Urbanisation, the process by which cities and towns grow and develop, has provoked its fair share of ‘by-products’. One of the most ‘persistent’ among them happens to be the pockets of poverty and neighbourhood decay, famously called ‘slums’ in most development writing. As urbanisation initiatives began to focus on homes that are directly related to the well-being of the dwellers, the awful conditions of the slums were more recognised and the prominent challenges were put in contrast. A closer look and a detailed study of the inequalities that take place in these slums further showed that the slums had been trapped in cycles of poverty and decay for decades. Patterns appeared to outline the growth of these pockets of poverty, which brings us to the idea that if we were to trace back through the birth and growth of slums, we could potentially find clues on exactly how urban development has failed to address the need for a developed and sustainable lifestyle.