Urban Poverty in Bangladesh: Causes, Consequences and Coping Strategies

Abstract

BWPI Working Paper 178Creating and sharing knowledge to help end poverty www.manchester.ac.uk/ overty in Bangladesh: causes, strategies 8Creating and sharing knowledge to help end poverty www.manchester.ac.uk/bwpi 2 AbstractBustees are places where physical, social, economic and political vulnerabilities collide, creating a multi-layered blanket of vulnerability for their residents. Although income is central to day-to-day survival in an urban environment in which cash income is needed to meet a household's basic needs, work options are limited to low-paid and irregular work, primarily dependent on physical labour. This forces households to rely upon loans and labour mobilisation strategies to get by. Unsanitary, poorly serviced, and densely populated environmentsfrequently situated in environmentally hazardous areas -mean ill health is both endemic and chronic, playing a routine and devastating role in the lives of the urban poor. The repercussions of resource scarcity at the household level are compounded by the social and political exclusion of the poor from urban governance structures and processes. Amidst a lack of formal institutional support, and in the absence of formal rights and entitlements, the process of facilitating and maintaining patron-client relationships is a central coping strategy for the urban poor. It is a means of trying to manage uncertainty and improve their access to resources. For the majority, however, these strategies are limited to helping households to cope, rather than advancing their interests. Informal systems of governance at the bustee level reproduce and exacerbate existing inequalities, with access to power, information, resources, employment and other lucrative income-generating opportunities limited to a close circle of wellconnected bustee households.

Factors Influencing Choices for Early Marriage in Urban Informal Settlements of Bangladesh

“…Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998). Our research has found, similar to other studies on urban informal settlements, that a majority of the residents were unskilled, some with weak networks, and engaged in labour intensive informal jobs, where income was on a day-to-day basis, making livelihoods very uncertain (Banks, 2012; Rashid, 2011). In addition, the high cost of daily commodities and pressure to pay rent to landowners, continues to reproduce a cycle of debt, deprivation and hardship for many of the households.…”

“…Poverty is perpetuated in these spaces for various reasons, as most of the informal settlements are set up on empty government land and are considered to be illegal, leading to the constant threat of eviction. Residents there usually have poor income opportunities and basic formal services (i.e., health, education, legal support from government) remain limited (Banks, 2012; Wood, 1998). Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998).…”

Factors Influencing Choices for Early Marriage in Urban Informal Settlements of Bangladesh

“…Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998). Our research has found, similar to other studies on urban informal settlements, that a majority of the residents were unskilled, some with weak networks, and engaged in labour intensive informal jobs, where income was on a day-to-day basis, making livelihoods very uncertain (Banks, 2012; Rashid, 2011). In addition, the high cost of daily commodities and pressure to pay rent to landowners, continues to reproduce a cycle of debt, deprivation and hardship for many of the households.…”

“…Poverty is perpetuated in these spaces for various reasons, as most of the informal settlements are set up on empty government land and are considered to be illegal, leading to the constant threat of eviction. Residents there usually have poor income opportunities and basic formal services (i.e., health, education, legal support from government) remain limited (Banks, 2012; Wood, 1998). Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998).…”

Pro-poor adaptation for the urban extreme poor in the context of climate change

“…Loan repayment can guarantee further access to loans. Banks (2012) argues that compulsory savings periods often limit the role of formal loans as a source of emergency financing for the urban poor. However, the research identifies that, in both settlements in the case study, formal credit systems operated by NGOs and CBOs rarely select extreme poor households as beneficiaries.…”

Housing and Human Settlements in a World of Change

“…The chapter by Shaharin Elham Annisa showcases similar responses from migrants in Oman, where they are altering the built environment and going beyond formal rule to appropriate spaces for generating different opportunities to pursue livelihoods. However, these solutions are very fragile and always under threat of demolition (Banks 2012). Therefore, as we highlighted in the last section, the issue of migrants must be treated as a political priority in local development plans.…”

Factors Influencing Choices for Early Marriage in Urban Informal Settlements of Bangladesh

“…Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998). Our research has found, similar to other studies on urban informal settlements, that a majority of the residents were unskilled, some with weak networks, and engaged in labour intensive informal jobs, where income was on a day-to-day basis, making livelihoods very uncertain (Banks, 2012; Rashid, 2011). In addition, the high cost of daily commodities and pressure to pay rent to landowners, continues to reproduce a cycle of debt, deprivation and hardship for many of the households.…”

“…Poverty is perpetuated in these spaces for various reasons, as most of the informal settlements are set up on empty government land and are considered to be illegal, leading to the constant threat of eviction. Residents there usually have poor income opportunities and basic formal services (i.e., health, education, legal support from government) remain limited (Banks, 2012; Wood, 1998). Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998).…”

Pro-poor adaptation for the urban extreme poor in the context of climate change

“…Loan repayment can guarantee further access to loans. Banks (2012) argues that compulsory savings periods often limit the role of formal loans as a source of emergency financing for the urban poor. However, the research identifies that, in both settlements in the case study, formal credit systems operated by NGOs and CBOs rarely select extreme poor households as beneficiaries.…”

Housing and Human Settlements in a World of Change

“…The chapter by Shaharin Elham Annisa showcases similar responses from migrants in Oman, where they are altering the built environment and going beyond formal rule to appropriate spaces for generating different opportunities to pursue livelihoods. However, these solutions are very fragile and always under threat of demolition (Banks 2012). Therefore, as we highlighted in the last section, the issue of migrants must be treated as a political priority in local development plans.…”

Factors Influencing Choices for Early Marriage in Urban Informal Settlements of Bangladesh

“…Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998). Our research has found, similar to other studies on urban informal settlements, that a majority of the residents were unskilled, some with weak networks, and engaged in labour intensive informal jobs, where income was on a day-to-day basis, making livelihoods very uncertain (Banks, 2012; Rashid, 2011). In addition, the high cost of daily commodities and pressure to pay rent to landowners, continues to reproduce a cycle of debt, deprivation and hardship for many of the households.…”

“…Poverty is perpetuated in these spaces for various reasons, as most of the informal settlements are set up on empty government land and are considered to be illegal, leading to the constant threat of eviction. Residents there usually have poor income opportunities and basic formal services (i.e., health, education, legal support from government) remain limited (Banks, 2012; Wood, 1998). Many who have migrated here were pushed to leave rural areas after losing land, money, and arrive with almost no skills and little to no education (Wood, 1998).…”

Pro-poor adaptation for the urban extreme poor in the context of climate change

“…Loan repayment can guarantee further access to loans. Banks (2012) argues that compulsory savings periods often limit the role of formal loans as a source of emergency financing for the urban poor. However, the research identifies that, in both settlements in the case study, formal credit systems operated by NGOs and CBOs rarely select extreme poor households as beneficiaries.…”

Housing and Human Settlements in a World of Change

“…The chapter by Shaharin Elham Annisa showcases similar responses from migrants in Oman, where they are altering the built environment and going beyond formal rule to appropriate spaces for generating different opportunities to pursue livelihoods. However, these solutions are very fragile and always under threat of demolition (Banks 2012). Therefore, as we highlighted in the last section, the issue of migrants must be treated as a political priority in local development plans.…”