A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Science, School of Engineering and Technology

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1991

In the cities of the developing nations, a new form of residential settlements have emerged in recent years exhibiting unique characteristics and features. Conventionally, these settlements were considered to be inhabited by people in "transition" and, or, "disorganised loners". To determine the "habitat" characteristics of such residential areas, an exploratory study was conducted in five pavement settlements in Madras, an important metropolitan city in India. It was deduced that the pavement dwelling was characterised by determinable and unique, socio-economic aspiration, and a large degree of dislocation from the primary and secondary social groups. However, not all the dwellers share these characteristics in equal measure. A study of their motivational structure indicated that the four sub-categories in which the decision to live was predominantly motivated aspiration, dislocation, immediate situational or unique personal factors. To each of these subgroup, living on the pavement, a different meaning and significance was observable. The public reaction to these settlements in general had been negative, except in a few places where the perceived need for cheap labour overrode such negative sentiments. So far, Governmental intervention was limited to relocation schemes which displace pavement dwellers to city outskirts. Such proposals faced stiff resistance from the pavement dwellers. The present study suggests that there is a need for preventive and curative strategies to address this problem. The curative strategies include the strenghening the position of the dwellers in the labour market and improving their access to formal housing. The preventive strategy calls for a two-tiered urban planning in the Third World cities with a special emphasis on the informal sector.