Slums Of Bangalore Research Articles

STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS REGARDING ANEMIA AMONG WOMEN AGED 18-45 IN AN URBAN SLUM IN BANGALORE, KARNATAKA.

Background of the study: Anemia is a significant health issue worldwide. Iron Deficiency Anemia is one of the most common forms of anemia. A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the awareness and related factors among women aged 18-45 regarding anemia in an urban slum in Bangalore, Karnataka. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive research approach was adopted in this study. The systematic random sampling technique was used to select 200 women of reproductive age (18-45 years), and a structured interview schedule was used to collect the data. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20.0 Results: The results showed that the overall knowledge mean score was 21.53 (SD± 3.722), which showed that women of reproductive age (18-45 years) had inadequate knowledge regarding anaemia, out of 200 women, 184 (92.0%) had inadequate knowledge, 16 (8%) had moderately adequate knowledge, and none of them had adequate knowledge. There was significant association between knowledge and socio-economic status of women (P = 0.01). Conclusion: The study concluded that study participants had inadequate knowledge and lack of knowledge about anaemia, which may be the main causes for the increasing prevalence of anaemia among them. the study emphasises the urgent need for comprehensive and inclusive public health initiatives to address the widespread lack of anemia awareness among women of reproductive age, ultimately contributing to better maternal and child health in the broader community.

The Skills Space in Informal Work: Insights from Bangalore Slums

We develop a framework for mapping and analysing informal worker skills using microdata from nearly 1500 workers residing in the slums of Bangalore, India. Alongside econometric modelling, we employ machine learning techniques to explore relationships between skills crowdsourced from respondents. We find that informal workers rely on a host of task, language, personal and social skills. Further, we identify skill claims associated with both levels and stability of wage earnings. Our results include insights on gender disparities in skill claims, importance of English and computer literacy and the central role of personal and social skills in the Indian informal labour market.

Sanitation and gendered psychosocial stress in peri-urban Bangalore

ABSTRACT Poor sanitation infrastructure can impact the physical and psychological well-being of marginalised communities. This article explores sanitation-related psychosocial stress among men and women in a peri-urban slum in Bangalore, India. It finds that women in Jayanagar slum, Karnataka, experienced psychosocial stress from open defecation due to the risk of sexual violence and socio-cultural norms. Their families also experienced stress as sexual assault on a woman can impact her family’s social standing in the community. Women use multiple coping strategies, even at the cost of their overall health and hygiene. For men, anxieties emerged from the risks to the women in their families.

Air Pollution in Urban Slums: Summary of research work in Bengaluru, India

Air Pollution in Urban Slums: Summary of research work in Bengaluru, IndiaMeghaThakur1, Prafulla Shriyan1, Giridhara R Babu11Indian Institute of Public Health Hyderabad- Bengaluru CampusAbstractBackground: Air pollution is a leading cause of morbidity, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In India, 2 million premature deaths are attributed to exposure to ambient and indoor air pollution annually. People residing in slums are particularly vulnerable to these health and environmental risks. We aimed to assess the association between low birth weight (LBW) and exposure to particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) during pregnancy. Also, we aimed to reduce the levels of indoor air pollution (IAP) and improve the respiratory health of women and children by introducing an improved cookstove.Methods: APPLE, a prospective cohort study of 516 pregnant women aged 18-45 years, was conducted in two big slums in Bangalore. Information was collected on socio-demographic and obstetric history. Exposures to PM2.5, PM10, and CO during pregnancy was measured using low-cost monitors. Another study, EXHALE, was conducted in slums among households using firewood for cooking. Information from women was collected on socio-demographics, cooking habits, respiratory and eye symptoms, and headache using a pre-structured questionnaire. Spirometry was performed to assess the lung function. Results: Our preliminary findings from APPLE did not find any association between LBW and exposure to PM2.5, PM10 and CO during pregnancy after adjusting for potential confounders. Data for EXHALE are still being entered, results will be shared later.Conclusion: Although cleaner fuels are available, some groups continue using solid fuels because of financial constraints, absence of infrastructure, and lack of awareness. Some two billion people in LMICs are expected to remain dependent on biomass fuel over the next 25 years. More research is needed in understanding the cooking dynamics in urban slums.

Ambient and Indoor Air Pollution in Pregnancy and the risk of Low birth weight and Ensuing Effects in Infants (APPLE): A cohort study in Bangalore, South India

Background: Exposure to air pollution (IAP) from the combustion of solid fuels is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Pregnant women exposed to higher pollutant levels are at higher risk of delivering a low-birth-weight (LBW) baby. There is a lack of standardized data regarding the levels and types of specific pollutants and how they impact LBW. We aim to prospectively assess the association between ambient and indoor air pollution levels in pregnancy and low birth weight and understand the subsequent risk of adiposity in these infants. Methods: We will conduct a prospective cohort study of 516 pregnant women recruited before 18 weeks of gestation in the urban slums of Bangalore, who have voluntarily consented to participate. We will estimate the level of air pollutants including particulate matter (<10 μm, <2.5 μm) and carbon monoxide (CO) parts per million (ppm) levels in both indoor and ambient environment. The follow-up of the delivered children will be done at delivery until the infant is one year old. The association between pollutants and LBW will be evaluated using logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders.Further, we will explore the mediation role of LBW in the hypothesized causal chain of air pollution and adiposity. Nested within a large cohort titled "Maternal Antecedents of Adiposity and Studying the Transgenerational role of Hyperglycemia and Insulin (MAASTHI)", we can estimate the absolute risk of having low birth weight caused by air pollution and other variables. Discussion: Understanding the association between exposures to ambient and indoor air pollution and low birth weight is essential in India. LBW babies have a higher risk of developing obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) during adulthood. The results from this study can inform the efforts for controlling the air pollution-related chronic diseases in India.

Understanding self-construction of health among the slum dwellers of India: a culture-centred approach.

Disembarking from a traditional approach of narrow hazardous environmental and structural conditions in understanding urban slums’ health problems and moving towards a new notion of what constitutes health for slum dwellers will open a new avenue to recognise whether and how health is being prioritised in disadvantaged settings. Drawing on in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with a total of 67 men and 68 women from Kolkata slums and 62 men and 48 women from Bangalore slums, this study explored how knowledge, social realities, material and symbolic drivers of a place interweave in shaping slum‐dwellers’ patterned way of understanding health, and the ways health and illnesses are managed. The current study adds to the growing evidence that ordinary members of the urban slums can articulate critical linkages between their everyday sociocultural realities and health conditions, which can support the design and delivery of interventions to promote wellbeing. The concept of health is not confined to an abstract idea but manifested in slum‐dwellers’ sporadic practices of preventive and curative care as well as everyday living arrangements, where a complex arrangement of physical, psychological, financial, sociocultural and environmental dimensions condition their body and wellbeing.

What ails the urban slums - morbidity profile of urban slum dwellers from three major cities of India

Background: India today has over 61 million people residing in urban slums. Slums, on one hand, lack the basic requirements of housing, sanitation, and water supply that are detrimental for good health and on the other hand subject its residents to extreme poverty, unemployment and stress. Exposure to these environmental factors is expected to cause a distinct sort of morbidity pattern, which this study seeks to explore.Methods: This cross-sectional study was a secondary data analysis of aggregated data of patients who availed health services at the mobile medical unit (MMU) of the Ujjivan program run by Piramal Swasthya in the last one year. The project has a fleet of MMUs that makes at least one predestined monthly visit to each service point in urban slums of Bangalore (42 sites), Pune (18 sites) and Mumbai (19 sites).Results: Musculoskeletal disorders (30.69%) and cardiovascular diseases (25.56%) together accounted for 56.25% of the total disease burden. The analysis of blood pressure readings of all the registrations showed that the mean systolic and diastolic pressures were 129.71 and 84.92 mmHg respectively. 51.58% of all individuals had hypertension and 23.51 % had diabetes.Conclusions: According to the study a major proportion of urban populous seeking healthcare at the MMU are women and elderly and do so for non-communicable diseases. Hypertension and diabetes are major health threats among them. MMU could be used as an effective mode of service delivery for women and the elderly especially, for chronic diseases.

Paternal involvement in feeding and its association with nutritional status of children in an urban slum in a low-resource setting: A cross-sectional study

In India, childhood malnutrition continues to be a major public health problem, especially in slums. Research mostly focuses on the role of the mother in child feeding, as she spends significantly more time with children. However, the role of fathers, their parenting skills, and child-feeding practices may also affect child development and eating behavior, independent of maternal factors. To our knowledge, there is limited research on the role of the father in child undernutrition, especially in the Indian context. Thus, the aim of this study was to address this knowledge gap and to explore paternal child-feeding patterns, their involvement in feeding, and its association with malnutrition in the slums. This community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban slum in Bangalore. The study included 210 father-child dyads. The Caregiver's Feeding Styles Questionnaire was used to assess paternal involvement in parenting and feeding. Anthropometry measurements were taken using standardized methods. Nutritional status was classified according to the growth standards of the World Health Organization. Logistic regression was used to test the association between paternal parenting style and malnutrition. We recruited 116 boys and 94 girls and their fathers. The mean age of the children was 15.94 mo (SD 4.85). One-fourth of the fathers were illiterate and most of the families belonged to the middle class. Almost half of the fathers fed their children once a day (57.1%) and engaged them during feeding by telling stories (47.1%). The most common paternal feeding style was uninvolved (36%) followed by authoritative (29.5%). Prevalence of undernutrition, stunting, and wasting was 44.3%, 42.8%, and 9.5%, respectively. Religion, type of family, and per capita income were independently associated with uninvolved feeding style. There was no association between paternal child-feeding style malnutrition (P > 0.05) CONCLUSION: The present study explored the dimensions of paternal involvement in child feeding in a slum setting and its effect on child nutrition. A good proportion of fathers were actively involved in child feeding and neither involvement nor paternal feeding styles were associated with the nutritional status of children.

Understanding resilience in slums using an agent-based model

The existence of slums or informal settlements is common to most cities of developing countries. In India, slums contain a wealth of diversity that is masked by a high level of poverty and insufficient access to resources. Recent studies have identified that it is important to assess the resilience of slums as they differ from one slum to another. While many slums are vulnerable to forced evictions, temporary jobs, and constant migration; few slums can respond and recover from external shocks and stress. In this paper, we investigate the resilience of slums based on novel field data from 37 slums in Bangalore. Specifically, we develop an agent-based model to understand how existing social, economic and environmental situation impacts the choices of slums. The paper makes two important findings. First, we find a high social satisfaction has a stabilizing effect, which means that despite more attractive economic opportunities, social satisfaction the slum dwellers derive from living in the neighbourhood of similar contacts is a strong motive to stay. However, given that a lack of economic opportunities causes a decline in the population, the social satisfaction will decrease as a function of the number of social contacts that move. We show that this cascading effect of emigrating population strongly depends on group identity such as religion. Second, we detect different regimes as social satisfaction increase, the population transitions from extinction to positive density dependence to density independence. Therefore, understanding the social capital of a slum community can offer insights into the ability of a slum to recover from external perturbations.

Ambient and Indoor Air Pollution in Pregnancy and the risk of Low birth weight and Ensuing Effects in Infants (APPLE): A cohort study in Bangalore, South India

Background: Exposure to air pollution (IAP) from the combustion of solid fuels is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Pregnant women exposed to higher pollutant levels are at higher risk of delivering a low-birth-weight (LBW) baby. There is a lack of standardized data regarding the levels and types of specific pollutants and how they impact LBW. We aim to prospectively assess the association between ambient and indoor air pollution levels in pregnancy and low birth weight and understand the subsequent risk of adiposity in these infants. Methods: We will conduct a prospective cohort study of 516 pregnant women recruited before 18 weeks of gestation in the urban slums of Bangalore, who have voluntarily consented to participate. We will estimate the level of air pollutants including coarse particulate matter 10 ug/m3 (PM10 ), fine particulate matter 2.5 ug/m3(PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) parts per million (ppm) levels in both indoor and ambient environment. The follow-up of the delivered children will be done at delivery until the infant is two years old. The association between pollutants and LBW will be evaluated using logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders.Further, we will explore the mediation role of LBW in the hypothesized causal chain of air pollution and adiposity. Nested within a larger Maternal Antecedents of Adiposity and Studying the Transgenerational role of Hyperglycemia and Insulin (MAASTHI) cohort, we can estimate the absolute risk of having low birth weight caused by air pollution and other variables. Discussion: Understanding the association between exposures to ambient and indoor air pollution and low birth weight is essential in India. LBW babies have a higher risk of developing obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) during adulthood. The results from this study can inform the efforts for controlling the air pollution-related chronic diseases in India.

Identifying a Slums’ Degree of Deprivation from VHR Images Using Convolutional Neural Networks

In the cities of the Global South, slum settlements are growing in size and number, but their locations and characteristics are often missing in official statistics and maps. Although several studies have focused on detecting slums from satellite images, only a few captured their variations. This study addresses this gap using an integrated approach that can identify a slums’ degree of deprivation in terms of socio-economic variability in Bangalore, India using image features derived from very high resolution (VHR) satellite images. To characterize deprivation, we use multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and quantify deprivation with a data-driven index of multiple deprivation (DIMD). We take advantage of spatial features learned by a convolutional neural network (CNN) from VHR satellite images to predict the DIMD. To deal with a small training dataset of only 121 samples with known DIMD values, insufficient to train a deep CNN, we conduct a two-step transfer learning approach using 1461 delineated slum boundaries as follows. First, a CNN is trained using these samples to classify slums and formal areas. The trained network is then fine-tuned using the 121 samples to directly predict the DIMD. The best prediction is obtained by using an ensemble non-linear regression model, combining the results of the CNN and models based on hand-crafted and geographic information system (GIS) features, with R2 of 0.75. Our findings show that using the proposed two-step transfer learning approach, a deep CNN can be trained with a limited number of samples to predict the slums’ degree of deprivation. This demonstrates that the CNN-based approach can capture variations of deprivation in VHR images, providing a comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic situation of slums in Bangalore.

Health issues in a Bangalore slum: findings from a household survey using a mobile screening toolkit in Devarajeevanahalli

BackgroundSlums are home to nearly one billion people in the world and are expanding at an exponential rate. Devarjeevanahalli is a large notified slum in Bangalore, South India which is characterised by poverty, overcrowding, hazardous living environment and social complexities. The poor living conditions not only affect the health of the people living there but also poses distinctive challenges to conducting health surveys. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a household survey that was done to study the health condition of people living in a slum.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional survey was designed to determine the prevalence of health conditions using a mobile screening toolkit-THULSI (Toolkit for Healthy Urban Life in Slums Initiative). Devarjeevanahalli slum was chosen purposively as it is fairly representative of any slum in a big city in India. Sample size was calculated as 1100 households and demographic parameters at the household level and parameters related to priority health conditions (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, anaemia and malnutrition) at the individual level were studied.Six zones within the slum were purposively selected and all the contiguous households were selected. The last of the six zones was partially surveyed as the desired sample size was achieved.ResultsA total of 1186 households were surveyed and 3693 people were screened. More than three fourth (70.4%) of the population were below poverty line. Only one third had a regular job and the average daily income was 5.3$ and 2.6$ in men and women respectively. The prevalence of hypertension (35.5%), diabetes (16.6%) and anaemia (70.9%) was high in the screened slum population. Most of the people (56.5% of hypertensives and 34.4% diabetics) were screened for the first time. Almost half of the children under the age of five years were stunted.ConclusionsPoor income security and huge burden of health issues were reported among adults and children in the household health screening in a large notified slum in South India. Most people were unaware of their disease condition prior to the screening. Relatively simple technological solutions enabled the local health team to screen the slum population despite many challenges.

Ambient and Indoor Air Pollution in Pregnancy and the risk of Low birth weight and Ensuing Effects in Infants (APPLE): A cohort study in Bangalore, South India

Background: Exposure to air pollution (IAP) from the combustion of solid fuels is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Pregnant women exposed to higher pollutant levels are at higher risk of delivering a low-birth-weight (LBW) baby. There is a lack of standardized data regarding the levels and types of specific pollutants and how they impact LBW. We aim to prospectively assess the association between ambient and indoor air pollution levels in pregnancy and low birth weight and understand the subsequent risk of adiposity in these infants. Methods: We will conduct a prospective cohort study of 516 pregnant women recruited before 18 weeks of gestation in the urban slums of Bangalore, who have voluntarily consented to participate. We will estimate the level of air pollutants including coarse particulate matter 10 ug/m3 (PM10 ), fine particulate matter 2.5 ug/m3(PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) parts per million (ppm) levels in both indoor and ambient environment. The follow-up of the delivered children will be done at delivery until the infant is two years old. The association between pollutants and LBW will be evaluated using logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders.Further, we will explore the mediation role of LBW in the hypothesized causal chain of air pollution and adiposity. Nested within a larger Maternal Antecedents of Adiposity and Studying the Transgenerational role of Hyperglycemia and Insulin (MAASTHI) cohort, we can estimate the absolute risk of having low birth weight caused by air pollution and other variables. Discussion: Understanding the association between exposures to ambient and indoor air pollution and low birth weight is essential in India. LBW babies have a higher risk of developing obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) during adulthood. The results from this study can inform the efforts for controlling the air pollution-related chronic diseases in India.

Identification of priority health conditions for field-based screening in urban slums in Bangalore, India

BackgroundUrban slums are characterised by unique challenging living conditions, which increase their inhabitants’ vulnerability to specific health conditions. The identification and prioritization of the key health issues occurring in these settings is essential for the development of programmes that aim to enhance the health of local slum communities effectively. As such, the present study sought to identify and prioritise the key health issues occurring in urban slums, with a focus on the perceptions of health professionals and community workers, in the rapidly growing city of Bangalore, India.MethodsThe study followed a two-phased mixed methods design. During Phase I of the study, a total of 60 health conditions belonging to four major categories: - 1) non-communicable diseases; 2) infectious diseases; 3) maternal and women’s reproductive health; and 4) child health - were identified through a systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews conducted with health professionals and other relevant stakeholders with experience working with urban slum communities in Bangalore. In Phase II, the health issues were prioritised based on four criteria through a consensus workshop conducted in Bangalore.ResultsThe top health issues prioritized during the workshop were: diabetes and hypertension (non-communicable diseases category), dengue fever (infectious diseases category), malnutrition and anaemia (child health, and maternal and women’s reproductive health categories). Diarrhoea was also selected as a top priority in children. These health issues were in line with national and international reports that listed them as top causes of mortality and major contributors to the burden of diseases in India.ConclusionsThe results of this study will be used to inform the development of technologies and the design of interventions to improve the health outcomes of local communities. Identification of priority health issues in the slums of other regions of India, and in other low and lower middle-income countries, is recommended.

Participation in co-design: In search of a recipe for improved cookstoves in urban Indian slums

This study responds to the need for participatory, context-oriented approaches to address the growing health threat of indoor air pollution faced by marginalised communities of urban India. It explored the application of the co-designing model employed by Project Exhale in two non-notified slums in Bangalore, by analysing processes and tools of multi-stakeholder collaboration, the knowledge that emerged from them, and its translation into the designing of improved cookstoves. Bringing the end-users, designers and researchers onto a common platform led to the generation of contextual, user-knowledge and technical expertise, which were transferred to the development of the prototype. In this process, stoves’ suitability concerns traditionally raised in literature are not seen as barriers to implementation, but issues that can be addressed and negotiated through participatory methods. The involved actors experienced a parting from pre-defined, traditional roles towards more flexible ones, as required by the project at different stages. Tools employed for the knowledge exchanged within this community of practice needed continuous exploration, negotiation and adjusting, as transferring the co-designing model in resource-limited settings demands higher flexibility and a grounding of activities in local experiences.

Survey-based socio-economic data from slums in Bangalore, India

In 2010, an estimated 860 million people were living in slums worldwide, with around 60 million added to the slum population between 2000 and 2010. In 2011, 200 million people in urban Indian households were considered to live in slums. In order to address and create slum development programmes and poverty alleviation methods, it is necessary to understand the needs of these communities. Therefore, we require data with high granularity in the Indian context. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of highly granular data at the level of individual slums. We collected the data presented in this paper in partnership with the slum dwellers in order to overcome the challenges such as validity and efficacy of self reported data. Our survey of Bangalore covered 36 slums across the city. The slums were chosen based on stratification criteria, which included geographical location of the slum, whether the slum was resettled or rehabilitated, notification status of the slum, the size of the slum and the religious profile. This paper describes the relational model of the slum dataset, the variables in the dataset, the variables constructed for analysis and the issues identified with the dataset. The data collected includes around 267,894 data points spread over 242 questions for 1,107 households. The dataset can facilitate interdisciplinary research on spatial and temporal dynamics of urban poverty and well-being in the context of rapid urbanization of cities in developing countries.

Association of Basic Maternal Factors and Maternal Autonomy with Malnourishment Among Children 6-36 Months Old in an Urban Slum in Bangalore, India

Association of Basic Maternal Factors and Maternal Autonomy with Malnourishment Among Children 6-36 Months Old in an Urban Slum in Bangalore, India

Assessment of quality of life and activities of daily living among geriatric population in Bengaluru city

Background: Developing countries including India are in epidemiologic health transition resulting in increased life expectancy and increase in geriatric population. Geriatric population is considered the most vulnerable population. Many factors such as age, income, education, environment have a significant impact on quality of life. Hence our study aims at assessing the Quality of life and activities of daily living among geriatric population in Bengaluru city. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out for a period of 3 months - August to October 2016 among 250 geriatric study participants residing in the slums of Bangalore. Data was collected using WHOQOL-BREF scale and Katz Index of Independence of Activities of Daily Living by interview method. Results: Out of 250 study participants, males were 127 (50.8%) and females were 123 (49.2%). Quality of life was found to be average with a mean score of 50.02 (11.13) and with a least score of 44.55 (12.54) for environmental domain. Conclusions: Significant association was found between quality of life and factors like age, functional capacity, education and environment. Improving access of elderly to health facilities, providing health education, psychological support, and modification of environment helps to improve the quality of life among aged population.

Self reported practice of e-waste disposal and awareness about its health hazards among people at various levels in selected urban slums of Bangalore: a cross sectional study

Background: With advent of advancement in technologies and change in people’s life style, the amount of E-waste (electronic waste) generated is increasing drastically every year, Mismanagement of these E-waste leads to diminishing natural resources, causing irreparable damage to the environment and health of the people. When it comes to the reduction, the onus is on both the consumer and the producer. Proper awareness on the health hazards and disposal practice of E waste plays a crucial role in curbing this problem. The objectives of the study were to assess the E-waste segregation and disposal practice at various levels and to assess the knowledge about Proper disposal and health hazards of E-waste. Methods: A community based crossed sectional study was conducted among 120 randomly selected individuals (distribution, consumer and waste collection level) for a period of three months in the urban field practice area of Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute. Data regarding their knowledge and practice on E-waste disposal and its hazards has been collected using semi structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS 23.0. Results: Knowledge about disposal was found to be 20%, 15% and 5% respectively at distribution, consumer and waste collector levels. Only around 6% had practiced proper waste segregation. Knowledge pertaining to health hazards were found to be negligible. Conclusions: With the increased burden the knowledge and practice were found to be highly inadequate. And it is a high time to intervene at the earliest by creating proper awareness and providing the requisite for proper disposal of E waste.

Modelling the impact of household life cycle on slums in Bangalore

According to the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UNHSP), the number of slum households in developing countries continues to grow by a higher proportion as compared to its encompassing city. Traditionally, policy makers have concentrated on population control strategies by focussing on birth rates and rural–urban migration to stem the growth and emergence of slums. However, these strategies have often failed to achieve the desired results. In the present paper we find the key underlying processes that explains the observed differences in household life cycle between slum and non-slum households. We find that the slum households when compared to nonslum urban households, exhibit a large variation in the household size over the course of their life cycle, which in turn leads to inefficiency while building slum resettlement colonies. We have developed an agent based model, namely DynaSlum, to identify the key social determinants that impact the behaviour of a slum household. We use a novel and unique dataset based on the field work from 37 slums in Bangalore combined with the NFHS data to calibrate DynaSlum and validate our findings. This paper presents two major insights to address the challenges. First, we find that high rate of home leaving among young adults is the key determinants for the large variation in the life cycle of slum households. Second, we show that reducing home leaving among young adults will reduce the formation number of new slum households and contribute to a higher but stable household size. This will lead to efficiency and higher per capita resource consumption when building capacity for slum development (resettlement colonies) as policy makers would be able to plan for a stable household size.