Ageing in (un)habitability: role of environment perception and place attachment in coping and adaptation strategies on the example of slums in Nairobi and

Ageing in (un)habitability: role of environment perception and place attachment in coping and adaptation strategies on the example of slums in Nairobi and Dhaka is a project in the field of socio-cultural anthropology that focuses on the pressing challenges facing the urbanizing Global South in the context of environmental and demographic change. Its aim is to make significant advanced in identifying and understanding elderly people’s coping and adaptation strategies to slum conditions.

Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia count among regions most vulnerable to environmental change. Affected by extreme events, rural residents are forced to look for new places to live and move to cities, settling in so-called slums. These settlements, however, are no less vulnerable to various environmental emergencies and further affected by toxic pollution, thus becoming some of the most extreme habitats. Available estimates indicate that already in 2016 one in eight people worldwide lived in such locations. By 2030, it will be one in four global residents.

At the same time, there is an unprecedented process of population change and rapid ageing in lowincome countries. It is predicted that more than two-thirds of the world’s elderly – 1.1 billion – will live in developing countries by 2050, with the fastest growth (by 225%) occurring in the least developed nations. Slums are thus becoming home to older people from very diverse backgrounds – not only ageing newcomers but also first-generation migrants from rural areas who moved to cities in the 1970s and lived most of their lives there. These groups form different ties with the area they live in, which differently affects their coping and adaptation strategies.

While there is growing literature on ageing in the Global South, including in slums, concerning health, or gender dimension, the heterogeneity of ageing is still not accounted for. The project argues that different perceptions of the environment, as well as attachments to place, translate into different coping and adaptation strategies to prevailing conditions, and consequently habitability of place.

The main research question of the project is: How are coping and adaptation strategies of the elderly in slum areas conditioned by: 1.their perception of the environment and, 2. their attachment to their place of origin – village or slum area – and inversely? Answering this question will lead to unravelling the heterogeneity of slum habitants1 experience. Ultimately, the project will make both an empirical contribution to knowledge of practices of elderly slum habitants and a theoretical contribution leading to a new conceptualization of who slum habitants are.

 While there is growing literature on ageing in the Global South, including in slums, concerning health, care, or gender differences in ageing processes, there is still a lack of analyses that take into account the fact that the elderly are a very heterogeneous group, also due to their trajectory of life in slums. The project argues that different perceptions of the environment, as well as attachments to place, translate into different coping and adaptation strategies to prevailing conditions, and consequently habitability of place.

In line with the aim of the proposed project, the PI will answer the following main research question: How are coping and adaptation strategies of the elderly in slum areas influenced by

• their perception of the environment and
• their attachment to their place of origin (village or slum area) and inversly?

Answering this question allows for nuancing the practices of slum inhabitants given a number of variables, which will ultimately make it possible to unravel the heterogeneity of slums and to determine who the umbrella term “slum inhabitants” commonly refers to. Ultimately, the project will make both an empirical contribution to knowledge on the practices of elderly slum habitants and a theoretical contribution leading to a new conceptualization of who slum habitants are. It will enable the development of more appropriate analytical terms that capture variation in the patterns of activities of specific groups.

Duration

2023 - 2026

Source of funding

National Science Centre (NCN) Poland, SONATINA7