Eviction, the right to shelter and the urban poor : a study of factors influencing eviction of informal settlements in Bangkok, Karachi and Seoul | |
| Author | Khan, Shahed Anwer |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no. HS-92-01 |
| Subject(s) | Eviction Housing Urban poor |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. HS-92-01 |
| Abstract | The positive role of informal settlements in supplying affordable housing to the urban poor and the importance of perceived security of tenure of the residents in improving living conditions within such settlements have long been established throughout most of the developing countries. Evictions within informal settlements, however, continue to prevail whereby the usable housing stock is reduced and the perceived security of tenure is drastically lowered. This study ascertains the rates of eviction prevalent in three Asian cities: for Bangkok 1.55 percent, for Karachi 0.60 percent, and for Seoul 6.15 percent. It then attempts to explain why eviction rates vary among different cities by studying the factors that influence the occurrence of evictions. Among factors operating at the city level, basically two sets of factors were observed. The first set bears a negative impact on informal settlements with regard to evictions. Factors belonging to this set stem mainly from unequal economic development and were found manifest in land market transformations, and the role of the city administration. The second set of factors bear pressure upon the city administration to incorporate the informal settlements into the city system. These factors grow out of the socio-political context and were ยท manifested in the degree of social integration of the residents of informal settlements' residents into the city and their political power. The nature and extent of resistance to evictions as a reaction to prevailing evictions in a city was found to be determined by the manner in which a society views the residents of informal settlements. It is the result of historical context in which the growth of informal settlements has come about and the local culture. When evictions occur in a city, it is found that not all informal settlements experience evictions equally because certain attributes of the individual settlements affect their vulnerability to eviction. These attributes were found to belong to two groups. The first group consists of attributes that affect the level of community organization within a settlement. These include size of the community, age of the settlement, presence of representative community, level of services and consolidation. The second group comprises of attributes that determine the land value pressures on the site. These include distance of the settlement from the city centre and its general location with respect to the city as well as major topographical features. The study concludes with recommendations to set up an international eviction monitoring system as a preventive measure against unnoticed escalation in eviction rates and to serve as an early warning system. In addition, interventions at the policy level have been recommended which seek to reduce the occurrence of avoidable evictions and to mitigate the negative impact resulting out of unavoidable evictions. These include proposals to establish a system of eviction impact assessment, control over use of publicly-owned land occupied by informal settlements, setting up and maintaining a data base on informal settlements, and measures to promote community organization within the informal settlements. |
| Year | 1992 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. HS-92-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Human Settlement (HS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Sheng, Yap Kioe ;Amin, A.T.M. Nurul |
| Examination Committee(s) | Swierzeck, F.W. ;Laquian, Aprodicio A. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Australia; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1992 |