Understanding the needs of urban poor: case study of VP Singh Camp, a slum settlement in Delhi, India

With the world urbanising at a rapid rate, the future lies in the cities of the globe. Urban centres are marked by concentrations of people and serve as the growth centres of nation states. However, urban landscapes in emerging economies are characterised by rampant inequality and slums and their histories are full of paternalistic endeavours to improve living conditions for people living in these settlements.
This paper aims to understand the key areas of development for slum populations, as stated by them. A survey was conducted in the selected case study of VP Singh Camp in 2011 to understand the needs of the urban poor. The paper argues that the people living in the urban slums have vlear ersponses to improve their own situation and therefore should be made integral to the decision-making process of their development which at present bypasses them.