(I) Housing Shortage

Homelessness is an intricate and multifaceted problem; the incidences of homelessness and
the particular individualistic circumstances vary greatly. While sometimes it is a direct

product of an infrastructure shortage, especially with regards to public housing, there are
various other issues behind the phenomenon of homelessness. Some of them are as follows:
(i)
Housing shortage
If the public housing system and infrastructure is scarce and limited, then the lowest have to
be crowded out of the system. In these circumstances, given the way the market economy
functions, it is very likely that the people who are crowded out are the poorest people at the
bottom of the income spectrum.
(ii)
Entitlement to Land
In a large number of circumstances, people elect to construct temporary shelters instead of

being homeless. These squatters construct temporary shelters, however with the passage of
time these shelters and settlements become established and convert into permanent
residences.
(iii)
Entitlement to Housing
Even in situations without any infrastructure or housing shortage, if people dont own
constructive rights, ownership or any sort of entitlement over the houses that exist, they are
still resigned to a life of homelessness. While some people are excluded due to situations
such as street children, the main reason for exclusion remains financial exclusion.
(iv)
Individualistic situations
The individualistic situations of the homeless also often contribute to their state. Improper
behavioural habits such as alcoholism or psychiatric illnesses, coupled with social issues such
as marital breakdown for women or unemployment contribute to the exclusion.
Plenty of households in urban scenarios have to deal with overpopulation and crowded
situations, although this doesnt apply to everyone. The housing situation sees incremental
benefit when multi-storied buildings are built to increase the number of houses. A large
number of urban centres have high population densities. The migration situation also means
that a large number of houses are rented out to migrants, who have to make do in extremely
crowded situations.
Since these people have no entitlement to land, or ancestral resident land, their dependence
lies squarely on the rented accommodation. A lot of the times this accommodation is shared
in nature. There are a few other reasons that poor people within the original population have
to live in crowded dwellings. First, the family structure breaks down into multiple
households, however land for new households in unaffordable. Therefore, they either fit
multiple people in the same space, or split the existing accommodation into new, albeit
smaller plots. Second, given the high cost of living and low incomes, people rent out a
portion of their own living space to tenants.
The National Sample Survey Organization of India defines slums as compact settlement
with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded together
usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic conditions. This
phenomenon can be observed in metropolitan cities in India, which due to their haphazard
and unplanned growth have led to a situation where one-fourth of the total population lives in
slums. These slums are made of bamboo, straw, wood, tin and plastic sheets. The population
density in these slums ranges from 700-4210 per acre, and about 4-10 people per room,
which is highly congested, unhygienic, uncomfortable and unhealthy.
There are three major factors that contribute to the percentage of urban population increase
1) The first factor is that the rural-urban differential in the rates of natural population
increase. The pace of procreation in urban areas has contributed to this, since during
1991-2011, the percentage growth of population in urban and rural areas was 31% and
18% respectively.
2) The second factor is the trend of rural-urban migration.
3) The third factor is the reclassification of villages as towns. According to the 2011
census, the number of metropolitan cities with million plus population has increased
to 35, but the number of towns and cities has increased to 4378. In these areas, basic
services like accessibility to water and sanitation is markedly inferior. Waste
management contributes heavily to this problem and a lack of sewage connections
exacerbates this problem. Water quality has large hygienic and medical ramifications,
and lack of medical centres is also acute in these peripheral slums.
The mobility needs of the city also face a branching out and evolve into a dichotomy, which
is not reflected in the current plans.
Core slums are cut off, and sometimes not accessible by buses. The way to reach them is to
take an autorickshaw to the nearest bust stop and walk the distance, which is around two k,.
Considering the remoteness of these peripheral slums, limited mobility options and high
transport costs involved, these are highly unsustainable. This leads to a lack of affordable
transport to these areas, coupled with lack of affordable housing near employment centres
restricts the access of these people to basic amenities that may lead to better living conditions.
Mobility is a crucial link and huge factor that could help bridge the gap between shelter and
livelihood.
In order to successfully carry out slum development and rehabilitation schemes, the focus
should be not only on constructing houses, but also on peripheral infrastructure development
which promotes housing options, mobility enhancement and affordable social infrastructure.
The urban ecosystem as a whole must be looked at holistically in order to effect any real
change. The humanization of people living in these slums and their specific needs need to be
acknowledges and incorporated into solutions, through discussions, participatory negotiations
and awareness campaigns. A sense of collective responsibility must be imbued, especially
towards the infrastructure and its development. An urban habitation system that doesnt
exclude the poor and provides them access to basic amenities and government schemes and
services is the way forward.

(I) Housing Shortage

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(I) Housing Shortage

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Homelessness is an intricate and multifaceted problem; the incidences of homelessness and

the particular individualistic circumstances vary greatly. While sometimes it is a direct

In a large number of circumstances, people elect to construct temporary shelters instead of

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