Life In Slums
Life in slums: a case study of Bahawalpur
One of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slums dwellers, by 2020. The MDG target 11 set by Government of Pakistan to improve the lives of slum dwellers is to regulate the 95 percent of katchi abadis (identified by the cut-off date of 1985) by 2015.
Along with it, under Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and Mid-term Development Framework (MTDF) the target was/is to regulate the 60 and 75 percent of katchi abadis by 2005-06 and 2009-10 respectively.
To see the implications and prospects of these targets the paper probes the life in slums of Bahawalpur as a case study.
In this data-based micro study, we assess the situation of living conditions (potable water supply, sanitation, public utilities, sufficient living area, household with durable material), household characteristics (compositions, headship, type of employment and educational status, etc.) social safety nets (transfer payments and micro-finance), women labour force participation and their contribution, health and educational status of children and child labour.
To identify the slum areas, an operational definition of slums has been developed, that is slightly different in the part of water availability, sanitation and building material, from that given by UN-Habitat. In this way twelve clusters are taken as sample spreading over whole of the Bahawalpur city. The study provides a micro-view of the standard of living of slum households to the planners and policy makers along with policy proposals to frame the strategy for improvement of lives in slums.
The study concludes that urban slums are the poorest in the urban community from several poverty perspectives. They represent poverty pocket and need targeted policies. The multi-pronged, short- and medium-term policies need attention in the areas of housing, education, health, sanitation and income-generating activities. Most of all social safety nets can play an important role. The district governments may act as identifying and implementing agencies.
Over 150 million people currently inhabit Pakistan and despite a reduced population growth rate of 2.28 for 2010-2020, this number is expected to increase to 227 million in 2020. The number of households will increase to 3861 thousand from the current number of 2950 thousand.
It is important to note that most of this growth will occur in urban areas as the ratio of the urban population will increase from 36.9 to 42.4 percent in 2020. The year of 2020 is the target year for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) along with others, for improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
Differences in living conditions, access to services, development opportunities and ultimately income are seen as major sources of many conflicts. These differences can be observed within the country (rich and poor regions as well as urban and rural areas) but also within cities where the gap between the wealthy living in gated communities and the poor living in intolerable housing conditions is expanding.
Aggregate data at the city level hides such a stark contrast of income and living conditions between better-off urban citizens and the urban poor by providing just a single figure. The traditions of providing urban versus rural estimates have further aggravated the crisis that cities are facing.
Figures for urban areas average out rich and poor, by providing a single number that overlooks pockets of poverty and destitution in cities. Analysis of data at the city level is fundamental for accurate policy formation. In addition to that, urban poverty is characterized by a different set of challenges than that of rural ones, that is over-crowded areas with insufficient and overused water and sanitation infrastructure, exposure to hazards3 and crime as well as social fragmentation. Generally, the concentration of people and activities in cities is regarded as being economically beneficial for a country.
However, some complex factors determine the slum incidence in urban areas. One of them is rapid urbanization due to rural-urban migration. Lack of employment opportunities and the prevalence of poverty in rural areas push people to urban areas.
Urban areas do not have sufficient employment opportunities for the rapidly increasing population. Therefore, there emerge informal employment opportunities, which are unstable and yield low incomes.
The resulting poverty in combination with a variety of factors like lack of affordable housing, ethnic politics, inadequate housing program, bad governance, corruption, inappropriate regulation, dysfunctional land market and fundamental lack of political will act as catalysts for the formation of informal settlements commonly known as slums. They offer only sub-standard living conditions to their inhabitants.
More reading: Profiles of Slums/Underserved Areas of 8 Largest Cities of Pakistan