To what extent does rapid urban migration pose challenges to urban areas? Answer using one case study (6 marks)

The population of Mumbai has almost doubled since 1991, rising to 22 million in 2018, and formal settlements have not been able to accommodate this. As a result, 42% of people live in informal urban areas called ‘slums’ and, most notably, over 1 million people live in Dharavi slum within just 535 acres of informal land. The first challenge to Dharavi is poor sanitation. One third of the population have no access to clean drinking water. This means that water is often filled with unsafe bacteria which creates deadly waterborne diseases such as cholera. Combined with Dharavi’s poor drainage systems, this often culminates in a rapid spread of disease. The second challenge to Dharavi is that the ‘informality’ of the slum means that the people living there do not own the land and therefore have no legal rights. This means that the government could easily remove residents from the land which would leave those people homeless.
However, opportunities have also arisen from rapid urban migration within Mumbai for Dharavi slum. For instance, Dharavi is located on a rubbish dump and there are around 30,000 ‘rag-pickers’ who rummage through the city's waste in search of items that could be sold. These pickers often make up to $5 a day.