A Review Study on Slums Upgradation: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The number of slum dwellers in India is rising due to enormous rise in the population. While slums lack the necessities of everyday life like nutritious food, clean water, electricity and sanitation, its inhabitants are mostly the labor classes who work hard but earn low. The slum population of India is continually growing and has about doubled in the past two decades. Most slums are in and around urban centers in the less economically developed countries, which are also experiencing greater rates of urbanization compared with more developed countries. This quick rate of urbanization is the major cause for important concern given that many of these countries repeatedly lack the ability to provide the infrastructure (e.g., roads and affordable housing) and various basic services (e.g., food, water and sanitation) to deliver sufficiently for the growing influx of people into cities. The given paper analyzes the physical and social constructs, and provides a more holistic synthesis of the problem, which can potentially lead to a deeper understanding and, consequently, better methods for beginning the challenge of slums at the local, regional and national scales.