Slum Settlements
Mojtaba Arasteh; mohammad hosein pour hasan zadeh; Maryam Baghaei
Abstract
Highlights- COVID-19 has revealed gaps in health management along with a high rate of infectious diseases in informal settlements.- We focused on three components and eight indicators of resilience to evaluate the performance of NGOs in the control of the COVID-19 outbreak.- The vulnerability of informal ...
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Highlights- COVID-19 has revealed gaps in health management along with a high rate of infectious diseases in informal settlements.- We focused on three components and eight indicators of resilience to evaluate the performance of NGOs in the control of the COVID-19 outbreak.- The vulnerability of informal settlements in the city of Urmia, Iran to COVID-19 was based mainly on economic-livelihood components. IntroductionIn recent years, the global crisis of the coronavirus pandemic has placed cities and urban management in difficult conditions. Plenty of evidence and research emphasizes that the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 was severer in informal settlements due to the low quantitative and qualitative characteristics of these areas. These settlements are always encountered with many problems such as poverty and unemployment, lack of security and various social damages, socio-economic injustice, health-environmental problems, and lack of concern from the municipality. Furthermore, people living in these settlements face greater risks due to the high population density, improper waste management and low-quality drainage systems, and very poor health conditions and high rates of transmission of infectious diseases. In recent years, therefore, it has turned into one of the most important challenges for urban managers in these areas to examine the ways to address and control the spread of this pandemic disease and increase the resilience of informal settlements against it. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the promotion of the resilience of informal settlements in Urmia against the COVID-19 pandemic.Theoretical frameworkPlenty of research investigates various indicators of resilience. This research is focused mainly on the explanation of the components and indicators of social resilience. Based on the theoretical framework, the three main components of social resilience include the socio-cultural, socio-economic, and environmental-physical components. In the following, the effective indicators for promotion of societal resilience in informal settlements are explained.Elimination of the panic caused by problems. When a crisis occurs, residents of an informal settlement should not feel that they are alone, and it is necessary for government institutions and NGOs to support them.Increase in the level of knowledge. Through a rise in the level of knowledge and information of the residents of informal settlements, appropriate conditions can be provided to control crises and increase their resilience.Provision of education to everyone. In many cases, the conditions required for facing a crisis can be provided with inclusive, targeted education, especially upon social, economic, physical, and health crises.Enhancement of participation. An important achievement of NGOs is to enhance public participation and increase social capital, which can establish a powerful link between the society and government.Enhancement of coordination between people and executive institutions. A specific effective role of NGOs is to function as an intermediary between the government and society.Financial and subsistence aid. The social, economic, physical, and health crises that occur in an informal settlement often lead to severer poverty and deprivation, where many families need direct financial and subsistence aid.Employment. Assisting administrative bodies, NGOs are considered as appropriate trustees for the implementation of job preparation, vocational training, entrepreneurship, and marketing and creation of a business environment.Public health. Through improvement of public health in an informal settlement, the quality of the environment can be raised, and the spread of infectious and pandemic diseases can be reduced.The quality of the environment. The quality of the residential environments in these settlements is often low, and many citizens living in these areas do not have proper access to services, facilities, infrastructures, and public spaces.MethodologyThis is a descriptive-analytical study with a quantitative approach. The research population includes all NGOs in the city of Urmia, Iran that are active in the field of countering COVID-19. The simple random sampling method was adopted using a lottery. The data were analyzed using descriptive mean statistics and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Friedman tests in SPSS.Results and discussionThe results demonstrate that the activity of NGOs to improve the resilience of informal settlements in Urmia against COVID-19 in the socio-cultural component is above average, with a score of 3.66. Moreover, the economic-livelihood component exhibits an average of 2.95, which is equivalent to average and below, and the environmental-physical component shows an average of 3.11, which is evaluated as a moderate score.Hence, it can be stated that the NGOs in Urmia have failed to provide a balanced, coordinated, fair approach with respect to the socio-cultural, economic-livelihood, and environmental-physical components due to the lack of coherence and integrated management in the face of unexpected crises such as the COVID-19 disease. The similarity of this research to others lies in the unified, integrated, coordinated management of government and local institutions upon crisis. Moreover, most researchers emphasize the management authority and social power of NGOs. Generally, it should be stated that NGOs must be equipped with effective financial, support, and educational tools in order to increase the resilience level of the residents of the settlements against crises. They should be strengthened to facilitate institutions’ provision of financial services, economic empowerment, and job creation.ConclusionOverall, we conclude that NGOs have performed appropriate activities to improve the resilience of informal settlements in Urmia against the COVID-19 disease. However, their performance has been different in a comparative analysis of components and indicators. The results of the Friedman test on the indicators demonstrates that the NGOs in the informal settlements of Urmia have exhibited effective activities on most socio-cultural and environmental-physical indicators (such as essential skills against COVID-19, provision of sanitary products, prioritization of disadvantaged people, encouragement of the benefactors to help the poor, disinfection of the environment, and encouragement of residents to help clean their neighborhoods). However, most economic indicators have failed to function effectively. Finally, we suggest that NGOs focus on attraction of financial and economic support from the governmental institutions, because this study shows that this pandemic disease has the most tangible impact on the economy of residents of informal settlements. It is also necessary to pay particular attention to provision of incentives and financial support packages to protect the health and economic and social security of people living in these settlements.
Slum Settlements
Zahra Eskandari Dorbati; Mehrdad Javaheripour; Farah Torkaman
Abstract
Highlights - Creation of fields of social participation requires an understanding of the capabilities of these communities.- The theoretical approach of phenomenological research and its experimental planning is qualitative.- From the point of view of the lived experience of the studied social group, ...
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Highlights - Creation of fields of social participation requires an understanding of the capabilities of these communities.- The theoretical approach of phenomenological research and its experimental planning is qualitative.- From the point of view of the lived experience of the studied social group, the space expands until it provides livelihood.- Construction of flexible spaces is required to meet daily needs. IntroductionAccording to official documents, the population of informal settlements in the country has increased to more than twice as much in the ten years between 2003 and 2013, from 4.5 million to 12 million. There have been many studies on this urban phenomenon in the country that have influenced government policies and plans, ranging from destruction of the settlements to their reorganization. These studies have investigated the causes and factors concerning the formation of these settlements mainly with quantitative and sometimes with qualitative research methods, indicating social harms and assessing the needs for services. However, many of these studies have relied on outdated existing theories and inherent pre-judgements. This research attempts to understand the dynamics of resident social groups with respect to the informal urban spaces of these settlements. This aim is pursued through attempts to learn about the residents’ ability to overcome urban poverty and the ways they organize their daily lives, given the shortcomings of the research methodology. The purpose of this study is to understand the phenomenon of space from the perspective of the lived experience of the inhabitants of informal settlements and to answer the central question of how this has shaped the lives of those who live there. Theoretical FrameworkThe theoretical approach of this phenomenological research and its empirical planning are qualitative. This approach has made it possible to understand the phenomenon under investigation from the perspective of the lived experience of the residents and has helped develop the methods of observation, enquiry, narrative analysis, and theme extraction. Theories are considered as a tool for analysis of the findings of this research and support the narratives for understanding and reflecting the dynamics of social-livelihood groups with respect to the informal urban space of Akbar Abad, Iran. In line with this approach, beyond the physical geography of the place, this research investigates the lived fabric considering the symbolic meanings and importance of places, as reflected in the theoretical writings of human geographers and urbanists such as Massey (1994). Accordingly, the reciprocal interaction between the built environment, social space, and actors’ agency, with imagined, lived, and perceived spaces, results in the construction of new lived and perceived spaces.MethodologyMost of the previous studies have been conducted through survey questionnaires and are not profound enough to identify the relationship between residents and where they live. Therefore, based on the phenomenological theoretical framework on informal settlements, the research design involved qualitative methods of data collection, including in-depth semi-structured interviews, participatory observation, and purposeful sampling. The subject of the case study was Nasimshahr (Akbarabad), 15 km southeast of Tehran. The researcher lived in this city for a while and came to a general understanding of the relationship between space and the inhabitants’ lives. The observations, interviews, and sampling were carried out at three spatial levels. These included Nasimshahr as the first level, the area within this city named Akbarabad as the middle level, and the urban space of Imam Hassan Mojtaba Bazaar (known as kooche tolidi (‘manufacturers’ alley’)) as the micro level. The socio-economic group of clothing producers was chosen as the unit of analysis. The data obtained on the residents’ lived experience were combined with available census data. A one-year intermittent residency within the scope of the study area provided the researcher with an opportunity to get closer to the social group of interest, and a different understanding of the presuppositions concerning the subject was formed through participatory observation. Results and Discussion In this research, it was found that understanding the phenomenon of space in Nasimshahr is not possible without an understanding of the interaction between socio-livelihood groups with socio- physical space. At the beginning of the formation of these settlements in the 1980s, individual agency along with the support of family and kinship networks played a key role in the generation of a private space (home) incorporating any means of livelihood. After that, until the late 1990s, the collective movement that is crystallized in the livelihood group–which is the focus of this study–took shape through labor, skills, and employment networks. Imam Hassan Mojtaba Bazaar resulted from the events in this period. For twenty years, capital has become more important than availability of labor, skills, and social networks, and physical space is dominating, and limiting, residents’ agency in the organization of the space they can afford to interact with livelihoods. The space of Imam Hassan Bazaar is the pinnacle of residents’ understanding and shaping of space. In this informal market space, clothing manufacturers try to establish a dynamic connection between Tehran and their livelihood and social group and hope that this city will turn into and be recognized as the clothing hub of the country using the opportunities in Nasimshahr. This study contributed to the phenomenological method of understanding space, and the findings are limited to the researcher’s understanding of the participants’ lived experience and life in Nasimshahr.ConclusionThe preliminary results showed that although economic activities grow in Nasimshahr, as in any other urban region within a metropolitan area, some activities to earn income such as those of brokers, recyclers, street vendors, and producers and sellers of garments assume a particular position. The socio-livelihood group of clothing manufacturers was selected as a research unit for this study due to characteristics such as inclusivity, entrepreneurship, and the ability to move the activity between the living environment (home) and the general environment of the market place. Therefore, Imam Hassan Mojtaba Bazaar, which was formed over time in the interaction with this income and employment generation activity, was studied as the subject of a case study on informal urban spaces.
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.
Slum Settlements
Alireza Nazarnia; Leila Zare; Fariborz Dolatabadi
Abstract
Highlights The informal settlement, as a result of rapid urbanization, is created in or outside of formal and illegal skirts of cities. This research insists on the strategy of incremental housing as a process in the physical improvement of Chabahar informal settlements. In the final pattern for residents, ...
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Highlights The informal settlement, as a result of rapid urbanization, is created in or outside of formal and illegal skirts of cities. This research insists on the strategy of incremental housing as a process in the physical improvement of Chabahar informal settlements. In the final pattern for residents, besides enhancement in physical aspects, maintaining spatial units among residents is highlighted. compatibility of replaced plans with the culture of living in the community is a key aspect in any upgrading physical pattern. From one step to the end, the residents themselves decide how to subdivide, aggregate, or complete the inner spaces. 1. Introduction Informal settlement, as a result of rapid urbanization, takes place inside or outside the formal, legal limits of cities. These areas are mainly settlements of rural immigrants or poor urban dwellers. Inefficiency in the housing supply system and instability of the economic aspect of housing in the urban market are the main causes of the emergence of informal settlements. This research is focused on the strategy of incremental housing as a process effective in the physical improvement of informal settlements in the city of Chabahar, Iran. Moreover, it seeks to promote the quality of life in informal settlements and, consequently, integrate them into the official areas of the city. In the final model for the residents, maintenance of the spatial structures is highlighted besides enhancement of the physical aspects. This means that the alternative plans are compatible with the residents’ culture. The residents’ economic restrictions are considered besides all these features. The results demonstrate that a decent model can be achieved using incremental housing and its varieties: subdivision, aggregation, and expansion. This model assumes a more cooperative attitude than in the top-down type of development. The incremental approach is based on individuals’ participation in the processes of making their own houses given their types of social network and cultural habits. The research method involves the researcher’s active attendance of the study area and observation of the inhabitants’ experiences. After all, the designer has no more than a facilitating role in this strategy. From a certain step on, the residents themselves decide how to subdivide, aggregate, or complete the inner spaces. Thus, a sympathetic method of creation occurs within the target community. 2. Theoretical Framework In Nazrie et al. (2016), the consent rate of residents of informal settlements in the Afshar district, Kabul, Afghanistan to the promotion strategy was challenged through interviews with them. The findings highlighted that it was insufficient to consider only the physical aspects of upgrading settlements, and that the economic and social perspectives were as important as the physical features. In a study on the strategy of upgrading informal settlements in Egypt, Khalifa (2015) discussed the negligence of the residents of these areas. As long as the existing settlements are a kind of compensation for the lack of formal settlements, they must be assumed to have a positive aspect as well. These constructive features can contribute to any upgrading alternative model. 3. Methodology The methodology of this research involves deep interviews with residents of Chabahar informal settlements and active in-field participation of the researchers. The natural lifestyle of the inhabitants is observed, and the culture dominant among the target community is interacted with more deeply. The data collection methods involve a physical study and assessment of units where the informal dwellers live. 4. Results and Discussion In Chabahar, the Balochi word kampan is used to refer to a residential unit with a unique role and distinct social, economic, and spatial features. Socially, the families inside each kampan can interact with each other. The members of these families have an ethnic relation with each other. Economically, a kampan is a place where the inside dwellers play the role of self-employers. Spatially, there is a courtyard inside each kampan where means of both livelihood and life are provided. The results indicate that a kampan has an organizing characteristic as a spatial module within the fabric of Chabahar informal settlements. Thus, a kampan can maintain its functions in any new pattern devised for promotion of the informal settlements. For application of the economic aspect to the pattern, the outside structure of the design is established, and the inside of the units is then completed by the residents in a post-occupancy process. 5. Conclusion The main strategy adopted to confront informal settlements, incremental housing can be regarded as a productive, participatory process. In this strategy, the architect has a facilitating role, designing and preparing the outside and intermediate spaces. Then, the residents themselves complete the inside of the residential units. There are a number of rules governing the completion process. Firstly, development is restricted inside the courtyard, because of the importance of this space. Secondly, the residents can add up to one story to the existing buildings. Overall, the residents have an approach in parallel with the architects’ toward a proper solution to the problem of upgrading informal settlements. From a certain step on, the residents themselves decide how to subdivide, aggregate, or complete the inner spaces. Thus, a sympathetic method of creation emerges within the target community.
Slum Settlements
Kioumars Habibi; arman rahimi
Abstract
One area of unsustainable urban development, especially in developing countries living with acute problems, is the so-called informal settlements which requires adopting special measures to regulate their current situation and prevent their spread in the future. With the introduction of sustainable urban ...
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One area of unsustainable urban development, especially in developing countries living with acute problems, is the so-called informal settlements which requires adopting special measures to regulate their current situation and prevent their spread in the future. With the introduction of sustainable urban development in the 1980s and attention to all aspects of the city (including environmental, economic and social aspects) as a basis for sustainable urban development, the problem of informal settlements entered a new phase of studies that is most relevant to the assessment of the level of stability in such settlements. The emergence of new practical methods and practices of sustainable development thinking in terms of environmental impact assessment occurred in the 1990s. The ecological footprint analysis is one of the indices that has attracted the attention of academics, politicians and educationalists. Ecological footprint is an indicator that assesses the energy and materials used in a city, region or country, and evaluates the burden on ecosystems induced by the population and industrial processes. In recent decades, Sanandaj, as the main city of Kurdistan province, has witnessed a massive wave of migration from the countryside into the city, leading to the formation of many informal settlements such as Abbas Abad, Naysr, etc. This research tries to evaluate the level of sustainability in Abbas Abad neighborhood using ecological footprint. The present study is an applied research with a descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population includes all the households living in Abbas Abad neighborhood. Given the fact that 4741 households live in Abbas Abad neighborhood, the sample size was estimated using the Cochran formula to be about 355 households. On this basis, 355 questionnaires were randomly distributed among households living in the Abbas Abad neighborhood. The questionnaires collected the information on the annual consumption of food and waste generation as expressed by the respondents. In order to assess the level of stability in Abbas Abad, the ecological footprint of the neighborhood was measured as one of the unofficial neighborhoods of Sanandaj. Eventually, one year’s water, electricity and gas consumption was calculated. It is worth noting that information on food intake, transport and waste production was been obtained through the distributed questionnaires. The results show that the total ecological footprint of Abbas Abad neighborhood is 74560.551 hectares. The calculations show that the ecological footprint of the Abbas Abad neighborhood in 2011 was 74560.551 hectares worldwide, which represents an area of 3.808 hectares per capita for each neighborhood resident. This means that although the area of Abbas Abad neighborhood is 46 hectare, the land consumption of 19578 people living in the neighborhood is 1,621 times more than the area of the neighborhood, and given the 4065 hectares area of Sanandaj in 2011, it is about 18 times more than the area Sanandaj. The highest ecological footprint in the Abbas Abad neighborhood relates to the construction sector (38162 hectares). After construction, food (25819.06 hectares) and gas (5498 hectares) have the highest share in the Abbas Abad neighborhood.
Slum Settlements
bahman ahmadi
Volume 5, Issue 20 , November 2016, , Pages 29-42
Abstract
Tenure security is a fundamental right of households lack of which leads to economic, social, psychological and political problems; thus, tenure insecurity has become a deprivation index in informal settlements. In recent years, special attention has been given to tenure security in improving informal ...
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Tenure security is a fundamental right of households lack of which leads to economic, social, psychological and political problems; thus, tenure insecurity has become a deprivation index in informal settlements. In recent years, special attention has been given to tenure security in improving informal settlements and thus was the research subject carried out by UN-HABITAT in 2003 and 2006. Scientific and practical experiences in tenure security index show that tenure security is a sense that cannot be achieved only by formal means such as ownership of a title deed. Tenure security is much more than simply examining legal title deeds and involves social, economic and life-quality indexes nowadays. Indeed, de facto and supra legal and perceived indexes along with legal ones, hold sway on tenure security scale in informal settlements. Moreover, sustainable development of informal settlements became one of the main topics of a seminar held by the Habitat in 2004 with particular emphasis on sustainable social development in order to empower residents and promote tenure security in informal settlements. At present, the application of mediating tools has become prevalent in the enhancement of tenure security instead of through legal procedures.. Based on the question of whether it is possible to consider social sustainability as a mediator tool, the purpose of this research is examining and evaluating the impacts of social sustainable development on tenure security in Koshtargah neighborhood in Urmia. Two main indexes have been used in this research to explain social sustainability: spatial justice (accessibility to urban services such as daily shopping centers, educational centers, sports centers, cultural centers, recreational centers, administrative services and remedial centers) and social cohesion (duration of residence, amount of power and solidarity of local organizations, the cohesion of family and friends and willingness of residents to work together in order to improve neighborhood). For Examining perceived tenure security in Koshtargah neighborhood, five criteria (concerns about informality of neighborhood, concerns about municipality dissatisfaction of residences in the neighborhood, concerns about homelessness after evacuation, possibility of forced eviction at any moment and concerns about forced eviction in next 5 years) are utilized. Research method was descriptive – analytical, and field data collection was carried out by means of questionnaire surveys. To analyse the data, ArcGIS techniques, fuzzy analysis and statistical methods such as Pearson correlation coefficient and regression were used. According to the correlation analysis it could be concluded that the impact of social cohesion on the sense of tenure security in Koshtargah neighborhood has been positive and significant; this relation was confirmed by significant degree of 0.000, confidence degree of 99% and correlation coefficient of 0.873. Furthermore, it could be concluded that spatial justice has had a positive and significant impact on the sense of tenure security in Koshtargah neighborhood; this relation was confirmed by a significant degree of 0.000, confidence degree of 99% and a correlation coefficient of 0.792. The results illustrate that by increasing social cohesion and providing justice in urban services accessibility, the perceived tenure security of Koshtargah neighborhood became stronger; thus it can be predicted that moving toward social sustainability promotes the sense of land and housing tenure security of Koshtargah inhabitants.
