Abstract
The emergence of urban slums has become a burning challenge caused by the population pressure on the cities. In Pakistan the gravity of the issue of urbanization is as severe as in any other country of third world. The growth rate of urban population is rising day by day and decade by decade. The rapid urbanization has forced the poor to settle on open spaces which now are called urban slums. Socio-economic conditions of the slum dwellers are very poor than those of normal settlements. In present study an attempt has been made to quantify the qualitative variables and to find the level of deprivation in the slums of Faisalabad. To find the level of deprivation, socio-economic opportunity index (SEOI) is established. The index is made by refining and reconstructing the variables used in universally acknowledged Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), 2014 and poverty of opportunity index (POPI) presented in human development in south Asian report, 1998. In SEOI four important variables (health, education, income and housing) have been taken into account. Through stratified sampling technique 15 slums and 213 households were considered as a universe of the study. To see the total effect of various deprivations, Atkinson formula is used. The results of socio-economic opportunity index (SEOI) shows that about 60 per cent of slums population is deprived of basic social and economic opportunities. Government should take steps to make the basic necessities possible for these poor slums dwellers. A lot of work has been done on slums both in Pakistan and at world level. On the basis of these studies, an attempt has been made to find the level of deprivation in slums of Faisalabad, a third most populous city of Pakistan. The research is based on primary data which was collected through a field survey with the help of a questionnaire.
