A Critical Review on Urban Slum Resettlement, Housing Affordability, Livelihood Resilience and Vulnerability Dimensions in Developing Countries

Abstract

The challenges of urban slum resettlement, housing affordability, and livelihood resilience are interwoven development issues that have been exacerbated by rapid urbanization, migration, and structural inequality, especially in the Global South. This literature review draws together evidence from 40+ peer-reviewed studies across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to explore the dynamic relationship between housing policy and livelihood outcomes and its multidimensional nature for urban poor populations. The evidence shows that informal settlement expansion is a continuous process, driven by rapid urbanization due to climate stressors and rural-urban migration. Traditional definitions of housing affordability based on fixed-income-to-price ratios are insufficient to address informal livelihoods and economic shocks. Slum dwellers are exposed to multiple vulnerabilities, physical (respiratory diseases, water-borne diseases worsened by poor water/sanitation), mental (crisis of poverty and marginalization), and psychological distress due to lack of place of residence. An analysis of post-resettlement studies indicates that employment opportunities are largely dependent on the quality of external support and opportunities for income generation, and that the provision of housing has a limited effect on livelihood restoration. The study highlights an important but not widely explored aspect: mental health, which can be predicted by sociodemographic factors (income, education, gender, and social status). The review reveals that there is an urgent research-policy void: although a large number of studies have focused on slum vulnerabilities, project-based research efforts with short-term sustainability yields data that are seldom translated to long-term policy changes. Solutions involve multi-component interventions that work together to address housing, healthcare, education, employment, and environmental sustainability, and that involve participatory governance models, with a focus on community voice and the use of local knowledge systems. Tenure security is necessary but not sufficient if coupled with no parallel effort in building livelihood security and social integration.