Can Cities grow without Slums?
Prolouge:
This is note based on the post published in 'The Guardian' on 11th August 2014 titled 'Hanoi: is it possible to grow a city without slums?' (may refer the link: http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/aug/11/hanoi-slums-vietnam-urban-planning-construction). The same was shared by Mr. Sahil Sasidharan on 'Planning India' page on Facebook. Thanks to Sahil!
Background:
Slums have almost become an indispensable part of growing metropolises, particularly in the developing nations. This article/ report has raised a potent question if we can plan cities without having the ubiquitous slums. Hanoi, the Vietnamese Capital, has found a somewhat convenient solution to the issue! Slums - or otherwise illegal settlements/ housing in the City - are tagged legal if the residential structures happen to meet certain minimum standards; and accordingly, such houses are provided with the basic set of services - sanitation, electricity and water. Which is why, 'slums' are termed as 'spontaneous urban development' by the urban planners in this quarter of the world. How effective is this solution of legalizing the otherwise unplanned development?
Informal Settlements in Hanoi
In Hanoi, if you are opportunistic enough to grab a parcel of land as small as 20 sq.m. and build a house on it while maintaining the building regulations, the house may be legalized. This has led to boom in the Construction Industry here. Old buildings are demolished, and replaced by bigger ones without having to process for sanction from the municipal body or the local government. This policy is enabling migrants to the City to build dwellings for themselves when the Administration has failed to provide housing to all. To my understanding, a deeper study is needed to understand if this policy has contributed to population explosion in Hanoi, and consequent pressures on the civic infrastructure.
Contemporary practices in other developing nations
About one-third of the population in Delhi, India - the National Capital - lives in informal settlements, termed as 'Unauthorized Colonies' (UC). Such colonies are gradually being placed under the ambit of a Regularization Policy, subject to planned redevelopment. The residents in these colonies formulate a large vote-share and hence, the subject of regularization is politically motivated. Similar strategies are also prevalent for slums in Brazilian Cities, called 'favelas' where ownership rights to land-parcel has been awarded to slum-dwellers as a policy to regularize informality.
