THE LIVING CONDITION OF SLUM DWELLERS IN ARADA KEBELE OF WOLAITA SODO CITY ADMINISTRATION, SOUTH CENTRAL ETHIOPIA

Abstract

A slum is a residential area with inferior housing that is underserved and/or overcrowded, resulting in unhealthy, unsafe, and socially unpleasant living conditions. A single residence can fit within this category, but the phrase is typically reserved for bigger areas, either rural or, more commonly, urban. The study is intended to investigate the living conditions of slum dwellers in Wolaita Sodo city administration in a particular area called Arada Kebele. The main aim of this thesis rests on describing the lived experiences and coping mechanisms of slum dwellers, exploring the impacts and consequences of current urban expansion on the slum dwellers in the study area, and exploring the challenges and opportunities of people living in the slum settlement. In doing so, the researcher has employed a qualitative research approach and methods, including FGDs, key informant interviews, observation, and case study methods, by using a purposive sampling design. The data grasped from the site is then analysed through the thematic analysis method, a process that includes arranging, coding, and presenting empirical data from the field, and finally, its findings are presented through narration. The findings indicated that people in the slum environment of the study area are living a miserable life and facing health problems, economic disorder, and social and cultural change due to urban expansion and modernization, and thus its inhabitants are marginalised and economically poor. Even though poverty and rural-urban migration are the major challenges of urban slums, the study mainly focused on the lived experience and the impact of urban expansion on the dwellers and the geographical set and or physical environment of the study area. Finally, based on the findings, recommendations are forwarded.