“Slumification” of Consolidated Informal Settlements: A Largely Unseen Challenge

Abstract

Today most scholars, policy makers, and low-income "slum" residents themselves eschew the term slum and some argue that it is high time to retire the term altogether. We agree, and yet recent research of consolidated informal settlements in Latin America and the United States suggests that the conventional wisdom of successful self-building trajectories is sometimes severely constrained, or stymied altogether. In this paper we analyze why some types of housing may enter a downward decline of deterioration, into what might constitute the erstwhile term of a slum, after having successfully consolidated over 20 or more years. This paper draws upon a nine-country study through the Latin American Housing Network or LAHN (https://www.lahn.utexas.org/) of low-income housing in Latin America with comparisons to Texas, USA. Examples from the former comprise of different types of consolidated settlements that are located in the "innerburbs" or "first suburbs" today, and where some authors argue there is a need for new policy imperatives of housing and community rehab to overcome deterioration and dilapidation. Despite the apparent success of self-building consolidation since the 1960s and 1970s, we are now beginning to observe evidence of heavy distress to the physical fabric of dwellings and communities, a process that may be considered de facto "slumification". This process is triggered through structural changes under neoliberalism and the "poverty of resources," heterogeneity of land access, physical constraints and deterioration, the lack of legal titles and title clouding, densification and stress on the built environment, environmental hazards, and natural and man-made disasters. However, in part, slumification occurs due to the failure of policies to respond to deteriorated housing conditions after years of intensive use.

Permukiman Kumuh Ditinjau dari Kontinum Formal dan Informal (Studi Kasus: Permukiman Kumuh Lintas Negara)

“…Definisi permukiman kumuh juga merujuk pada perumahan formal di mana mengalami penurunan kondisi yang semakin memburuk, setelah bertahun -tahun digunakan dan mengarah pada penurunan jumlah perumahan (Azhar et al, 2021;Huchzermeyer, 2011). Mengacu pada studi dari Latin American Housing Network (LAHN), kekumuhan muncul pertama kali akibat terjadi kepadatan.…”

“…Terakhir, penggelapan atau ketidak jelasan status kepemilikan properti juga turut memperumit terjadinya kekumuhan. Biasanya pola ini dihasilkan dari warisan informal, karena anak-anak dewasa menjadi pewaris properti atas nama orang tua (Azhar et al, 2021).…”

Modeling of Spatial Data on Accuracy Values of Slum Area Distribution in Palembang City, Indonesia

“…To address these challenges, many studies recommend a coordinated approach to transform slum settlements into non-slum areas (Lobo et al, 2020;Lilford et al, 2017). It is also critical to note that the goal should not be to evict residents from slum settlements, but to transform them into better living conditions [53].…”

Exploring the Characteristics, Drivers and Control Strategies of Informal Settlements on Mkimbizi Hill in Iringa Municipality, Tanzania

“…2018) that informal settlements are one of the community's efforts to overcome the problem of affordability. Although affordability is regarded as a housing solution, it requires selfhelp and self-management strategies (Azhar et al, 2021).…”