Paper short abstract:

This paper is based on recent fieldwork in the Chennai Metropolitan area, India, which was conducted with a focus on sanitary realities of the peri-urban poor. The paper aims to highlight some of the responses from urban slum households and the implications for sustainability.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is based on recent fieldwork in the Chennai Metropolitan area, India, which was conducted with a focus on sanitary realities of the peri-urban poor. The paper aims to highlight some of the responses from urban slum households and the implications for sustainability. In particular I want to reflect on the realities of sanitation in poor urban settlements and the interface between public policy and lived reality.

The main source of data, qualitative interviews, offer insights not only in regards to sanitation, but also tell a story of employment related migration, urbanization, and how people make ends meet. In this sense the study offers an indication for human decision making based on what is most conducive for survival, an understanding of which would only improve communal politics in a sustainable city that takes into consideration that capability and freedom of its citizens are paramount for their productivity and well-being.