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Socio-economic and environmental vulnerability of urban slums: a case study of slums at Jammu (India)

  • Environmental Pollution led Vulnerability and Risk Assessment for Adaptation and Resilience of Socio-ecological Systems
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Abstract

Rapid urban population growth, the urbanization of poverty, and the proliferation of slums are being driven to a great extent by this dynamic form of globalization. Consequently, the multifaceted effects of globalization on the poor and low-income populations in the cities need to be better understood in this context, both at the individual level and within the community. Therefore, the present study was conducted to highlight the various determinants affecting the lives and enhancing the vulnerability of the dwellers of four slum settlements present in various areas of Jammu City, India. Emphasis was made to integrate biological, physical, social, and spatial facets of vulnerability to understand the complex dynamics of urban areas in developing countries. A descriptive survey design was used for questions concerning the social and environmental aspects. Social aspects including age, sex, education, religion, caste, profession, and family income that correspond to social stratification acted as baseline information, while both indoor and outdoor environments such as housing conditions, sanitation, personal habits, solid waste disposal, disaster proneness, and air and water pollution problems were taken into consideration to assess the environmental aspect. Results indicated that the slum settlement has a migratory population with permanent or temporary settlements. The status of education and skill level is poor which results in poor economic development and social well-being of the dwellers in slums. The study also identified vulnerability of the population on social and environmental front which could result into severe health issues. The study concluded and recommended policy planning specified for slums for uplifting such unprivileged populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Jammu, Jammu, 180006, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Shehnaz Khan, Rekha Kumari & Piyush Malaviya

  2. School of Environment and Sustainable Development, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

    Dheeraj Rathore

  3. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Mehrauli Road, 110016, New Delhi, India

    Anoop Singh

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  1. Shehnaz Khan
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  2. Dheeraj Rathore
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  3. Anoop Singh
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  4. Rekha Kumari
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  5. Piyush Malaviya
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Contributions

The study was conceptualized and designed by P. M. Experiments and data collection were conducted by S. K. Data analysis was performed by R. K. and S. K. The first draft of the manuscript was written by S. K., D. R., A. S., R. K., and P. M., and all authors commented on subsequent versions of the manuscript. The overall study was supervised by P. M. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Piyush Malaviya.

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Khan, S., Rathore, D., Singh, A. et al. Socio-economic and environmental vulnerability of urban slums: a case study of slums at Jammu (India). Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 18074–18099 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30630-5

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