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The Living Conditions Diamond: An Analytical and Theoretical Framework for Understanding Slums

Author

Listed:
  • Sumila Gulyani

    (The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC, 20433, USA)

  • Ellen M Bassett

    (School of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207, USA)

Abstract

What constitutes a ‘slum’ is much debated in the urban poverty and affordable housing literature. We argue that a focus on living conditions can help clarify this and present a framework, the living conditions diamond, for detailing living conditions and determining how the settlements we deem ‘slums’ compare with each other and with nonslum settlements. The diamond distils living conditions into four dimensions: (i) tenure, (ii) infrastructure, (iii) unit quality, and (iv) neighbourhood and location. This framework depicts conditions in graphic terms enabling comparison of conditions within and across cities. The diamond moves us beyond the notion that slums are homogeneously poor in quality, and facilitates analyses that can reveal why they differ. Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya and Dakar, Senegal are compared.

Suggested Citation

  • Sumila Gulyani & Ellen M Bassett, 2010. "The Living Conditions Diamond: An Analytical and Theoretical Framework for Understanding Slums," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(9), pages 2201-2219, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:42:y:2010:i:9:p:2201-2219
    DOI: 10.1068/a42520
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Gulyani, Sumila & Talukdar, Debabrata & Jack, Darby, 2010. "Poverty, living conditions, and infrastructure access : a comparison of slums in Dakar, Johannesburg, and Nairobi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5388, The World Bank.
    4. Omar M. Razzaz, 1993. "Examining Property Rights and Investment in Informal Settlements: The Case of Jordan," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 69(4), pages 341-355.
    5. Amis, Philip, 1984. "Squatters or tenants: the commercialization of unauthorized housing in Nairobi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 87-96, January.
    6. Alan Gilbert, 2007. "The Return of the Slum: Does Language Matter?," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 697-713, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lozano-Gracia, Nancy & Young, Cheryl, 2014. "Housing consumption and urbanization," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7112, The World Bank.
    2. World Bank Group, 2018. "Cameroon City Competitiveness Diagnostic," World Bank Publications - Reports 30164, The World Bank Group.
    3. Owens, Kathryn E. & Gulyani, Sumila & Rizvi, Andrea, 2018. "Success when we deemed it failure? Revisiting sites and services projects in Mumbai and Chennai 20 years later," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 260-272.

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