Reevaluating Slum Terminology: An Epistemological Critique of Urban Informality Ideas

This paper aims to examine the meaning, application, and effects of the term ‘slum’ in urban planning and development plans to discover the purposes behind this meaning. The problem is located in the extensively use the term without paying deep attention to the impression of the term as a negative prejudgment. Content analysis, logical argument, and interpretation techniques were applied in this research to analyze the genesis, publicizing, and advocating the meaning of the word technically. The results of research reveal that the meaning of the term slum was extracted from words with negative meanings and impressions to legitimize slum demolishing. Epistemological analysis reveals that the meaning of the ‘slum’ was centralized by operational centers to orient the attention to some physical improvement as upgrading rather than the solution. Despite the upgrading policies, the percentage of slum dwellers has increased. This study attained three trends in the definition of slum: formalists with orientation to physical specifications, pragmatists with a focus on operations and actions, and critical studies who endeavor in exposing the problems based on social and economic factors in the context. In conclusion, the slum phenomena spotlight broader development deficiencies in urban planning regarding the limitation of social and economic opportunities for public rather than the physical specifications of houses or areas.