Informal Settlements & Slums

Active learning works for this topic because students often hold surface-level views about informal settlements, shaped by limited exposure to structural causes and consequences. Through collaborative tasks like mapping and debates, they confront real-world complexities and build empathy for marginalised groups by analysing causes beyond stereotypes.

• Year 12
• Geography
• 4 activities
• 30 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the primary socio-economic drivers contributing to the formation and growth of informal settlements.
2. Analyze the specific health, safety, and environmental risks faced by residents of informal settlements.
3. Critique the effectiveness and ethical implications of various strategies for upgrading or relocating informal settlements.
4. Compare and contrast informal settlement challenges and responses in at least two different global case studies.
5. Synthesize information from diverse sources to propose a sustainable intervention for an informal settlement.

Jigsaw

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Jigsaw: Settlement Factors

Divide class into expert groups on causes, characteristics, challenges, and solutions. Each group researches one area using provided sources, then reforms into mixed groups to teach peers and co-create summary posters. Conclude with whole-class synthesis discussion.

Prepare & details

Explain the socio-economic factors leading to the proliferation of informal settlements.

Facilitation Tip: For the Jigsaw Research activity, assign each expert group a distinct factor (e.g., rural-urban migration, land scarcity) and provide one annotated source per group to ensure focus and prevent overwhelm.

Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping

Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Document Mystery

⏱ 40 min·Pairs

Debate Pairs: Upgrade vs Relocate

Pair students to prepare arguments for upgrading informal settlements or relocating residents, using evidence from case studies. Pairs debate against opposing pairs, with audience voting and reflection on strengths of each approach.

Prepare & details

Analyze the health and safety risks faced by residents of slums.

Facilitation Tip: During the Debate Pairs activity, require students to present a counter-argument before making their own case, which builds critical thinking and reduces polarisation.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Document Mystery

⏱ 30 min·Whole Class

Mapping Whole Class: Slum Evolution

Project satellite images of a specific slum over time. As a class, annotate changes in extent, infrastructure, and risks using digital tools. Discuss driving factors and predict future scenarios based on trends.

Prepare & details

Critique different approaches to upgrading or relocating informal settlements.

Facilitation Tip: For the Mapping Whole Class activity, provide students with a base map that includes key features like water sources and transport routes to guide their analysis of settlement growth patterns.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Document Mystery

⏱ 45 min·Individual

Role-Play Individuals: Stakeholder Perspectives

Assign individual roles like resident, planner, NGO worker, or politician. Students prepare monologues on slum challenges from their viewpoint, then share in a town hall simulation to negotiate solutions.

Prepare & details

Explain the socio-economic factors leading to the proliferation of informal settlements.

Facilitation Tip: In the Role-Play Individuals activity, give each student a role card with specific constraints (e.g., budget, time) to make the trade-offs in decision-making tangible.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Research suggests students learn best when they analyse real-world cases through multiple lenses, rather than memorising definitions. Avoid presenting informal settlements as a single problem with a simple solution; instead, frame them as complex socio-ecological systems where interventions have unintended consequences. Use role-play and debates to move students from abstract understanding to empathetic problem-solving, while grounding discussions in geographic and economic data.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students moving from broad generalisations to precise, evidence-based arguments about informal settlements. They should articulate socio-economic drivers, evaluate intervention trade-offs, and recognise the human impact of policy decisions through collaborative outputs.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Mapping Whole Class activity, watch for students who assume informal settlements only exist in countries far from Australia.

What to Teach Instead

Use the mapping activity to plot local examples of informal housing, such as temporary migrant worker camps or urban fringe settlements, and ask students to identify shared patterns in access to services and infrastructure.

Common Misconception

During the Debate Pairs activity, watch for students who believe relocating residents is always the best solution due to safety or hygiene concerns.

What to Teach Instead

Have students role-play residents during the debate and require them to present the social and economic costs of displacement, using the debate structure to test the assumption that relocating is straightforward.

Common Misconception

During the Jigsaw Research activity, watch for students who attribute slum formation to individual choices rather than systemic factors.

What to Teach Instead

Ask each expert group to present one policy or economic factor that enables slum growth, and have students synthesise how these factors interact in a class mind map.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Debate Pairs activity, pose this question to small groups: 'Imagine you are a city council member with limited funds. Would you prioritize upgrading an existing informal settlement with services or relocating residents to new housing? Justify your decision using evidence from the debate and considering the perspectives of residents, the city, and the environment.'

Quick Check

During the Jigsaw Research activity, provide students with a short case study of an informal settlement. Ask them to identify: 1) Two socio-economic factors that likely led to its formation. 2) Three specific risks faced by residents. 3) One potential challenge of relocating the settlement.

Exit Ticket

After the Mapping Whole Class activity, have students write on an index card: 'One cause of informal settlements is ______. A major challenge for residents is ______. A common approach to address this is ______. This approach can be problematic because ______.'

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students who finish early to design a hybrid solution that combines upgrading and relocating, using evidence from their debate research to justify costs and benefits.
• For students who struggle, provide a partially completed mapping template with key terms filled in (e.g., 'high population density') to scaffold their analysis of settlement characteristics.
• Deeper exploration: Assign a case study analysis of an informal settlement in Australia (e.g., Melbourne’s informal housing) and ask students to compare its drivers and risks to those in a developing country context.

Key Vocabulary

Informal settlement	A residential area where housing and infrastructure are built without official permission, often lacking basic services and legal tenure.
Slum	A term often used interchangeably with informal settlement, typically referring to areas characterized by extreme poverty, overcrowding, and lack of sanitation.
Urbanization	The process of population shift from rural to urban areas, leading to the growth of cities and the expansion of urban lifestyles.
Land tenure	The relationship, whether legal or customary, between a user and a piece of land, determining rights and responsibilities of ownership or occupation.
Gentrification	The process by which wealthier people move into, renovate, and restore housing in deteriorated urban neighborhoods, often displacing lower-income residents.