Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Impacts of Tenure Formalization on Security and Living Conditions in Informal Settlements

博士论文研究：权属正规化对非正规住区安全和生活条件的影响

• 批准号: 1303019
• 负责人: Scott Campbell
• 金额: $ 1.6万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-06-15 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1303019&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Impacts; Tenure

This doctoral dissertation research project will assess the scope of the formalization of informal settlements, or slums, for the improvement of the quality of life of the socially marginalized populations who live there. To do so, the co-PI will investigate the process and outcomes of slum-notification policy in Pune, the ninth-largest city in India. In rapidly urbanizing developing countries, a large number of slum dwellers suffer from poor living conditions and face the risk of forcible eviction without due compensation because of their illegal status. One of the critical challenges is how to achieve inclusive urbanization by improving the tenure security and living conditions. Therefore, integrating informal tenure status with formal systems, commonly referred to as tenure formalization, has become common practice. While academics often tout formalization as an important step, it remains unclear how and to what extent formalization improves the quality of life of those in slums. The project will fill the gap by offering systematically investigated empirical evidence about the process and outcomes of slum-notification policy, a type of tenure formalization. To assess the impacts of the policy, the project investigates (1) how a slum-notification policy has been implemented, and (2) what factors contribute to the level of tenure security and living conditions (e.g., housing, infrastructure, and services) in slums and to what extent their notification status matters. The project will employ a sequential mixed-methods approach, addressing the first research question through various qualitative methods, such as interviews, site observations, and document analysis. Building on the qualitative findings, the project will then seek answers to the second research question using statistical analysis of survey data that the co-PI will collect. In so doing, the research will advance knowledge on theories of self-help housing, property rights, and informality in the fields of urban planning, development economics, and human geography. The project will benefit society by raising awareness and understanding of socially marginalized populations in developing countries. By offering empirical evidence of how the slum-notification policy has benefited slum households in Pune, the project will help policy makers to modify formalization policies. This will be critical under the current situation in which the central government of India is preparing to provide property rights to slum dwellers across the country. Without proper understanding of informal characteristics, such simple formalization could exacerbate the life of the urban poor. More than 1,000 slum households will participate in the interview and survey. The co-PI will actively disseminate project findings by publishing in academic journals and presenting at conferences, discussing with policy makers and local residents in workshops, and teaching classes in the future. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will provide support to enable a promising student to establish an independent research career.

该博士学位论文研究项目将评估非正式定居点或贫民窟的形式化范围，以改善居住在那里的社会边缘化人群的生活质量。 为此，Co-Pi将调查印度第九大城市浦那的贫民窟通知政策的过程和结果。 在迅速城市化的发展中国家中，许多贫民窟的居民遭受了较差的生活条件，并且由于其非法地位而面临无适当赔偿的强迫驱逐的风险。 关键的挑战之一是如何通过改善任期安全和生活条件来实现包容性城市化。 因此，将非正式的任期与正式系统（通常称为任期形式化）相结合已成为普遍做法。 尽管学者通常将形式化是一个重要的一步，但尚不清楚如何以及在何种程度上如何改善贫民窟中人们的生活质量。 该项目将通过对贫民窟通知政策的过程和结果进行系统调查的经验证据，这是一种任期形式化的，填补了空白。 为了评估该政策的影响，该项目调查了（1）如何实施贫民窟的通知政策，以及（2）哪些因素促进了权限安全和生活条件的水平（例如，住房，基础设施和服务）在贫民窟，其通知状态在多大程度上很重要。 该项目将采用连续的混合方法方法，通过各种定性方法（例如访谈，现场观察和文档分析）来解决第一个研究问题。 然后，在定性发现的基础上，该项目将使用Co-Pi收集的调查数据的统计分析来寻求第二个研究问题的答案。 在这样做的过程中，研究将提高有关自助住房，财产权和非正式性的理论的知识。该项目将通过提高对发展中国家社会边缘化人群的认识和理解来使社会受益。 通过提供有关贫民窟通知政策如何使浦那贫民窟家庭受益的经验证据，该项目将帮助政策制定者修改形式化政策。 在印度中央政府准备为全国贫民窟居民提供财产权的当前情况下，这将是至关重要的。 如果不正确理解非正式特征，这种简单的形式化可能会加剧城市穷人的生活。 超过1,000个贫民窟家庭将参加面试和调查。 Co-Pi将通过在学术期刊上发布并在会议上发表演讲，与决策者和当地居民在研讨会上的讨论以及将来的教学课程来积极传播项目的发现。 作为博士学位论文研究改进奖，该项目将提供支持，使有前途的学生能够建立独立的研究职业。