Sadaf Khan reports on the disconnect between the UN’s definition of slums, and the diverse realities of these informal settlements.

UN Habitat’s definition of slums is comprised of what are known as the “five deprivations”; lack of i) access to water, ii) access to improved sanitation, iii) sufficient living area, iv) housing durability and v) security of tenure. Raise this definition in a roomful of researchers, activists and professionals who work in slum settings – as we did at the last ARISE Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai – and you will be met with an indignant uproar about the inaccuracy and injustice of such definitions.  

Those present vehemently argued that these spaces and communities are not illegal or dirty, and that this narrative is in fact popularised by the dominant classes, the same people who equate slums with the urban poor. They pointed out that calling slums, or informal settlements, illegal is wrong from a human rights perspective. These are thriving spaces with complex governance structures, that, however informal, work most of the time. These structures ensure that, despite the noticeable absence of the state, people have access to water and sanitation, etc., albeit at exorbitant costs.

Our colleagues in Mumbai went on to speak about how people living in informal settlements make important and essential contributions to the local economy. These include waste pickers and sanitation workers, taxi drivers, and small business owners, without whom, the formal part of the city would flounder. They shared how, despite the critical roles these communities and spaces play, people living in informal settlements regularly struggle to access healthcare and social protection and face unnecessary stigmatisation when they engage with the formal structures and services of the city. They highlighted how overlapping vulnerabilities often further marginalise those already at the margins of society, and how poor planning and precarious or unclear tenure status become a catch 22, relieving service providers and the state of any responsibility to the communities living in slum or informal settings.

Shifting the focus: diverse realities in informal settlements

When people who work and live within slums and informal settings are so clear on the necessity of such spaces within cities, why do organisations like UN Habitat, WHO and the World Bank continue to use outdated framings when clearly on-ground realities are so very different?  The rationale given is that these physical indicators; access to water, sanitation, appropriate living area, etc., make it possible to measure improvement within the settlement from household to household, providing a means of assessing the impact development programmes have on the spaces and communities living within them.

Unfortunately, what happens simultaneously, as illustrated by the statements above, is that the delicate and complex socio-economic mechanisms that make these settlements work are overlooked and ignored. This is not to say that issues of service provision, tenure security and poor building materials should be disregarded entirely and that they aren’t a genuine concern. We are simply suggesting that the overwhelming value placed on them undermines more pressing challenges experienced by those living and working in slums and informal settlements. Challenges like the threat of evictions (experienced across all ARISE sites), flooding and landslides  (Freetown), fire  (Dhaka) and gender-based violence, have the power to dismantle communities, disrupt livelihoods and severely impact health and wellbeing of community members.

What we have seen through the process of working with communities across the ARISE landscape is that the needs and challenges of communities vary from site to site and context to context. For example, data from Dhaka and Freetown suggests that age of the settlement may play a role in the level of service provision within a settlement; the more mature settlements seem to be better served. The experiences of ARISE’s Indian partners show that communities find creative ways through which access to services has been gained whilst respecting the prevalent planning and quality standards within the city. These local workarounds provide access, abiding by local bylaws and standards helps evade city authorities looking to shutdown illegal utilities, and the whole process speaks to the intimate knowledge these communities have of the workings of service providers and policymakers. This highlights the ability of communities to be innovative, and to learn and adapt within a system in the hope of achieving formalisation.

Like the sites and contexts they inhabit, communities in slum and informal settings are heterogeneous with internal hierarchies. Marginalised groups dealing with multiple overlapping vulnerabilities – disability, female headed households, ethnic or religious biases – inhabit one end of the socio-spatial spectrum. Whilst those more able, better connected and in positions of power, like local chiefs, elders and community leaders, sit at the other end.

Despite this, or maybe because of it, where the state has failed to provide support and/or services, Community Based Organisations (CBOs), NGOs and Community Advisory Committees (CACs) have been able to organise and mobilise to provide homegrown solutions to service provision challenges related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and healthcare within the settlements. These informal governance structures often connect outwards to more formal structures, like ward councillors and local politicians, to help facilitate access to basic utilities etc., showing that there are varying degrees of ability to demand accountability from policymakers, service providers and governance actors within these communities.

In essence, what our review of documents from multilateral agencies that speak to definitions for slums and informal settlements shows is a huge disconnect between how these spaces and communities are perceived to be and what they actually are, and, more importantly, are capable of. The uproar and indignation of all those in the room at the ARISE AGM in Mumbai when these definitions were shared was completely justified, as these definitions are flat, broad and focused on deficiencies rather than the heterogeneity and industriousness of the communities and networks within. Additionally, they absolve service providers and policymakers of any responsibility towards the communities within these spaces.  

Moving forward

Whilst these definitions serve a purpose in terms of assessment and impact analysis for donor organisations, they do a disservice to the communities they describe. These definitions are intrinsically linked to programme funding, capacity building within communities and organisations, and knowledge creation. The omissions and over-simplifications built into them limit the ability of funders to acknowledge and to respond to context specific needs. Moving forward, there is a need to revisit these definitions to ensure they more closely reflect the heterogenous and intersectional nature of the people, places, processes and of course problems within slums and urban informal settlements. These definitions need to be developed in an inclusive manner, bringing on board the opinions of those communities most effected, acknowledging not only the challenges but also the successful workarounds that these communities devise to exist within a system that is reluctant to acknowledge them and the overwhelming contributions they make to urban life.

Image credit: Image by Travel Wild is licensed by iStock

Community exchanges are crucial, as they enable communities to observe how others in similar situations have resolved their issues. By identifying similarities, they can learn from each other and test new solutions. Community exchanges also foster a sense of solidarity among communities by highlighting that many others also face similar challenges. This shared understanding helps strengthen relationships and promote collective action to address common problems.

Over the past four years, we have engaged in discussions with residents from relocation colonies in Ahmedabad, who were displaced due to the Sabarmati Riverfront redevelopment project, and with the members of the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Millan in Mumbai.

Local accountability and governance structures

Initially, our exchanges focused on understanding the context of their relocation in Ahmedabad. We examined their living conditions, housing provided by the state, and how they managed operations and maintenance. However, we soon realized that many communities lacked organization due to the absence of cooperative societies or proper procedures for maintaining a transparent system.

Slum relocation sites in Ahmedabad are characterized by a spate of vulnerabilities, and people suffer due to poor institutional support post-relocation, poor access to basic services, and caste conflicts among the residents. These issues largely emerge because of poor local accountability and weak governance structures, such as Co-operative Societies that are responsible for operations and maintenance and keeping the colonies in order.

This is in contrast to Mumbai, where relocation sites of a similar nature, through the continued support of NGOs, have successfully operationalized well-functioning societies and have robust community-based organizations in the form of the Mahila Milan and federations.

Having them learn from each other then becomes imperative in devising strategies that can be emulated within local contexts.

How can community exchanges be transformational?

We invited prominent resident leaders to visit Mumbai’s slum relocation colonies to learn about organizing societies and managing operations. As a result of these visits, several informative exchanges took place, with some transformational results.

Improving water issues in the relocation colonies

In the relocation colonies in Ahmedabad, women were generally underrepresented in conversations and decision-making processes. However, we knew, from the historical work of Mahila Milan, that including women could greatly improve problem-solving efforts for issues that residents at relocation colonies in Ahmedabad faced.

In May 2022, during medical camps, a group of Mahila Milan members from Mumbai visited the relocation colonies. During this community exchange visit, the Mahila Milan encouraged women in the colonies to participate. Despite being told by men that women wouldn’t participate, things changed when Mahila Milan members visited individual homes and invited women to the meetings.

These meetings empowered the women to form groups, address local issues, and voice their opinions. As a result, more women began participating in the process. After one such meeting, the newly motivated women successfully protested a water issue with their political representative and got their concerns addressed.

Overcoming caste differences and gender divides

Before COVID hit, male community members from Ahmedabad visited Mumbai for a community exchange. They were surprised to see, firstly, people from all religious communities living and working together, and, secondly, women in positions of leadership and being very articulate about challenges and the work they do around it. In contrast, in their own communities religious segregation and constant caste clashes were large barriers to unifying the residents. The visit changed their thinking, and they realized that bringing people together is crucial for addressing common issues effectively.

After returning to Ahmedabad and reflecting on their experience in Mumbai, there was a significant increase in women’s participation and an improved understanding among community members about the importance of collaboration and overcoming caste differences. This experience changed their perspective on how associations work and why participation from all is essential.

These examples demonstrate how community exchanges can expose people to other ways in which people with similar backgrounds live and function. Community exchanges can help to broaden perspectives and show that there are other successful ways of living! Women get inspired and motivated when they see other women like them articulate and be vocal about issues they seek solutions to. This effect encouraged us to intensify the exchange efforts.

Strengthening emerging cooperative societies in Ahmedabad

In March 2023, we organized a community exchange to understand how to strengthen the emerging cooperative societies in Ahmedabad. This time, we were clear that more women from Ahmedabad needed to participate in the exchange, and thankfully, there indeed were more women from Ahmedabad than last time.

During the three-day exchange visit, members from the Ahmedabad slum relocation colonies visited the Mahila Milan in Mumbai. They revised their understanding on the role of community savings as a mode of organizing people and the myriad other ways in which the slum communities in Mumbai federated themselves. They also spent time speaking to members of a cooperative society of a slum relocation colony, seeing for themselves how their society was formed and how it maintains records of its roles, responsibilities, and activities. The main learning was that it was essential to maintain good documentation to be able to seek legitimate negotiations with the Government actors.

What exchanges of this nature do for a community in fostering a sense of collective action can be surmised by the words of Shrafat Hussain (name changed), one of the attendees from Ahmedabad:

“What we saw in Mumbai, and from what I heard from the others… I want our site to set a similar example for the societies and relocation sites in Ahmedabad. The next exchange should use us as an example of what is possible”.

Image credits: SPARC

By Bachera Aktar

Local-level governance of COVID-19 pandemic management in selected informal urban settlements in Dhaka city, Bangladesh: Findings from Governance Network Mapping

The poster presented findings from a community-based participatory research method “Governance Network Mapping” that explored the local-level governance of COVID-19 pandemic response in two informal urban settlements in Dhaka city. It was part of a multi-method PhD research. The findings revealed that in informal urban settlements, the pandemic was managed through a hybrid arrangement between multiple types of actors at the local level – formal and informal, health and non-health and state and non-state actors.

The COVID-19 pandemic unveiled the importance of recognizing the influence of informal governance actors and community engagement in pandemic and disaster management, especially in informal urban settlements. Hybrid arrangement has the potential to provide support to poor and marginalized communities, that might not be otherwise forthcoming, but also brings challenges to effective targeting and delivery of support to those most in need. The pandemic has also highlighted the need for strengthening the capacity of local government to play the coordination role effectively in future pandemic and public health emergency management.

Winning the Lancet-CUGH Student Poster Competition and receiving the award in front of global public health experts was a great accomplishment for me as a PhD student and also as a health systems researcher.