21. Livelihood Opportunities and Challenges of Slum Dwellers in the Changing Urban Environment: A Case Study of Guwahati City Slums in India

Urbanisation has become a global phenomenon, characterised by the growth of cities which incorporate an increasing growth of population in the urban areas that represent more than half of the world’s population. In many developing countries, including India, the rates of urban growth have been higher than that for developed countries during their urban transition as the developing countries experienced higher rates of overall population growth. India witnessed a rapid urban transition with its urban populations increasing from 27.81% in 2001 to 31.16% in 2011, while 52.8% of the world population lived in cities in 2010. On a significant note, among the South Asian cities, India has witnessed a rapid growth of slum population to the total urban population in the last few decades due to the rise of urbanisation in its cities. The slums in India are the manifestation of rapid urbanisation, urbanisation of poverty and exclusionary and unequal processes existing in the cities of India, proportionately involve rural migration to informal settlements in and around the cities. The chapter examines the urban growth and expansion of Guwahati city, the only million-plus city of the Northeastern Region of India, the largest urban centre as well as the gateway to the Northeast India, a region lying on the cross-roads between India and South-east Asia. The chapter analyses the livelihood opportunities and the emerging vulnerable situations and challenges in the slum settlements of Guwahati city of Assam.