Missing People and Places: Slum and Poor Settlements Research in South Asia

Fast-growing non-slum poor settlements in South Asia have received scant attention in scientific research in which the focus has been on slum or informal settlements. Bibliometric analysis reveals that almost all aspects of slum life have been scientifically studied. As a result, a considerable amount of academic literature is available on slum issues. However, a large and ever-increasing number of people now live in non-slum poor settlements throughout the South Asia. Access to slum areas for newcomers in the cities is restricted as slums are already overwhelmed. This article argues that despite the growing influx of population in South Asian cities, academic research outside of a defined boundary of slums is insufficient. Governance and other theoretical approaches to study slums did not consider the non-slum areas as those approaches are influenced heavily by tenure security and confined geography. Based on the findings from bibliometric analyses, the study recommends that a broader theoretical framework is required to extend the study boundary to explore the geography of inequality and issues of both the slum and non-slum poor settlements in South Asian cities.