Transcript URBAN SLUMS - OPEN COURSEWARE

URBAN SLUMS
Watermill
UNESCO-IHE
Marius de Langen
July 2006
Types of slum:
1. Degraded old planned urban areas
2. Unplanned informal squatter settlements
Most slum dwellers in the developing world
live in this type of slum
What makes a residential area a slum?
The low income (poverty) of who live there?
The living conditions?
The lack of basic urban services?
Other aspects?
UN-Habitat definition of Slums:
neglected parts of cities, in which living
conditions are appallingly poor
Group work set-up
Analysis of a well-documented case:
Two slum areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Source: MSc study Nabiul Islam, 2006
i.e. we deal with the MDG
of improving living conditions of
XXX million slum dwellers
by looking in detail at one case,
inside one city,
rather than by analyzing/discussing in
general
Focus
Role of basic infrastructure provision
As an instrument for slum upgrading
(Integrated: sanitation, access and drainage,
water supply)
Steps
• Studying the case
• Brief literature/internet search to find
comparable cases and what has been done
there (with or without success)
• Problem analysis workshop for the case
(1 day)
• Inventory of the basic infrastructure system
choices that are possible for the case-study
slum
• Assess the attractiveness of the different
infrastructure choices, and their affordability
• Reflect on the implications of your findings
Selection criteria for this group work
• Interest in the problem of slums and what
to do about them
• Interest in analysis of the details of a case,
the engineering involved, and the
integration between different sectors
(sanitation, access, drainage, water)
• Professional knowledge to make an
significant independent contribution to the
work
Size of the problem
World population
2000
2030
(million)
High-income countries
Urban
Rural
Low(/middle)-income countries
Urban
Rural
800
200
900
200
2000
3000
4000
3000
Urban population in slums
Percentage of urban population living in slums
Africa
(sub-sahara Africa
Asia
Latin America & Car.
Oceania
Europe, N-America
61
70)
42
32
24
6
Number of slum dwellers
2000:
920 million
2030:
2000 million ??
MDG:
improve conditions for
100 million slum dwellers (??)
Past strategies to solve the problem of
slums
1960/70: Public housing, resettlement
1970/80: Sites and services
1980 - :
Slum upgrading
1990 - :
Slum networking
BUT THE PROBLEMS HAVE GROWN
WHY DID PROBLEMS GROW ?
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Lack of money to do something about it?
Not knowing what to do ?
Lack of civil rights of slum dwellers ?
Lack of interest of slum dwellers ?
Resistance by slum-gangs, slum-lords ?
Lack of interest of decision makers ?
….. ?
ISSUES
If squatters are given tenure
will others be encouraged to
move to the cities ?
ISSUES
Why should slum dwellers be given
tenure on valuable land
in a city which would be better used
for commercial development ?
ISSUES
Why should single story or low rise
upgrading be permitted on
valuable central city land
which could be developed
to a higher density ?
ISSUES
Why not tear down slums and build new?
ISSUES
If the slums are upgraded
on private land, is public money
being used to make
the rich slumlords richer ?
ISSUES
Do slum dwellers use
their own resources
to improve their living conditions ?
Does public money need to be used ?
ISSUES
What is the value to the citizens
who do not live in slums,
when upgrading slums
rather than demolishing them?
ISSUES
Better living conditions involve:
- Housing, buildings
- Access and drainage
- Sanitation
- Water supply
- Electricity
- Open spaces, trees
ISSUES
Location:
Is resettlement to distant locations
far from city centers
in the interest of the slum dwellers ?
ISSUES
What is the role of
basic urban infrastructure ?
Sanitation (excreta, sullage, solid waste)
Access and drains
Water supply
But what about improving the houses?
DO WE HAVE GOOD TECHNICAL
ANSWERS ?
What options do we have for:
Sanitation facilities?
Roads and drains ?
Water supply?
Are these affordable? (price tag)
Are these sustainable? (keep functioning)
How depend on density, soil, climate, …?
Past experience
• Upgrading of slums and settlements is a viable and effective way to
help the urban poor solve their need for shelter and a clean, safe
and healthy living environment.
• Local participation is critical. Projects need to be designed from
the bottom up working with communities so that the communities
decide what levels of service they receive.
• Sustainability requires that consideration be given to the costs
involved and to designing a level of service that is affordable to
the community and to the local government.
• Programs must be derived from the city level and country
strategies to achieve synergies with other supporting
interventions addressing poverty in the country.
• Upgrading programs are most effective when led by the municipal
authority and implemented at the community level through a
broad set of intermediaries including community based
organizations.
• Experience has taught us that the problem of getting basic
services to slums can be solved at very reasonable costs if done
properly.