Abstract
Degree of urbanization varies spatiotemporally in India, and so also the levels of urban poverty. Taking examples of two states in India i.e. Bihar (less urbanized with a higher incidence of urban poverty) and Maharashtra (more urbanized with a lesser proportion of urban poverty), this paper aims to examine whether housing policies for the urban poor should only be geared towards slums, which are often considered as the spatial manifestation of urban poverty. Relying broadly on data drawn from Census of India (2011) and India Human Development Survey (2011–12), this paper attempts to put forward a point that town-level household asset data, along with the data on slums, could bring better insights in understanding the spatial manifestation of urban poverty, thereby making a case of policy attention and financial allocation not only for slums but for non-slum areas as well, both in large cities and small and medium towns. A critical review of recent urban housing programmes like IHSDP and PMAY HFA reveals that several associated issues like definition and identification of slums, individual’s possession of BPL card and land ownership need to be readdressed, to provide a safe and secure shelter to inhabitants, living both in slums and non-slum areas across different size-categories of urban centres.
Keywords
- Urbanization
- Urban Poverty
- Asset
- Slum
- Housing
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Source Computed from Census of India, 2011
Source Computed from Census of India, 2011
Source Computed from Census of India, 2011
Source Computed from Census of India, 2011
Source Computed from Census of India, 2011
Source Computed from Census of India, 2011
Notes
- 1.
Mahajanapadas refer to ‘large territorial units’, total 16 in number, mostly came up in Gangetic valley during Century 600 BCE (see Roy and Lorge: Chinese and Indian Warfare–From the Classical Age to 1870 Routledge: 2014:34).
- 2.
http://governancetoday.co.in/the-challenge-of-urbanizing-bihar, accessed on 14.12.2016—this web article highlights that the weak economic base, very limited efforts on poverty reduction strategies, legislative bottlenecks, governance hindrances are the root causes behind lower levels of urbanization in Bihar.
- 3.
Dilapidated census houses are those which show ‘signs of decay or those breaking down and required major repairs and are far from being in condition that can be restored or repaired’.
- 4.
NSSO does not conduct household surveys in slums, and that is why it reports information on majority of the houses present in slums.
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Acknowledgement
An earlier version of this book chapter was presented at the National Conference on 'Making Cities Resilient: Post Habitat III’, organized by Department of Geography, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, 3-4 February, 2017. We are thankful to the participants for their comments.
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Mondal, D., Saha, J. (2022). Sheltering Urban Poor: Looking for a New Approach. In: Kundu, A., Ponce Dentinho, T., Magsi, H., Basu, K., Bandyopadhyay, S. (eds) Accessible Housing for South Asia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88881-7_8
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