Abstract
In times of climate change, it is said that the marginal population shall be the most adversely affected. This article attempts to explore the state of slums in Dehradun city and their susceptibility to climate change events, especially urban flooding. Taking the case of the state capital, we attempt to identify and demonstrate how the slum population is vulnerable to climate change events in the present and the future. Following risk-hazard approach, this article identifies and distinguishes vulnerable slums, per their sensitivity toward climate-led events using geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis. Climate change trends show increasing precipitation and temperature trends, which is in agreement with current events of such phenomena in the city. Through GIS, the slums were mapped and their proximity to streams and roads were taken into account to generate vulnerable hotspots with respect to numbers, population, and location. The article then inquires into the inclusion of such vulnerable slums in various relevant state- and national-level policies discussing challenges and issues in implementation. The article finally derives the possibilities for inclusion of such marginalized classes through ongoing Government of India missions.
Highlights
Urbanization and climate change are the two most significant phenomena of the 21st century (Keivani, 2010; Stephenson, Newman, & Mayhew, 2010; While & Whitehead, 2013)
In Situ Slum Rehabilitation (ISSR) mainly focuses on slums with land ownership rights; Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) aims at providing dwelling units to urban poor, including those slums without land ownership rights in which tenants need to contribute financially
The mission accounts for in situ slums, it is subject to land ownership rights and it has been observed that both slum dwellers and private developers desist in undertaking ISSR due to the above-stated reasons
Summary
Urbanization and climate change are the two most significant phenomena of the 21st century (Keivani, 2010; Stephenson, Newman, & Mayhew, 2010; While & Whitehead, 2013). More than half of the world’s population live in urban areas (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2014), of which 31.2% live in slums with 43% in developing countries (Un-Habitat, 2003). Uttarakhand, the western Himalayan state, too has seen rapid urbanization, and since its inception as a state in 2000, its low-land planar regions have been attracting large hill population from higher reaches. This has led to an increased growth of slums in lowland cities such as Dehradun, Haridwar, Kashipur, and Rudrapur. These cities house almost 69.1% of the total 0.77 million population residing in 578 slums spread across the state (Pant, 2017)
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