Why slums exist?

Humans are likely to become an urban species. Urban population of the world is now exceeding the populations of rural areas. One third of these urban dwellers are living in slum areas around the world comprising 1 billion people in number. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is one of the densely populated cities in the world. Due to rapid urbanization 60% of its population lies in slum and squatter settlements.

Slum is the wheel of informal economy of urban areas. Slum refers to a heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor. UN experts suggested expanding it to refer to areas that combine inadequate access to safe water, sanitation and other infrastructure, structurally poor housing, overcrowding, and an unstable residential population. Slum is a settlement of urban poor people on government or private vacant land having unhealthy and congested living condition. 

History of slum shows, slums are the consequence of modern urban economy. Before 20^th century slums could not be found anywhere. New York City is believed to have created the world’s first slum, named the Five Points in 1825, as it evolved into a large urban settlement.

The existence of slums is caused and sustained by a number of forces, including rapid urbanization, rural-to-urban migration, and globalization. Urban migration amplifies slum formation because city planning and management systems have failed to effectively manage the considerable population influx. Today, 75% of the population of Latin America lives in urban areas as the result of a significantly rapid rate of urbanization since the 1970’s. Asia, home to 80% of the world’s population, currently sustains 36% of their population in cities.

Today, slums are becoming the most obvious manifestation of urban poverty in developing world cities. In Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, 60% of the population lives in slums. That 60% is crowded onto only 5% of the land. The scenario of Bangladesh is almost same. UNDP Bangladesh says, approximately 40 million people in Bangladesh live in urban areas, out of which 21 percent live below the poverty line. This means that more than eight million Bangladeshis live on less than USD 2 a day. Such poor urban households live in inadequate and insecure houses, often in unsanitary conditions and face difficulties in accessing employment, made worse by having little or no social protection.

Globalization also promotes slum living. Global economic booms and busts lead to uneven wealth distribution. Historically, global economic cycles have been responsible for creating many of major city slums in the developed world, and it is likely globalization will do the same to the developing world.

To me, some questions haunt frequently regarding the urban slum populations. Why the people are coming here? Are they getting better life than before? Are they satisfied? No, they come will full of dreams and colourful hope to change their fate. They straggle and struggle but reality is so cruel to them. The expenditure of leading their life is equal to their earning. The challenges they face in city life push them to stay how they are. They are trapped in urban economy. The situation where nothing to make them out. They are like the slave of the elite. They are for drive their car, cleaning their house, cooking or working their factories. But they don’t have right to have place to sleep with their family; they don’t have right to lead healthy and comfortable life. Because they are not human but slave of master. No matter to spend dollars for their dogs and cats.  But it always matters to give a little to the poor. The major problems that make the slums are same all over the world. That is the poor mentality of the elite people who wants everything though they enjoy 80% of the world’s property. But it seems they never satisfy.