Informal settlements: a threat to housing and health, and an unseen victim of the climate crisis.

Photo by @harikrishnanndd on Pixabay.com

Amnesty International is shedding light on the neglected repercussions of informal settlements. Informal settlements refer to the self-settling of populations in spontaneous locations, often as a result of displacement driven by conflict, poverty and housing unaffordability, or climate disasters. The number of informal settlement residents, estimated at 1.1 billion in 2020, is expected to increase to around 3 billion over the next 30 years.

Informal settlements exacerbate housing insecurity. They often occur in locations that are not equipped to accommodate the settlers. This type of housing presents no security of tenure, leaving people vulnerable to evictions and loss of livelihood. These types of housing often lack durability and cannot guarantee access to basic services and infrastructure. Living in informal settlements also has adverse repercussions on residents’ health. Many residents lack access to clean drinking water, adequate waste management, plumbing and electricity. Moreover, these settlements are often overcrowded, vulnerable to physical hazard and pollution. Finally, these locations are not easily connected to transport infrastructures, which limits access to health services.

The vulnerable standpoint of informal settlements disproportionately exposes its residents to the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and climate-driven displacement. Experts underline the high exposition and vulnerability to climate disasters of locations with low adaptive capacities, like informal settlements. As these settlements are often haphazardly built and do not comply with standards of safety or durability, they expose residents to heavy rain or winds, as well as to both extreme heat and extreme cold; improper infrastructure also exposes them to flooding.

These vulnerabilities impact people following an intersectional pattern. Certain categories of people, like Roma people, migrants and other racialised communities, are disproportionately affected because they are statistically more likely to be in situations of informal living or housing insecurity. The impact is excessive for people living in conflict-ridden contexts, as conflict-driven insecurity is compounded by displacement-related housing, health and climate vulnerability.

The Global South is unequally exposed to the vulnerabilities related to informal settlements, due to the high overall percentage of people relying on informal forms of housing as well as on urban economies dependent on the informal sector, which is also tied to informal housing. Women are stuck at the intersection of various threats to their livelihood: housing insecurity, health insecurity, climate change and gender bias. In fact, women in settlements are more vulnerable to gender-based violence, and their sexual and reproductive health is jeopardised by inadequate access to sanitation facilities. Accessibility to essential services is also hindered for children, older people and people with disabilities.

In 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing had already highlighted how living conditions in informal settlements represent “one of the most pervasive violations of human rights globally”. Even so, as of today, the problem is still largely ignored. Global civil society actors, like the Global Champions of Adequate Housing, are calling on the international community to prioritise the right to housing and respond to the global crisis.

written by Alessia Milillo