Built environment and its linkages to health in an urban settlement: A study of selected localities in Greater Mumbai City

The built environment is a complex socio-ecological system, where multiple factors are interacting in different way. Basically it is a cultural landscape that changes with time and space. With the above context, the study... [ view full abstract ]

The built environment is a complex socio-ecological system, where multiple factors are interacting in different way. Basically it is a cultural landscape that changes with time and space. With the above context, the study tries to capture the role of built environment in determining health of an individual particularly communicable and lifestyle diseases. In this regard present study has conducted primary survey collecting both quantitative and qualitative information. For collection of data study opted two stage selection procedure at first stage, three wards from three respective zones: Island City (Dadar), Western suburban (Bandra) and Eastern suburban (Chembur) of Greater Mumbai city has been selected. Secondly, four different housing typologies like High rise residential buildings, Old colonies (resettled more than 100years ago), Slums and Slum rehabilitated houses has been selected within selected wards for the survey. The main criteria for area selection is existence of desired housing structure on those wards. And secondly, those housing typologies were selected due to variation in their housing structures in built forms as well as dissimilarity in their socio-economic aspects. By using quota sampling, total 600 households (i.e., 200 households from the each zone through the survey of 50 households of each housing structure) is surveyed. Result shows that high rise buildings and old colony dwellers enjoys better access to amenities like drinking water, toilet facility, proper garbage disposal and drainage facility compared to slums and slum rehabilitated houses. In spite of shifting from slum to rehabilitated houses, the living condition remains deteriorated. Open defecation is common problem among slum households, which leads to prone to infectious diseases particularly diarrhoea. High rise residential dwellers reported more lifestyle diseases like Diabetes and High Blood Pressure. In spite of staying in unhealthy living condition slum dwellers reported less morbidities and chronic diseases compared to other housing structures.