About one billion people today live in slums—urban settlements or neighborhoods in which the residents do not have the basic living conditions necessary for all inhabitants. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) a slum is a settlement which cannot provide one of the following basic living characteristics:
Durable Housing: Housing of a permanent nature that provides protection against extreme climate conditions. Poor housing units are more vulnerable to destruction from natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes. One example of this can be seen in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Sufficient Living Space: Sufficient living space, according to UN-HABITAT, means not more than three people sharing the same room.
Safe Water: There must be easy access to safe water. There must be sufficient water and at an affordable price. People who do not have access to clean and affordable water are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, especially among children.
Sanitation: Residents should have access to public or private toilets which are shared by a reasonable number of people. Lack of sanitary facilities increases disease.
Security of Tenure: Residents must be free from the threat of forced eviction.
Many geographers, urban planners, and others have indicated that the formation of slums has often been due to rapid urbanization within developing countries. People move from the countryside to the city seeking employment and this creates a greater demand for housing than the urbanized area can provide. The issue is exacerbated by lack of federal and city-government guidance, control, and organization.
Three of the largest slums in the world are Dharavi in Mumbai, India; Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya; and Rocinha Favela in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
Dharavi:
Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, is India’s largest city and is the fourth largest city in the world. It has a population of more than 18 million (official census, some sources give 21 million) of which approximately 10 million live in slums. Dharavi is one of the largest of the Mumbai slums: it covers about 535 acres and has a population estimated between 600,000 and 1 million.
Mumbai is India’s wealthiest city and serves as India’s commercial and entertainment center. Unlike most urban slums in other areas, Dharavi residents are typically employed. While many of Dharavi’s residents are unskilled laborers, there are some who work as policemen, lawyers, architects, and other skilled occupations. There are an estimated 5,000 businesses in Dharavi and 15,000 single-room factories. In spite of this, tenement conditions are among the worst of slum living.
As with slums throughout the world, the residents of Dharavi have only limited access to working toilets and these are often privately owned commercial enterprises (in other words, people have to pay to use them). There is only one toilet per 1,440 residents. As a result, many people relieve themselves in the nearby river. Unfortunately, the river serves as a source of drinking water for many people. Water is a scarce commodity in Dharavi as very few residents have running water in their residences. Every day thousands of Dharavi residents are sick with cholera, dysentery, and tuberculosis due to the consumption of local water sources.
Dharavi’s location and poor drainage system also make it vulnerable to floods during the monsoon season.
Kibera:
Kibera is located on 630 acres in the middle of Nairobi. It is Africa’s largest, densest, and poorest slum. Its population varies seasonally from a low of about 160,000 (the official estimate) to perhaps as many as a million (UN-HABITAT).
Housing in Kibera tends to be makeshift, often using recycled tin for roofing. With efforts to improve the slum, it is estimated that about 20% of the homes have electricity. These upgrades have been touted as an example of slum development.
One of the critical issues faced by Kibera residents is water. With the water shortage, wealthy Nairobians have forced the slum dwellers to pay relatively high prices for their water. To relieve the water shortage, the World Bank and some charitable organizations have attempted to put in water pipelines. Seeing the possible disruption of their profitable water businesses, the water dealers systematically destroy the water lines. Since Kibera is not recognized by the government as a formal settlement, there is no regulation of actions and thus no penalties for destroying the waterlines.
Latrines in Kibera are also privately run and people are charged a small fee to use them. Many of Kibera’s women, lacking sanitation facilities in their homes and fearing robbery or rape if they risk the unlit pathways to the latrines at night resort to the “flying toilet.” This is a polythene bag to be tossed from their doorway in the morning.
Rocinha Favela:
The largest slum in Brazil is the Rocinha Favela (“favela” is the Brazilian term for a slum or shantytown). Located in Rio De Janeiro, Rocinha Favela has a population of about 70,000. Homes are built on a steep mountain slope which is prone to landslides and flooding.
Unlike Kibera and Dharavi, most of the houses in Rocinha Favela have proper sanitation. Some of the houses have access to electricity and the newer homes are often constructed from concrete. The construction of the more common older homes generally uses recycled metals which are not secured to a permanent foundation.
Rocinha Favela is considered a high crime area and has a reputation for drug trafficking.