Living in Blight in the Globalized Metro: A Study on Housing and Housing Conditions in Slums of Delhi

Abstract

Studies on contemporary urbanization have put a lot of emphasis on the conditions of the slums which presently are almost universal phenomenon in the developed and the developing countries alike. But the magnitude and the nature of the problems suffered by these spatial units vary regionally depending on the skewed behaviour of the combination of socio-economic and demographic variables. Slums, often referred to as the urban blight, suffer from insufficiency of infrastructures and civic amenities, filth and dingy ambience and the health hazards of the residents are directly related to such stressful environment and living conditions. The living conditions on the other hand is greatly reflected in the type of the dwelling unit, the density of the occupance, the availability of proper ventilations to name a few and the socio-economic status of the occupant on the other. However, it is also true that the conditions in the slums cannot be straight-jacketed as studies have revealed a great deal of variations in the so called homogenous urban space. Therefore, the present study attempts to assess the housing and housing conditions in the slums of Delhi and would proceed to measure whether the choice of such dwelling units has any causal relationship with the various socio-economic and the demographic variables. Furthermore, attempt has also been made to congregate the findings on the basis of the regional variations the conditions of living of the slum dwellers. For the purpose of the study 13 slums well distributed geographically had been selected in Delhi.