Mumbai: A global mega city

FACTS about Mumbai Population: estimated 22 million people Density: 21,000 people / square kilometer Largest City in India Ninth largest urban center in the world Financial, commercial, and entertainment hub (including Bollywood) of India Wealthiest city in India Highest GDP of any city in South, West, or Central Asia Slum sanitation: While Mumbai is home to the highest number of millionaire and billionaires in India, it is at the same time also home to some of the poorest residents in India. Problems of sanitation have become issues in Mumbai due to the rapid rate of urbanization in recent years. Urban growth is happening disproportionately in slums, with large numbers of new migrants to Mumbai coming to these already dense and resource stretched areas. 41.3 % of Mumbai’s population lives in slums (World Population Review, 2016). Dharavi is the third largest slum in the world home to an estimated 1 million people Dharavi has a population density of over 277,136/km2, making it one of the most densely populated places on earth (Jacobson, 2007). Sustainable sanitation: Sustainable sanitation in Mumbai is not only a question of building more toilets, but is a complex environmental, economic and social issue. Lack of sufficient infrastructure for a growing population Failure (until recently) of the government to prioritize sanitation within its policies. Disconnect between slum residents and formal political channels. Policies that have attempted to clean up the slums have often made it harder for many families to access clean infrastructure due to increasing pricing of facilities (Desai, 2016).