definition of Statistical Terms 234

Sources of Data 239

Methodological Notes 241

Slum Dweller Estimations at the Global and Regional Levels 241

The Global Urban Indicators Databases 245

Regional-Level Data

A.1 Demographic indicators 246

A.2 Housing indicators 247

A.3 Economic and social indicators 248

Country-Level Data

B.1 Size and growth of total population and households 249

B.2 Urbanization trends, size and growth of urban and rural population 252

B.3 Housing-ownership and water and toilet facilities, selected countries 255

B.4 Access to improved water sources and sanitation 258

B.5 Energy and transport 260

B.6 Economic development indicators 262

B.7 Social indicators 264

City-Level Data

C.1 Urban agglomerations: population size and growth rate 267

C.2 Households' living conditions, selected cities 273

C.3 Housing indicators, selected cities 274

C.4 Environmental infrastructure, selected cities 277

C.5 Transport and environment indicators, selected cities 280

C.6 Social indicators, selected cities 283

C.7 Urban governance indicators, selected cities 287.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [290]-300) and index.

ISBN:

1844070360

1844070379

OCLC:

52458987