UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources University, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Worburn Place, London, WC1H 0NN, UK.
Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence, 4, Second Floor, Zamrudpur Commercial Complex, Greater Kailash, New Delhi, 110048, India.
J Urban Health. 2020 Aug;97(4):502-518. doi: 10.1007/s11524-020-00442-w.
Housing quality is crucially linked to health and sustainability goals, yet there is limited research on informal housing and settlements where housing quality is poor, and the health risks are expected to be greatest. This paper describes the investigation of housing conditions in a low-income resettlement colony in Delhi. A novel transdisciplinary methodology to evaluate multiple housing health hazards and establish intervention priorities in participation with the community was developed. Findings from housing surveys and indoor environmental monitoring were contrasted with a participatory self-assessment-revealing the widespread prevalence of hazards and suboptimal housing conditions as well as substantial differences in priorities, and thus perspectives, between participants and researchers. Focus group discussions explored the findings and built consensus on priorities. Our findings uncovered how poor housing conditions affect daily practices and thus are likely to adversely affect socio-economic development and gender equality. We highlight limitations in current frameworks to assess housing hazards and argue that a transdisciplinary approach is vital to provide a holistic understanding and to develop effective interventions. These insights are crucial to inform inclusive solutions for adequate housing and human settlements that can support improved health and help achieve the sustainable development goals.
住房质量与健康和可持续性目标密切相关，但对于住房质量较差的非正规住房和住区，相关研究有限，而这些地区的健康风险预计是最大的。本文描述了对德里一个低收入移民安置点的住房条件的调查。开发了一种新颖的跨学科方法，以评估多种住房健康危害，并在与社区合作的基础上确定干预措施的优先次序。住房调查和室内环境监测的结果与参与式自我评估进行了对比，揭示了危害和住房条件不佳的广泛存在，以及参与者和研究人员之间在优先事项上存在实质性差异。焦点小组讨论探讨了调查结果，并就优先事项达成了共识。我们的研究结果揭示了恶劣的住房条件如何影响日常生活实践，从而可能对社会经济发展和性别平等产生不利影响。我们强调了当前评估住房危害的框架的局限性，并认为跨学科方法对于提供全面的理解和制定有效的干预措施至关重要。这些见解对于为充足的住房和人类住区提供包容性解决方案以支持改善健康状况和帮助实现可持续发展目标至关重要。
