Shanty Towns

•Shanty Towns, which are usually built on the periphery of cities, often do not have proper sanitation, electricity, or telephone services.•The houses are often made of corrugated metals and plywood and they are often found on the countryside.

Where are the Shanty Towns in the world?

Shanty towns are mostly found in less-developed countries and the developing countries.’

The largest shanty town in Asia can be found in Orangi Township in Karachi, Pakistan.

Another large shanty town is Dharayi in Mumbai, India which houses over 1 million people.

The largest in Africa is Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya.

What are they known as in different parts of the world?

• It is also known as slums and squatter settlements.

• A slum as ,defined by the United Nations, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. Slums are found in United States of America and Mumbai, India. Up to 55% of the population of Mumbai stayed in slums.

• A squatter settlement therefore, can be defined as a residential area for stateless people and the services are often inadequate. Squatter Settlements can be found in South Africa.

How it hinders the development in the country?

Conflict in the country may hinder their development. Shanty towns are inevitably having high rates of crime, suicide, drug use, and disease.

People in this place are not so educated so they cannot contribute enough for the development of the country.

What can be done to improve their living conditions?

• Proper Sanitation to be given to most of the citizens.

• Building of proper schools to improve the literacy rate. This way, there would be a higher paying job as an option for the citizens living in Shanty Towns.