Living on the edge

Urban slums are the visual manifestation of poverty in cities. Nearly a billion people live in slums across the world and the number is growing with each passing day. United Nation predicts, with this trend, the number will touch three billion mark by 2050. Poor living conditions in slums further worsens the well being of urban poor who not just suffer from deficit in economic opportunities owing to lack of skills and resources but also face inadequate access to basic services. Bringing equality in delivery of services and equal access to public infrastructure and resources for all is the key to eradicating urban poverty

A total of

33,510 slums

were estimated to be
present in the urban areas
of India. About 41% of
these were notified and
59% non-notified.

The urban slum population in the country has increased from

5.23 crore

in 2001 to

6.55 crore

in 2011

UN-Habitat (2014) states that
the number of people living in
slum conditions is now estimated
at

863 million,

in contrast
to 760 million in 2000 and 650
million in 1990. UN predicts the
slum population will touch 3
billion mark by 2050.

Source: Census 2011, 69th National Sample Survey, The World Bank-IMF (2013) Global Monitoring Reports