Policies towards substandard settlements

Shifting approaches to slums in Chennai: Political coalitions, policy discourses and practices

“…In addition, the utopian idea of ‘cities without slums’ supported by the United Nations was used to legitimize slum eradication in housing policy rhetoric (Huchzermeyer, ). The international policy norms allied with national and regional actors often resulted in constraining local bodies which are limited by the ‘legislation, policy and funding mechanisms’ regulated by multiple institutions (Sutherland et al ., :50). These fluid coalitions between different institutions have the ability to influence slum policy and practice at city and provincial levels.…”

“…Discourses underlining dominant slum approaches have witnessed large shifts over the past decades as a result of practices which do not pan out. Despite claiming a comprehensive strategy towards slum settlements, the policies and practices of the state commonly do not converge and are ‘acted upon and often contested by multiple actors’ (Sutherland et al ., :52). This can be particularly seen for the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB), the nodal agency for slums in Chennai, who proclaims ‘a three‐pronged’ strategy for the redevelopment of slums—infrastructure improvement, and tenement construction either in‐situ or on a relocated site (TNSCB, n.d.…”

Beyond self-help

“…Informal settlements are related mostly to the legal standing of the scheme: namely, settlements that mushroom on vacant land, within and around places of opportunities, without proper planning, building regulations or standard construction methods (Khalifa, 2015). Informal settlements have been traditionally considered as 'urban substandard' schemes, providing low-cost housing to the urban poor under poor living conditions, health risks and environmental hazards (Sutherland et al, 2016). However, Roy (2011) suggests a progressive interpretation of informal settlements as spaces of habitation, livelihood, self-organisation and politics.…”

The Urban Data Justice Case Study Collection

“…some locations in India, Brazil and South Africa); they lack access to basic infrastructure and services; they have poor standards of housing that usually do not comply with planning and building regulations; and they live on marginal or environmentally hazardous sites (Braathen et al 2016;Davis 2006;UN-Habitat 2018). support from the state; to progressive approaches, where informal settlements are considered to be part of the solution to housing the urban poor, with national and local governments planning and implementing upgrading programmes (Braathen et al 2016;Dupont 2013;Huchzermeyer 2011;Satterthwaite et al 2018;Sutherland et al 2016).…”