Abstract
Objectives(1) To explore morphological facts that typically characterize life in Setegn Meda slum neighborhood. (2) To identify dysfunctions of those morphological facts. (3) To discuss some of the differences and similarities between the study area and other forms of a slum in Addis Ababa as outlined by Alemayehu (2008) based on selected morphological facts. MethodsThe study adopted a qualitative case study research design rooted in a pragmatic constructivist approach to a case study. Information was gathered through semi-structured interviews and field observation, and then analyzed using a deductive thematic analysis technique. Results and conclusionThis study found that the morphological facts that typically characterize life in Setegn Meda slum neighborhood are: Dilapidated Housing; Limited Access to Infrastructure; Congested Settlement; Positionality; and Being a Slum as a relational Construct. This study also found that these morphological facts have their inherent dysfunctions: Physical Health Risk; Psychological Distress; Economic Cost; and Social Cost. Results further show that the dysfunctions of some morphological facts have a gender dimension where women suffer more. The difference and similarities between the study area and other forms of a slum in Addis Ababa as outlined by Alemayehu (2008) were discussed based on selected morphological facts. The discussion suggests that let alone the homogeneity of slums at the global level, slums are rather heterogamous even at a national/local level. The discussion has also highlighted that the classification of slums in Addis Ababa as proposed by Alemayehu (2008) for one thing is not exhaustive and needs some modifications. ImplicationsThe study is expected to hold significance both at empirical and theoretical levels. Some of the empirical significances of this study are: it challenges the conventional categorization of slums in Addis Ababa; it provides a thick description of morphological facts in a slum neighborhood and their dysfunctions to the inhabitants, and it brings the gender dimension of dysfunctions of morphological facts to the audience. Whereas, the theoretical significance could be drawn from how the study tried to make functionalism theoretically useful to the study of a slum habitat.
Highlights
Slums are a common attribute of urbanization and urban settlement patterns in the developing world (Gottdiener et al, 2018)
This study found that the morphological facts that typically characterize life in Setegn Meda slum neighborhood are: Dilapidated Housing; Limited Access to Infrastructure; Congested Settlement; Positionality; and Being a Slum as a relational Construct
Results further show that the dysfunctions of some morphological facts have a gender dimension where women suffer more
Summary
Slums are a common attribute of urbanization and urban settlement patterns in the developing world (Gottdiener et al, 2018). The actual number of people living in slums grew to over 1 billion, with 80 percent attributed to three regions: Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (370 million), sub-Saharan Africa (238 million), and Central and Southern Asia (227 million). The total population of slum dwellers across the world is estimated to reach 3 billion by 2030 (Daniel, 2015). The term may refer to settlements constituted by substandard houses and poor inhabitants (Gilbert, 2007). Despite the efforts made to establish an objective definition, every city in the world seem to define slums in its own way (Gilbert, 2007)
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