Informal settlements also serve as part of the vernacular architecture of cities or even villages and these constitute of small or temporary looking houses often built by materials easily available such as tents, left out bricks from construction sites, mud or thatch. People living in these settlements occupy the land which do not belong to them rather the land belongs to the government which may be vacant because of unclear or future plans of the government about that land.
Informal Settlement Example in Lahore, Pakistan:
In Lahore, Pakistan where there are many informal settlements often near a construction site as you can see in the picture below or these settlements are located near water bodies such as sides of a river of the canal in city. These settlements are not long lasting as there are laborers residing in these for resting during the entire period of construction project. In this way they save their money of living on rent and most of the time, these settlements disappear soon after the completion of the project.
Informal Settlement Example in Lahore, Pakistan:
In Lahore, Pakistan where there are many informal settlements often near a construction site as you can see in the picture below or these settlements are located near water bodies such as sides of a river of the canal in city. These settlements are not long lasting as there are laborers residing in these for resting during the entire period of construction project. In this way they save their money of living on rent and most of the time, these settlements disappear soon after the completion of the project.
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Informal settlement in Lahore near a construction site
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Some of the settlements are also constructed by the inhabitants near the developed areas of a large city, wherever land is vacant and the people living inside them are normally from nearby villages, which get work as maids or house keepers in the city houses of the wealthy people, who like to hire servants for their daily tasks such as laundry, cleaning of house or cars, chefs etc. These are made of relatively strong materials as mud or concrete blocks.
Importance of informal settlements:
Previously I considered these settlements as a place of poor people and I considered them aesthetically bad looking, but now I have realized that they have economic importance and more measures should be done to improve the lives of these people, which according to my knowledge, are very limited in my city, Lahore.
Most of the time, people living in these settlements are striving to improve their lives by working within these settlements in the form of small businesses such as sewing or laundry; thus serving the livelihood needs of a large number of people with few resources. These may be viewed as unimportant or unlawful by governments, but the fact cannot be denied that they exist everywhere and the lives of a lot of people in each country revolve around the living style within these settlements. Thus efforts should be made by NGOs, government organizations or common people to provide them essential facilities necessary for a better life.
Previously I considered these settlements as a place of poor people and I considered them aesthetically bad looking, but now I have realized that they have economic importance and more measures should be done to improve the lives of these people, which according to my knowledge, are very limited in my city, Lahore.
Most of the time, people living in these settlements are striving to improve their lives by working within these settlements in the form of small businesses such as sewing or laundry; thus serving the livelihood needs of a large number of people with few resources. These may be viewed as unimportant or unlawful by governments, but the fact cannot be denied that they exist everywhere and the lives of a lot of people in each country revolve around the living style within these settlements. Thus efforts should be made by NGOs, government organizations or common people to provide them essential facilities necessary for a better life.
I hope this may have given you an insight on the importance of informal settlements. Thanks for reading!
Best Wishes
Maha