SPARC - Background

India may have a relatively low level of urbanization but being one of the world's most populous countries it also has one of the world's largest urban populations. About 350 million people live in Indian cities today. The percentage of people living under the poverty line in urban areas is higher than in rural areas, and these numbers are rising. However, there is a critical lack of investment in addressing the issues of poverty in cities, which means that the needs of 30-40% of the city’s population are ignored and they are denied any real citizenship rights. And because cities are badly planned, most poor people live as squatters on private or public lands and have extremely inadequate access to the most basic of services. Life in these areas is very harsh, especially for women and children. People are deprived of secure shelter and basic amenities which in turn impacts their health, education, and income. Also, slum dwellers are constantly threatened by eviction and treated as non-citizens who have encroached on the city that needs their labor but is unwilling to pay for their housing needs.