Identification of Poverty- The basic factor to identify poverty is to get familiar with the lifestyle of an individual how does he live, is he having all he basic necessities of the life, does he have good housing facilities, good amount of food, potable water resources, does he have good income job, is the individual restrained from all the basic resources of lives, does he have good amount of money so that he can improve his lifestyle and buy good amount of resources etc. His clothing style and facial expressions also tells us the living conditions of that individual because when he would earn good amount of income and would live a decent amount of life, then he would feel satisfied and would be much happier than the rest of the people.
Poverty is not just the state of mind, but the circumstances and the surroundings which makes the life of an individual miserable and creates tremendous pressure in his life. In each and every part of this world, the amount of resources available to the individuals is limited, but the populations of individuals who can avail these resources are unlimited. The concept of poverty is basically related to the simple concept of economics i.e. the concept of demand and supply. Also the malnourishment is an important indicator of poverty because it tells us about the social, economic and cultural patterns of that individual whether he is getting enough nutrients to sustain his life and to improve his health and conditions.
If the person is able to get the balanced diet and also he is able to get potable water to drink, then in that case it is indication of his healthy and good life and if he is earning income above the national average according to the indicators of that particular country. If an individual is earning enough to sustain his lifestyle, then it can be said that he is living a decent life and he lives above poverty line. Other indicators of indication of poverty are decent healthy life, equal representation in the society by all the sections, gender equality, healthy women and girl child etc.
Related to the concept of poverty, Dr Mahbub-Ul-Haq and Amartya Sen had given their ideas. According to DR Mahbub-Ul-Haq, development is all about enlarging people’s choices in order to lead longer, healthy lives with dignity. The United Nations Development Program has used his concept of human development to publish the Human Development Report annually since 1990.
Both Growth and Development refer to changes over a period of time. The difference is that growth is quantitative and value neutral. It may have a positive or a negative sign. This means that the change may be either positive (showing an increase) or negative (indicating a decrease).
(ii) Problems of Urban Settlements- People flock to cities to avail of employment opportunities and civic amenities. Since most cities in developing countries are unplanned, it creates severe congestion. Shortage of housing, vertical expansion and growth of slums are characteristic features of modern cities of developing countries.
In many cities an increasing proportion of the population lives in substandard housing, e.g. slums and squatter settlements. In most million plus cities in India, one in four inhabitant’s lives in illegal settlements, which are twice as the rest of the cities .Even in the Asia Pacific Countries, around 60 per cent of the urban population lives in squatter settlements.
(iii) Economic Problems- The decreasing employment opportunities in the rural as well as smaller urban areas of the developing countries consistently push the population to the urban areas. The enormous migrant population generates a pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labor force, which is already in urban areas.
(iv) Socio-Cultural Problems- Cities in the developing countries suffer from several social ills. Insufficient financial resources fall to create adequate social infrastructure catering to the basic needs of the huge population. The available educational and health facilities remain beyond the reach of the urban poor. Health indices also, present a gloomy picture in cities of developing countries. Lack of employment and education tends to aggravate the crime rates. Male selective migration to the urban areas distorts the sex ratio in these cities
(v) Environmental Problems- The large urban population in developing countries not only uses but also disposes off a huge quantity of water and all types of waste materials. Many cities of the developing countries even find it extremely difficult to provide the minimum required quantity of potable water and water for domestic and industrial uses. An improper sewerage system creates unhealthy conditions. Massive use of traditional fuel in the domestic as well as the industrial sector severely pollutes the air. The domestic and industrial wastes are either let into the general sewerages or dumped without treatment at unspecified locations. Huge concrete structures erected to accommodate the population and economic play a very conducive role to create heat islands.
Cities, Towns and Rural Settlements are linked through the movements of goods, resources and people. Urban-Rural Linkages are of crucial importance for the sustainability of human settlements.[1]
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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