ECONOMICS OF INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS AND THE POLICY RESPONSE

Abstract

Urbanization in Karachi is driven by numerous factors be it is search for a better life, quality education, access to healthcare services, employment, social security, and the natural growth of population. This has contributed to the rise of housing demand in Karachi, notwithstanding, increased the cost of housing in the city. The rising cost of housing has forced the middle and lower-middle-class to migrate to the suburbs of the city; this paved the way for the formation and expansion of informal settlements in Karachi. Slums in Karachi are formed exploiting the wide-spreading housing backlog, state and non-state actors collaborate and systematically grab land in perry-urban areas of Karachi and convert into an informal settlement, developing a sustainable source of income. This study was conducted in Karachi, Sindh and employed qualitative research methodology to assess the formation, expansion and flourishing of informal settlements and how Government of Sindh have responded in term of policy.