Up-gradation of Informal settlement: A Review of Comparative Evidence of Khulna and Kathmandu

Abstract

The urban population of developing countries is increasing at an alarming rate. As a consequence, an alarming feature of this trend is an explosion of informal housing development especially in cities of developing countries. In recent times, a great deal of significance has been come forwarded to the informal housing sector. The general features of informal housing are insecurity of tenure, low standard of infrastructure and services. Housing with high standards and job absence within their catchments areas have played a vital role regarding shifting ownership to the middle-income group. The total study was composed of four major phases. In the first phase theories and policy context, adaptive up-gradation by people was studied covering international context, regional context, and local context, and the second phase-field study was conducted on informal settlements of Khulna city, Rupsha Char Slum. This phase was focused on gathering information about the existing socio-economic context and physical condition, building process indigenous adaptive measures, up-gradation scopes of the settlements. Data were collected by observing and interviewing the community and physical mapping by the residents. In the third phase information was collected under the same criteria and by the same process, which was followed in Khulna, from an informal settlement in Kathmandu, Nepal called Pathivara squatter. Lastly, in this study, a realistic and feasible policy guideline was given based on the learning from the field research and studies on theories and policy context and also informal housing practice, outlook and approach in developing countries and their changing patterns towards this sector has been deliberated.