Social Sustainability
Slum
Definition
A slum household, in the UN-Habitat operational definition, is one lacking one or more of: durable housing of a permanent nature, sufficient living space (no more than three people per room), access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, and security of tenure. Around one billion people — roughly a quarter of the urban population in developing regions — live in such conditions, concentrated in informal settlements on city peripheries and hazard-prone land.
References
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This reference provides supporting context for how “Slum” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures SDG indicator 11. 1. 1 monitoring, slum upgrading programmes (participatory approaches led by federations of the urban poor), and the New Urban Agenda's housing commitments.
Why it matters
A third of future urban growth will occur in today's informal settlement patterns; whether cities become sustainable depends on whether a billion people's neighbourhoods are upgraded or abandoned.