Housing Problems' Study Of Slums In Mumbai (1947-2000)

After gaining its independency in 1947, India goes on the modernization road characterized by itself. With the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, the housing problem in Mumbai, the largest city in India, was increasingly prominent. The most evident problem is the deterioration of slums and the difficulty in dealing with the problem. Taking as its thread the appearance and the development of slums as well as the government countermeasures, this dissertation analyses the reasons of slums' housing problem from 1947 to 2000, discusses the government's relevant legislation and concrete measures, and explores the difficulty in bringing the problem under control.The paper consists of three parts. In the first chapter, namely the first part, the author explains the background of the slums' coming to being in Mumbai. As a port city in western India, the important geographical location and advanced textile industry makes Mumbai the center of industry, commerce and culture of India. After India's independency, the rapid development of economy in Munbai helped it become the financial and economic center. The development and prosperity consequently attracted a lot of immigrants from all parts of India to live in Mumbai. The sustained growth in the population, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the acute housing shortage are the major factors contributing to the appearance of slums. When under the colonial rule of Britain, Mumbai mechanically applied British experience, which led to improper city layout. The layouts after independency also had shortcomings in various aspects, and the housing problem of slum kept deteriorating. The slum became the major problem in disturbing Mumbai' s development.The second chapter is the second part, and it introduces the housing condition of Mumbai's slums. Among the multitudes of different definitions all over the world, the author picks up the Indian definition of slum. As early as 1956, the Indian government defined the buildings which are unsuitable for dwellers' living, and may do harm to the safety, health and morality as slums. As time goes by, the definition gets supplemented. According to its definition, the slums in Mumbai fall into three types: the permanent housings (Chawls), the semi-permanent and squatter housings. With the poor structures, humble facilities, crowded rooms, harsh living conditions, the slums not only do harm to dwellers' health, but also threaten their survival. The last chapter is the third part. This chapter discusses the solutions, the laws and programs implemented by the government in accordance with the slums from 1947 to 2000, and briefly introduces the active involvement of the non-governmental organizations. Owing to the joint efforts of all parties, the living conditions in slums have been improved to some extent, but the problem remains unsolved. Even after the year 2000, the housing problem is still severe. The reasons of the difficulty in solution are as follows: To start with, slums are the inevitable outcome of the economic development from the background of their appearance; secondly, the shortcomings of city layouts and measures of government are the major reasons; thirdly, the lack of dwellers' support in the policies of government accounts for another important reason; in addition, the sway in policies resulted from the differences in peoples' opinions also spoils the effect of the measures.In conclusion, the slums' housing problems of Mumbai from 1947 to 2000, became increasingly prominent along with the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization. Even though a series of countermeasures taken by the government have eased the conflict to some degree, this social problem has not been solved thoroughly. As for Mumbai, there is tough work ahead and a long way to go.