Do neighbourhood facilities matter for slum housing? Evidence from Indian slum clusters

Abstract

Slum dwellers in developing countries reside in inhuman conditions, with little provision of basic facilities and with considerable overlap between sources of drinking water supply, sewerage and the area for garbage disposal. Is it because clean environment does not enter their decision function for residence selection or is it simply non-affordability? We examine these questions in the context of the registered slum clusters of four Indian cities – Mathura, Ujjain, Jaipur and Ludhiana. A primary survey was conducted in these cities under a project on urban poverty undertaken jointly by the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of India in 2006–2007, based on which this analysis has been pursued. A reduced form hedonic equation of house prices of owned residential units is estimated to ascertain slum dwellers’ preferences in house selection. We find house prices vary consistently with many structural variables, but with only two of the neighbourhood features – streetlight and sewage facility provided by the government. Most of the other neighbourhood variables like provision of water, garbage collection, healthcare etc. including presence of open drain in the neighbourhood have insignificant effect on house prices. Measures of willingness to pay show strong promise of cost sharing for slum improvisation programs for facilities like sewage and street lights. Further, slums located within the city, closer to the CBD fetch higher prices. Slum residents expect public provision of other facilities.

Net Benefits of Urban Slums Redevelopment Policies on the Value of Adjacent Residential Property

“…On the contrary, it is evidenced that the building age negatively affects the price of properties (Chen & Jim, 2010). Urban amenities are also quite influential on the housing prices; the study conducted by Das et al (2017) revealed that neighborhood amenities positively impact the price of residential housings even in the slum clusters. Residents showed more willingness to pay for the location with facilities like sewerage and street lights.…”

Analysis of Settlements along Abandoned Railway Tracks in Majalaya Subdistrict, Bandung Regency, Indonesia

“…In addition to insufficient access to clean water, trenches and water channels are inevitably used for waste disposal. Even though such conditions are inhumane for slum dwellers (Das et al, 2017), their low incomes force them to remain in such areas in order to meet their housing needs (Vasudevan, 2015). Supriatna & van der Molen (2014) confirm that slums are urban residential villages consisting of dense and spontaneously growing environments in the centres or outskirts of cities.…”

<b>Determinants of Female Garment Workers' Housing Choices in Bangladesh</b>

“…They conducted a survey in slums in India, and employed a hedonic approach. They found that house prices vary according to various structural variables, and the government provides only two of the neighborhood features -streetlight and sewage facility 18) . While there are some studies that reveal slum dwellers' housing preferences, the number is limited; more studies are required in various places and for various household attributes.…”