Impact of Poverty Level on Settlement Problems and Patterns: A Case Study of Jhang, Pakistan

Abstract

Poverty is a multidimensional dilemma, and it elicits severe impacts on people's lifestyles. The present study identifies the impact of poverty on settlement problems and settlement patterns in the study area and their correlation with poverty. Primary data was collected through a pre-designed questionnaire using a purposive sampling technique from the six nearby sites of Jhang city, namely Pakkywala, Chundharwana, Daduana, surrounding abodes of the general bus stand, Chak Janobi Jhang, and Satellite town. For this purpose, 400 male respondents were selected using a convenient sampling method. The data analysis is done in SPSS 17 by applying descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation (bivariate method). Results of the study found that poverty is the core reason for multiple settlement problems of the inhabitants, as 93.8% agreed that low income is the cause of settlement problems. The settlement problem also caused homelessness and subsequent insecurity for the majority of the respondents (90.8%). The joint family system was also responsible for many settlement problems, as agreed by over 72% of respondents, similar to early marriage (83.5%). The hiking property rates in the study area also created settlement problems (90.1%) and increased crime rates (85.2%). Settlement problems also intensified due to respondents' inadequate land (84.8%) for housing; therefore, most lived in mud-made tiny houses (83.5%). Due to acute poverty, the respondents' settlement patterns were dispersed (35.5%) and irregular (35.3%). Correlation analysis also verified that the level of poverty has a highly significant impact on settlement problems and patterns.