The urbanization of poverty and urban slum prevalence: The impact of the built environment on population-level patterns of social well-being in the less developed countries

Abstract

The urbanization of poverty is a structural trend embodied in the sprawling urban slums of the developing countries. It remains a largely unacknowledged dynamic. This is particularly true in terms of the population-level patterns of social well-being derived from urban slum prevalence or proportion of the total population living in urban slum conditions. In particular, there is increasing evidence of an “urban penalty” wherein urban slum dwellers exhibit poorer health outcomes than non-slum urban residents and even rural populations. We articulate the proposition that urban slum prevalence is a key factor shaping population-level rates of social well-being in the developing countries, measured at the national level. Further, we develop the proposition drawn from political economy of health theorization suggesting cross-national dependency relations substantially influence urban slum conditions. In turn, the structural dynamics of the world economy underlie urban slum prevalence which itself has a direct influence on population-level patterns of social well-being as measured by infant and under-five mortality, maternal mortality, and life expectancy at birth. We conclude by arguing for greater empirical attention focusing upon the consequences of dependency relations as expressed in the built urban environment and the impact of urban slum prevalence as a key social condition impacting well-being in the less developed countries.

Citation

Rice, J. (2008), "The urbanization of poverty and urban slum prevalence: The impact of the built environment on population-level patterns of social well-being in the less developed countries", Jacobs Kronenfeld, J. (Ed.) Care for Major Health Problems and Population Health Concerns: Impacts on Patients, Providers and Policy (Research in the Sociology of Health Care, Vol. 26), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 205-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0275-4959(08)26010-2