This document discusses slums and their causes, characteristics, and effects. It defines a slum as an overcrowded, decaying area lacking basic amenities. Common causes of slums include poverty, migration, lack of affordable housing and transport, and unplanned urban growth. Slums are characterized by deteriorated structures, fire hazards, poor health and sanitation, and overcrowding. The presence of slums can negatively impact surrounding areas by spreading disease and limiting access to services. The document also examines methods for slum clearance and improvement.

1. ASIM PT
MSc. GEOGRAPHY
KANANUR UNIVERSITY
SLUMS

2. INTRODUCTION
• A Slum is predominantly an overcrowded area which is in an advanced stage of decay
where dwelling are unfit for human habitation.
• It is like an area where the basic amenities like water supply, drainage, for standard
living are lacking, insanitary conditions prevail, and diseases flourish.
• It is a poverty stricken area, where there is a high rate of birth, infant mortality,
illegitimacy, juvenile crime, delinquency and death, thus representing a state of hell on
the surface of earth.

3. SLUM
• Slum is a menace to health, safety, mortality and general welfare of inhabitants.
• Slum life " means a bad dream life , life of man as non - human being , and the final
deprivation from fundamental constitutional rights - it is proved from the description
of this paper
• The areas characterized by sub standard housing conditions with in the city or
someplace outside the city are known as the slums.
• Slum is a British slang word from the east end of London meaning "room", which
evolved to "back slum" around 1845 meaning 'back alley, street of poor people.

4. CAUSES OF SLUM
• Poverty
• Absence of proper housing facilities
• Migration
• Rapid raise of urban populations
• Carless and neglect of house owners
• High rental rate in the city
• Lack of cheap transport system
• Unplanned growth of cities
• The attraction of the city
• Negligence of govt. and municipality.

5. Decentralization - Rich and middle class people move out of the extended portions of
the town Poor people are left unattended in the overcrowded central area of the town
Economic conditions - Unemployment, growth of population. poverty
Education - Easily dragged into social evil without any attention to improvement of the
living condition
Improper use of land - If the lands fit for particular use are utilized for industries or
vice versa the slums are formed.
Industrialization - No proper planning of houses of labor
CAUSES OF SLUM

6. Lack of zoning - If the town is not divided into the suitable zones and development is
allowed to take place at random, the slums may be created.
Migrants - The persons migrating from the surrounding areas may occupy, usually
illegally, the vacant or empty places in or out the city.
Powers of local authorities - If the local authority concerned does not possess
adequate powers to control the development of town, the slums may be formed.
Lack of Repair and maintenance - If cheap houses constructed by the land owner for
the purpose of collecting rents are not properly maintained, then the slums may forms.

7. CHARACTERISTICS OF SLUMS
 Appearance
The universal mark of the slum is its unpleasant appearance. The structures appear to
be deteriorated and to be over aged.
 Fire hazards
The slums area are often exposed to fire accidents and consequent damages one stick
of matches may prove to sufficient to reduce the whole slum to ashes in no time.
 Health and sanitation
The slum is characterized by low standard of sanitation and is often neglected most by
the public service for sanitation. Refers an area of high sickness and Death rates

8.  Overcrowding
The slum is over crowded with buildings or the building are overcrowded with people
 Moral
The socially disorganized slum may prove to be an area of criminal behavior.
 Income criteria
Poverty area and it is occupied by people of the lowest group of the society.
 Social isolation
The slum area is of the lowest social status and it is usually linked up with the rest of
the community through its labor force.

9. EFFECTS OF SLUMS
The effect of slums are summarized as below:
Absence of amenities: the surrounding area of slums is lacking in essential amenities in
required proportion because of over- crowding.
Health: the persons residing in slums are easily attacked by various types of diseases.
The climate of slums is such that it easily leads to unhealthy conditions.
Surrounding locality: the working of institution like library, schools, hospitals, etc
located nearby slums, is seriously affected.

10. • Undesirable spots
• The slums are such on a city plan forms undesirable spots and in a sense, disturbs
the appearance of a city plan.
• Working Conditions
• It is not possible to work peacefully in slums because the whole area is full of
noise, traffic congestion, smoke, dust and darkness.
• In short a slum as such forms a black spot and spoils the healthy environment of
the city as a whole

11. • Notified Slum:
All notified areas in a town or city notified as ‘Slum’ by State, UT Administration or
Local Government under any Act including a ‘Slum Act’
• Recognized Slum:
All areas recognized as ‘Slum’ by State, UT Administration or Local
Government, Housing and Slum Boards, which may have not been formally notified as
slum under any act
TYPES OF SLUMS

12. • Identified Slum:
A compact area of at least 300 population or about 60-70 households of poorly built
congested tenements, in unhygienic environment usually with inadequate infrastructure
and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities (Identified)
 A view of Soweto and Lindi,
suburbs of Nairobi belonging to
Kibera, the largest urban slum in
Africa.

13. WORLD'S FIVE BIGGEST SLUMS
1. Khayelitsha , Cape Town , ( SOUTH AFRICA )
• Population : 4,00,000
• Area : 14.95 ( square mile )
• Density : 26,000 square mile
• Caste / Origin : 99 % Black
• Sanitation : 20,000 people who share just 380 toilets
• Income : 1800 US dollars per household per years
2.Kibera , Nairobi , ( KEYNIA )
• Population : 7,00,000
• Area : 6.6 kilometers from Nairobi’s city centre
• high rates of unemployment, extreme poverty with
residents earning less than a dollar a day, and insecurity.
• Caste / Origin : black African .

14. 3. Dharavi , Mumbai , ( INDIA )
• Population : 1 million
• Area : 200 hectares
• Density : 869,565 people per square mile
• Sanitation : One toilet for 1440 persons
• Income : 500 to 2000 $ per year .
4. Ciudad Neza , Mexico city ( MAXICO )
• Population : 1.2 million
5. Orangi Town , Karachi , ( PAKISTAN )
• Population :2.4 million

15. 5 Major ingredients of the slum areas ( improvement and clearance ) act , 1956
1. To facilitate inclusive growth and slum - free cities .
2. To provide assured security of tenure , basic amenities and affordable housing for
slum dwellers .
3. To assign a " legal document of entitlement " to every landless person in a slum area
entitled to a dwelling space .
4. To give mortgageable rights to allottees of dwelling space . however , tradability of
dwelling space limited to the Government or the slum collectives .
5. To provide compensation for acquisition of land . necessary . in the form of
concessional wherever building .
THE SLUM AREAS ( IMPROVEMENT AND CLEARANCE ) ACT , 1956

16. Slum Clearance - Improving the existing conditions of slums
Objectives :
• To bring down the disparity in living standards of the people of various people classes .
• To prevent the occurrence of epidemics in the town or city
• To provide the absolute basic minimum standards of healthy amenities for the living
• To remove the ugly spots or slums from the map of town or city

17. SLUM CLEARANCE METHODS
1. Complete Removal Method
2. Improvement Method

18. 1 ) Complete Removal Method
• In this method the ill constructed houses are demolished and only those which are
really good are retained .
• The open spaces left are used for widening of roads . providing recreation grounds or
building new houses of approved standards .
• Transit Camps in the form of temporary buildings near the slum areas should be
constructed to accommodate those displaced in the process of slum clearance .
• For the selection of the slums areas for clearance as against improvement , the
following two important factors should be considered
a) The degree of public health hazards involved
b ) The economic potential of the land

19. • One method of not aggravating the housing shortage is to take up slum -
improvement scheme .
• As the slums are developed due to poor drainage system and unhealthy conditions
.Hence the drainage arrangement is modified and improved
• Public utility services like water , drainage , electricity , gas may be provided in the
affected area .
• Low portions of the old slums like ditches , or swamps may be filled up and then the
existing roads may be widened .
• With proper planning and improvement works it is possible to make the slums
slightly more habitable at the minimum cost
2 ) Improvement Method

21.  Prevention Of Slum
 The formation of slum is a very slow process and extreme care should be exercised by
the authority to prevent the springing up of new slums in the town .
 Some of the important measures which can be taken to effectively prevent the slum formation
 Cheap housing - Sufficient no of cheap housing should be made available to the poor people
 Compulsion to employers
 The employer of a good number of laborers may be compelled or forced to provide housing
accommodation for their staff .
 Construction of buildings
 Certain rules and regulations may be framed and strictly enforced to restrict the coming
up of buildings of subnormal standards

23.  Maintenance And Repair
 The responsibility of maintenance and carrying out repair should be fixed and
defined in housing codes or acts . It then becomes the duty of landlord or tenant to
keep existing building in a good condition .
 Rent Restriction
 If provisions is made to restrict the increase of rent , tenentants will be protected
 Social Education
 It is possible to check the growth of slums by carrying out effective social
education of the slum dwellers , the social education makes the slum dweller
conscious of the evils of the slum , and a great improvement in the living standard of
slum dwellers could be achieved .

24. • Unauthorized Construction
• It is absolute necessary to arrest immediately the unauthorized construction in
the form of huts and temporary structures on vacant piece of land .
• The authorities concerned should take drastic action in demolishing and removing
such unauthorized construction .

25. Slum Area in Indian Cities
• It is a sad state of affair that some of the worst slum the world can be found in
major Indian cities like Mumbai , Calcutta , Ahmadabad , Surat , Chennai and
Delhi .
• The slums are spreading very rapidly due to lack of proper and effective town and
country planning .
• The Critical nature of the problem is demonstrated by the fact that 42 to 67 %
of homes do not have tap water , 26 to 50 % homes do not have toilets .
• From recent study it is reflected that nearly 74.20 % of slum exists in 222 big
towns and cities .
• With the limited resource available , the government and semi government
bodies will have to plan out intelligently slum clearance programmes to grant
adequate and decent housing to every human being

26. Slum Area in Indian Cities
1. Dharavi Slum Mumbai
2. Nochikuppam Slum Chennai
3. Basanti Slum Kolkata
4. Rajendra Nagar Slum Bangalore
5. Indiramma Nagar Hyderabad
6. Saroj Nagar Slum Nagpur
7. Mehbullahpur Slum Lucknow
8. Parivartan Slum Ahmadabad : Approximately 440000 people live in slums
within the city . Ahmadabad is home to a large population of poor peoples
living on the river banks . River side slums in Ahmadabad are about 40 yrs old
.

28. Thankyou