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“The slums are not a place of despair. Its inhabitants are all working towards a better life”.
– Vikas Swarup
Cities in a word serve as ‘opportunities’ for the people stuck in areas lagging behind in social mobilisation, educational avenues and job opportunities. The promise of education, employment and health services drives scores of rural people to find a niche in the metropolitan and urban spaces. This wide scale migration of the public from rural areas to urban cities is urbanization which but due to the disorganized policies of the government has led to the growth of slums. Slums being the urban pockets of concentrated poverty, in-sanitation, and utter lack of basic amnesties etc are unfit for human sustainable development and settlement. The low-income sections of the society fail to access the progressive tide of the cities due to social inequality, financial constraints/ expensive or insufficient housing etc. and hence are forced to contend with the affordable but filthy living conditions of the slums. It is true cities harbour a highly competitive environment, where people have to fight for a reasonable rent, school, drinking water and not to mention the cut-throat arena of jobs; this puts a lot of pressure on the cities as urbanization increases at a fast pace. With time, however things should change but slums are still growing rather than being controlled; it either shows the intentional laxity or unintentional neglect of the city government to take immediate steps for a holistic effort.
Before venturing onto the cause and effect of urbanization vis-a-vis slums, it is to be understood that urbanization is a positive phenomenon which if harnessed and maximised can herald economic growth, welfare, and resource effectiveness. But as this transition is not tapped into or managed effectively due to the lack of vision, planning and infrastructure, it has led to the rise in slums. Also, slums cannot be solely marked as a ghetto infested with crime, pollution and violence as there is life in these areas which aspires to be empowered with a right to education, employment, sanitation and heath.
Disorganized Urbanization: Challenges and Issues
Undoubtedly a rise in urban population is a burden on the existing infrastructure; it puts pressure on procurement of basic services, land use, and the environment at large. When the burden is not calculated, and addressed in a coherent, collaborative and planned manner, the result is the spread of slums. Urbanization does not create slums; it is the disorganized urbanization which is at fault. How does a messy urbanization come into place and what challenges need to be highlighted so that Urbanization can spur growth than regression? Some of these are:
Neglect of immigrant influx: Generally, the migration of rural people is not incorporated into the urban policies and reforms. It is peremptory to realize that it is happening and will continue to, so policies and reforms should be planned and enforced than bypassed.
Channelizing the resources: Urban areas are prone to decay when overlooked in terms of basic services. Slums will happen if not rehabilitated by proper allotment of necessities such as clean water supply, toilets, electricity and other needs which are highly indispensable.
Lack of a Mandate: Growth of slums is also due to the obstructing regulations which do not allow for a speedy and proper settlement of rural people in the cities. Either this or there is lack of a provision or policy in place to deal with these matters. Hence the municipal authorities for instance are clueless or unable to deal with the situation and the people have to find illegal ways of finding accommodation etc. Once there is a legal directive on how to deal with urbanization, it can provide flexible regulation to the people and illegal or informal routes can be done away with.
A Gendered Domain: In the rural areas, women and girls are immobilised due to patriarchal traditions. They escape it by travelling into the cities for a better life. But due to gender based discrimination such as violence, lack of control, street harassment, abuse and unsafe living conditions, it becomes dangerous for women and girls to extract the benefits of urbanization as the men and boys are able to.
Breaking Social inequality and Exclusion: Seen as outsiders, aliens, even pests, no law or policy can mitigate the rise in slums unless the mindset of the people is changed towards slum dwellers. Once it happens, the rural migrants can be included and integrated into the mainstream.
It is sad to note that despite the enormous potential of urbanization, it is but a symbol of decay than progress. Urbanization carries with itself issues such as urban divide, urban poverty, and other matters which require immediate attention for immediate redress.
The Urban Divide
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