Page 135 - U4SSC KPIs Verification Manual - A guide for verifiers

Dimension Society and Culture
Sub-Dimension Safety, Housing and Social Inclusion

Category Housing
KPI Name Informal Settlements
KPI No. SC: SH: HO: 1C Type: Core Type: Structural

Definition / Percentage of inhabitants living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate
Description housing

Rationale / The term “informal settlements” has been used to refer to unregulated, illegal
Interpretation/ and unauthorized construction, arising from the conditions and regulations in
Benchmarking different countries, including “spontaneous”, “unplanned”, “unauthorized”, “illegal”
or “squatter” settlements. The term “informal” may also be used for settlements of
refugees or vulnerable people, overcrowded and dilapidated housing in cities, or
slums. The United Nations has used the term “informal settlements” to refer to: i)
residential areas where a group of housing units has been built on land to which
the occupants have no legal claim, or which they occupy illegally; ii) unplanned
settlements where housing is not in compliance with current planning and building
regulations (unauthorized housing). (UNECE)
Informal, slum or inadequate housing are an indicator of precarious circumstances
under which some citizens may be living.
They are the result of inadequate responses to the demand for housing,
infrastructure and community services, which makes the authorities unable to
facilitate the legalization process.
The city shall report households that lack any one of the following five elements:

Access to basic water (access to a sufficient amount of water for family use, at an
affordable price, available to household members without them having to make an
extreme effort).
Access to basic sanitation (access to an excreta disposal system, either in the form
of a private toilet or a public toilet shared with a reasonable number of people).

Security of tenure (evidence of documentation to prove secure tenure status or de
facto or perceived protection from evictions).
Durability of housing (permanent and adequate structure in non-hazardous
location).
Sufficient living area (not more than two people sharing the same room).
A declining trend and lower values are considered positive.

Source(s) NOTE – UNECE. Formalizing the Informal Challenges and Opportunities of Informal
Settlements in South-East Europe. Retrieved from
<https:// unece .org/ info/ Housing -and -Land -Management/ pub/ 2896>

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