Characteristics of slum

Slums are usually characterized by urban blight and by high rates of poverty and unemployment. They tend to be breeding centers for many social problems such as crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, high rates of mental illness and suicide, and despair. In many poor countries they exhibit high rates of disease due to unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health care. In many slums, especially in poor countries, many live in very narrow alleys that do not allow vehicles (like ambulances and fire trucks) to pass. The lack of services such as routine garbage collection allows rubbish to accumulate in huge quantities. The lack of infrastructure is caused by the informal nature of settlement and no planning for the poor by government officials. Additionally, informal settlements often face the brunt of natural and man-made disasters, such as landslides, as well as earthquakes and tropical storms. Many slum dwellers employ themselves in the informal economy. This can include street vending, drug dealing, domestic work, and prostitution. In some slums people even recycle trash of different kinds (from household garbage to electronics) for a living - selling either the odd usable goods or stripping broken goods for parts or raw materials. Slums may be called by various names, Favelas, Kampungs, Tugurios, yet share the same miserable living conditions.

Slums do not have:

·         Basic municipal services - water, sanitation, waste collection, storm drainage, street lighting, paved footpaths, roads for emergency access.

·         Schools and clinics within reach, safe areas for children to play.

·         Places for the community to meet and socialize.

Slums are worsening:

·         As the average age of people in cities is increasing, the average age of slum dwellers is decreasing, so the youth suffer most from unhealthful conditions.

·         Visible disparities between slums and better-off neighbourhoods increase the social tensions in poorer areas.

·          Unplanned growth of settlements makes conventional service provision complicated.

About 2.6 million people live in slum designated areas across Delhi^. Slum is basically a dense populated area of substandard housing, usually in a city, characterized by unsanitary conditions and social disorganization.