Using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps to Assess Liveability in Slum Upgrading Schemes: Case of Pune, India

Subhashree Nath,Raphael Karutz

doi:10.3390/urbansci5020044

Abstract

Liveability assessments of informal urban settlements are scarce. In India, a number of slum upgrading schemes have been implemented over the last decades aiming at better living conditions. However, these schemes rarely consider improvement in liveability as an explicit criterion, assuming that better physical conditions and the provision of basic services inevitably lead to better liveability. We use Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) to analyse liveability in four different informal settlements in Pune (India). We compare the liveability by conducting semi-structured interviews with residents and by analysing them in individual and aggregated FCMs. Each settlement represents an archetypical form of the upgradation process: non-upgraded (base case), in-situ upgraded, relocated, and temporary resettlement. The FCMs show that the liveability indicators availability of community space, proximity to public transportation, feeling of belonging, and good relationship with neighbours and community are central elements of these neighbourhoods’ liveability. The results suggest that upgradation may lead to an improved overall liveability but can also reduce it if not designed properly. The fostering of community agency, an integration of the neighbourhood into the formal city fabric, and the maintaining of cohesion during the shift from horizontal to vertical living emerged as critical factors. To ensure sustainable integration of liveability considerations in slum upgrading schemes, we suggest using indicators well-adapted to the local context, co-created with local experts and stakeholders, as well as periodic post-occupancy liveability evaluations.

Highlights

The United Nations Statistical Department states that as of 2018, 23.5% of the total global urban population was living in slums, defined as densely populated urban areas, generally informally inhabited by people of low-income groups, and characterized by substandard living conditions [1,2]
To ensure sustainable integration of liveability considerations in slum upgrading schemes, we suggest using indicators well-adapted to the local context, co-created with local experts and stakeholders, as well as periodic post-occupancy liveability evaluations
The first group of three interviewees resided in Shinde Vasti (Figure 6), an informal settlement in the Hadapsar ward which has not yet received any infrastructure upgrades from the municipality, efforts towards providing basic amenities are in progress

Summary

Introduction

In India, the label slum is often used synonymously with the umbrella term ‘informal housing’, including ‘unauthorised housing’, ‘notified slums’, ‘recognised slums’, ‘identified slums’ and ‘unidentified slums’ These settlement typologies vary significantly in terms of property rights and legalities. The research paper only considers notified slums, referring to a settlement notified as a slum in the Indian State Government’s official gazette under the applicable Slum Act, qualifies them for upgrading [2]. Of these 23.5%, Central and Southern Asia account for 22.7% [3]. The paper focuses on Pune City (Figure 1), which is part number slum vary: of while

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion