Slum Settlements
Kayomars Irandoost; Milad Doostvandi; Kasra Ashouri; seyed mohamad Ghanezade
Abstract
Highlights- Different approaches and policies have been adopted to confront spontaneous urban settlements, which have failed to stop the development process of these settlements.- The informal urban settlement needs to be politically approved in developing countries, such as Iran, as it will be involved ...
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Highlights- Different approaches and policies have been adopted to confront spontaneous urban settlements, which have failed to stop the development process of these settlements.- The informal urban settlement needs to be politically approved in developing countries, such as Iran, as it will be involved in a significant part of the urbanization process.- Presenting a novel approach known as informal armatures, David Gouverneur attempted to adopt a futuristic, protective, realistic perspective on spontaneous urban settlements and to consider administrative, environmental, morphological, planning, and design issues.- In Sanandaj, it can be helpful to consider the informal armatures approach, given that three spatial layers of the spontaneous urban settlement have taken shape so far, and the city can develop in the eastern part of the city. IntroductionDuring the past few decades, there has been widespread immigration to urban centers of wealth for utilization of opportunities and better conditions in prospect due to the dominance of the city-oriented capitalist economy, shortcomings, and failures of governments and official markets, and inequality in southern countries. Along with the inefficiency of governments and urban planning systems in satisfying needs, particularly those for dwelling and employment, this trend has led to spontaneous urban settlements. Therefore, it is essential to provide low-income groups with dwellings and present solutions in accordance with the residents’ financial capability. David Gouverneur presented a novel approach in 2015, which came to be known as informal armatures (IA). He believes that spontaneous urban settlements involve numerous physical and social complexities, and to simplify, the environment, morphology, and administrative aspects need to be balanced. He states that the problems with these settlements can be solved by the people, local governments, and central governments. This research has investigated the informal armatures approach in Sanandaj, Iran.Theoretical frameworkBeyond the theoretical controversies in this regard, the IA approach presents a framework for spontaneous neighborhoods before the occupation of land with a preventive, futuristic attitude. This approach approves of spontaneous urban settlements’ innovative, innate socio-spatial features and adopts this as a point to begin improvement. The conditions that need to be met for a successful IA approach include pre-emptive and transformative nature (political acceptance of the informality, presentation of appropriate public land with participation from the public and private sectors, and instruction of staff capable of implementing the approach), consideration of physical and performative components, hybrid and multi-scalar operations, environment-friendly nature, consideration of flexible planning components, and adaptability to different site conditions. Moreover, corridors, patches, and custodians are major components in planning and design based on the IA approach.MethodologyThe paradigm governing this research is pragmatism, which some contemporary methodologists have considered the foundation of research methodology with hybrid methods. In accordance with this worldview, the conceptual framework of the research has first been extracted besides an examination of the theoretical views on the topic based on Gouverneur’s perspectives in order to provide the background. Then, it was investigated how the approach could be adapted to Sanandaj in line with the research purpose. The statistics required to apply the approach to Sanandaj were extracted from the censuses of individuals and dwellings and the village lexicons, and satellite images and location data on the current state of Sanandaj in ArcGIS were used for the analysis of the spatial conditions of the city.Results and discussionSanandaj is a city with particular topographic features and looks as if located in a space cup due to the highs around the city and the variety of hills inside it. It can be extended mainly on the eastern side. Moreover, three spatial layers of spontaneous urban settlements have taken shape in Sanandaj so far. The first layer is the fixed layer inside the city; the origination dates back to the period between the 1960s and 1980s and is regarded today as the distressed middle area of the city. The second layer involves settlements with backgrounds as villages located within the limits of Sanandaj, which are known today as unconnected urban areas and have been excluded from the informal settlement. A third layer is also taking shape around the city, given the barren lands inside it, including villages with growing populations. The investigations demonstrated that Sanandaj could be considered for pilot research on the application of the IA approach, given its features.ConclusionInspired by the international policies, different approaches have been adopted so far in Iran with respect to spontaneous urban settlements. However, these approaches have failed to stop the extension process of these settlements, and about twelve million of the country’s urban population thus resides in these settlements today. Moreover, all the previous approaches have mainly disregarded the important idea of future development of these settlements and the combination of the planning, morphological, and administrative components, while the IA approach has successfully filled the gap. The informal armatures approach can prevent fundamental problems, particularly in terms of infrastructure, in future spontaneous urban settlements through mutual government-people management and consideration of residents’ financial capability and planning tools such as the interconnection of corridors around the city, provision of patches, and protection of valuable land. Moreover, this approach can contribute significantly as one of the most effective futuristic, collaborative approaches (top-down and bottom-up), as it provides widespread coverage of informal urban settlement in Iran.
Slum Settlements
Saeed Khani; Kayoumars Irandoost; Alireza Kammali
Abstract
Highlights
- With increasing urbanization and the importance of planning, demographic data and analysis are needed at the level of urban districts.
- The paper compares the demographic indicators and characteristics of informal settlements and other settlements in Sanandaj.
- Along with demographic ...
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Highlights
- With increasing urbanization and the importance of planning, demographic data and analysis are needed at the level of urban districts.
- The paper compares the demographic indicators and characteristics of informal settlements and other settlements in Sanandaj.
- Along with demographic heterogeneity, a significant portion of the changes, including population growth and immigration, take place in informal settlements.
- In urban management with the aim of upgrading and regeneration of informal settlements, it is necessary to pay attention to demographic characteristics.
Introduction
Informal settlements are a fundamental challenge in modern urbanization. Various approaches and plans have been adopted to address this challenge, but many of them have not been associated with success for various reasons, including a lack of understanding of the characteristics of these settlements, especially the demographic dimensions. Studies have demonstrated that housing and habitation in informal settlements is far more frequent in Sanandaj than the national average, and covers more than half of the city’s population. The aim of this study was to analyze the demographic characteristics and indices in informal settlements and compare them to those in other settlements in Sanandaj. The achievements are highly significant mainly because they provide an overview of the active demographic structure and processes in formal and informal settlements. Moreover, many theories that indicate the formation of informal settlements highlight the importance of social, economic, and demographic factors in this regard.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this research was based on theories that focus on urban growth and diversity in developing countries. Furthermore, these theories address the typology of urban settlements due to this diversity.
According to the demographic transition framework, rural-urban migration is the initial source of urban growth at the early stages of transition, but natural population growth itself is the fundamental source of urban growth as the transition and urbanization processes continue, and the urban sector grows increasingly larger (Keyfitz, 1980: 149). In the middle and end of the demographic transition, where the rates of death and birth are both low and more or less equal in urban and rural areas, rural-urban migration turns into another factor affecting the growth of urban population.
Undergoing a state of demographic transition and post-transition, the city of Sanandaj, Iran has witnessed both natural growth and rural migration, and has therefore experienced high rates of urbanization. This increasing urbanization has led to the formation of various structures and patterns of urban settlement, including informal dimensions, and represents different trends, types, and patterns in demographic terms.
Methodology
The present research is a quantitative descriptive study with an exploratory nature although it analyzed the current conditions. It was conducted to compare population characteristics and indices in formal and informal settlements in Sanandaj with a secondary analysis of raw data from the population and housing censuses in 2006, 2011, and 2016 in Sanandaj. After the data were processed and prepared, the districts were classified into settlement types based on previous research, and the population characteristics and indices in urban settlements were then compared and analyzed.
Results and Discussion
According to the results, the most dramatic demographic changes in Sanandaj, including those in size, population growth rate, and migration, had occurred in informal settlements. In addition, they are considered as the poles of attraction of the population along with the new settlement areas. There is instability and imbalance among the settlements in terms of the static characteristics of the population, including household density, residential unit quality, academic conditions, dependency burden, and employment status This indicates that informal settlements with larger households, smaller residential units, larger populations per room, and higher ratios of flimsy housing units are excluded from the proper cycle of economic and social urban life. These problems can all lead to occurrence of further urban challenges.
Conclusion
The present study revealed the existence of heterogeneous characteristics and demographic indices in the settlements of Sanandaj. Although the same pattern in terms of population processes cannot be considered for different districts, some settlements are characterized by both higher population growth and poorer housing, occupation, employment, and education. This makes them not only more vulnerable but also potential causes of urban issues and the Achilles’ heel of urban management.
The policy solution proposed in this article is that it is necessary and fundamental to pay attention to the demographic characteristics and indices of informal settlements in the provision and advancement of a comprehensive approach to planning and management in order to upgrade and regenerate these settlements. The results of this paper provide important lessons for planners and policy-makers on population redistribution policies and urban management, and indicate the different dimensions and characteristics of population in districts and settlements of Sanandaj.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Deputy of Statistics and Information of the Management and Planning Organization of Kurdistan Province for their provision of the available information concerning the general population and housing censuses of the districts of Sanandaj.
