The credibility of slums: Informal housing and urban governance in India

A major challenge facing Indian cities is the expansion of informal housing beyond state control or regulation. In Mumbai, the financial capital of India, forty-two percent of the population lives in slums. What explains the proliferation and persistence of slums in Mumbai despite their ill-protected property rights and poor quality of living? Applying the Credibility Thesis to the study of urban informality, the paper argues that slums persist...