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Informal Settlements and Human Health

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Integrating Human Health into Urban and Transport Planning

Abstract

Informal settlements or slums dominate the urban landscape and in 2016 were the home to almost 900 million people. Global health is now slum health. The determinants of health for slum dwellers are multi-factorial and can vary from country to country and even within the same city. This chapter reviews the definitions of informal settlements or slums and highlights the key drivers of health, disease and well-being in urban informal settlements, including: spatial segregation, insecure residential status, poverty and employment, housing structural quality, water and sanitation, energy, transport, violence, climate change and services. We highlight the evidence supporting the links between these key factors and infectious and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The chapter also links the health issues facing informal settlements with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The chapter concludes with a discussion of how slum upgrading—a community-based process that aims to improve built and social environments, as well as economic and social conditions in slums—can be a key approach for improving the health of those living in informal settlements. We suggest that multiple features of the upgrading process, including community engagement, women’s empowerment, shelter and infrastructure improvements, tenure security, political recognition, and enhanced social and health care services, can combine to reduce the disease burden and premature mortality so frequently experienced by those living in informal settlements.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    SDG 11 includes the target ‘By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums’ (http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-11-sustainable-cities-and-communities/targets/).

  2. 2.

    See https://igarape.org.br/en/smart-policing/.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of City & Regional Planning, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jason Corburn

  2. Institute of Urban & Regional Development, Center for Global Healthy Cities, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jason Corburn

  3. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London, UK

    Alice Sverdlik

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  1. Jason Corburn
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  2. Alice Sverdlik
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Correspondence to Jason Corburn .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Barcelona Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain

    Mark Nieuwenhuijsen

  2. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health, College Station, Texas, USA

    Haneen Khreis

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Corburn, J., Sverdlik, A. (2019). Informal Settlements and Human Health. In: Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Khreis, H. (eds) Integrating Human Health into Urban and Transport Planning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74983-9_9

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