13. Hazard Risks and Social Vulnerability in Urban India

In 2001, approximately 28 % of India’s population was living in urban areas, and this figure is expected to increase to 41 % by the year 2030. The ongoing migration of people from rural to urban areas has produced excessive pressure on the cities to accommodate incoming migrants with basic living standards and a safe environment. The necessities of continuing economic growth and consequent increase in population have altered the local environment and expanded the physical boundaries of urban areas to hazardous areas that are at higher risks from environmental hazards and losses. These risks are even more pronounced under the impetus of the changes in the climate. Although economic development and spatial growth of urban areas have changed the local environment and made these places more susceptible to collapse under uncertain environment conditions, trends in growing risks observed in Indian cities show that the problem is equally aggravated by the increase in social vulnerability among the marginal population in urban areas. This chapter proposes a framework to understand the “socioenvironmental” aspect of risks that exist in urban India and their effect on the production and distribution of risks for the marginal population in these cities.