Slum conditions arise when access to adequate housing and services falls short; several deprivations can reinforce one another.
A slum household is commonly identified through one or more housing deprivations: inadequate water, sanitation, living space, durable housing or tenure security. Tenure security means protection against arbitrary loss of the right to occupy a home. This classification describes conditions, not the character or abilities of residents.
In rapidly growing lower-income cities, affordable housing and serviced land may not keep pace with household formation and migration. Low or irregular incomes, costly formal land, limited housing finance and exclusionary planning can leave households with few options near work. Settlement in unserviced or hazardous locations may be a response to those constraints.
Housing deprivation can also occur in higher-income cities where rents outpace incomes, low-cost housing is scarce or buildings deteriorate. Crowded or insecure accommodation need not look like an informal settlement. Local classifications differ, and not all informal housing has every deprivation.
Deprivations reinforce one another. Poor sanitation can increase illness, reducing income and school attendance. Insecure tenure can discourage investment in repairs or make residents fear eviction. Hazard exposure can repeatedly destroy savings. Residents also sustain businesses, support networks and community organisations; improvement should build on these capabilities rather than assume the area has no value.
Step by step
Identify the housing gap
Specify water, sanitation, space, durability or tenure.
Explain why it persists
Connect income, land, housing supply, finance or planning to the household's choices.
Link the effects
Show how one deprivation worsens another aspect of well-being.
Worked example: A household near employment
An invented household rents a crowded room close to casual jobs. Moving to a cheaper distant home would raise transport costs and risk losing work. Better housing policy must consider location and income as well as the physical quality of a replacement building.
Watch out for this
Clearing poor-quality buildings automatically removes the causes of slum conditions.
Without affordable, accessible alternatives and secure rights, households may be displaced or recreate the same conditions elsewhere.
Check your understanding
Which explanation best accounts for slum conditions persisting near a prosperous business district?
- Low-income households may face high land costs and limited affordable housing despite nearby economic activity.
- The residents necessarily prefer unsafe services.
- All nearby residents must earn the district's average income.