Social Exclusion, Informal Urbanization, and Heatwave Vulnerability: Understanding Public Health Risks among Slum Populations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62843/jssr.v5i4.697Keywords:
Social Exclusion, Informal Urbanization, Heatwave Vulnerability, Public Health RisksAbstract
Rapid urbanization and rising global temperatures have increased the exposure of marginalized urban populations to extreme heat events, particularly within informal settlements lacking adequate infrastructure and public services. This qualitative study explored how social exclusion and informal urbanization shape heatwave vulnerability and public health risks among slum populations. Using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and community narratives, the study examined the lived experiences of residents residing in densely populated informal settlements affected by recurring heatwaves and environmental stress. The findings revealed that inadequate housing conditions, overcrowding, poor ventilation, limited access to clean water, and insufficient healthcare services significantly increased residents’ exposure to heat-related illnesses and psychological distress. Social exclusion further intensified vulnerability, as economically disadvantaged groups lacked access to cooling resources, formal social protection systems, and climate-responsive urban planning initiatives. Women, elderly individuals, outdoor laborers, and children were identified as the most vulnerable groups facing severe physical exhaustion, dehydration, sleep disturbances, and anxiety during extreme heat conditions. The study also found that communities relied heavily on informal coping mechanisms, including shared water access, temporary shelter arrangements, altered work schedules, and neighborhood support networks to manage heat stress. However, these adaptive strategies remained limited due to persistent poverty and weak institutional support. The study concludes that heatwave vulnerability in informal urban settlements is deeply connected to structural inequality and environmental injustice. The findings highlight the urgent need for inclusive urban governance, climate-responsive public health policies, and socially equitable adaptation strategies to protect marginalized urban populations from escalating climate-related health risks.
References
Aboulnaga, M. M., Badran, M. F., & Barakat, M. M. (2021). Comprehension of informal settlements: an outlook on sprawl factors, challenges, and upgrading process—role of policies for slums’ resilience and governance. In Resilience of Informal Areas in Megacities–Magnitude, Challenges, and Policies: Strategic Environmental Assessment and Upgrading Guidelines to Attain Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 53–94). Springer.
Ahmad, Q., Lak, T. A., Malik, A. S., & Hussain, M. (2026). Perks and perils of policing in transition: A qualitative institutional inquiry to assess Weberian model of bureaucracy at police offices of Punjab Pakistan. The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies, 4(1), 903–919. https://doi.org/10.59075/svft8r79
Aitken, W. W. (2025). Environmental Greenness and Cardiovascular Health. Academic Press.
Ali, S. A., Pham, Q. B., & Xuan, Y. (2025). Climate change and disadvantaged communities: Challenges and opportunities. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003620747
Asim, M., Raza, M., Abid, A., Ahsan, M., & Hussain, M. (2021). Effect of social media on Academic Learning Achievement of the University Students: A case study of UOS Bhakkar Campus Students. (2021). Journal of Management Practices, Humanities and Social Sciences, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.33152/jmphss-5.1.2
Ashrafi, S., & Mallick, B. (2026). Staying at low-income urban informal settlements despite heat stress. In Handbook on Climate Mobility (pp. 398–419). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Baldi, S. L., Bernotti, I., Dall’Olio, L., Perrone, P. M., & Raviglione, M. C. B. (2025). Global health: Principles and perspectives. In Handbook of Concepts in Health, Health Behavior and Environmental Health (pp. 1–26). Springer.
Bennett, N. C., Bell, A., Norman, P., Evans, C., & Veness, R. (2026). Intersectional inequalities in neighbourhood air pollution concentration in England: A quantitative analysis of ecological data using Eco-Intersectional Multilevel (EIM) modelling. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 19(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-025-09787-8
Boafo, Y. A. (2026). Environment, climate change and health of vulnerable population in Africa. In Climate Change in Africa: Financing and Management (pp. 597–620). Springer.
Chen, J., & Delina, L. L. (2025). Understanding the impacts of extreme heat on the mental well-being of older adults: a systematic review. Environmental Research Communications, 7(1), 012002. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ada735
Cheshmehzangi, A. (2026). Sustainable built environments at the climate-health nexus: Mitigating heat risks for urban well-being. Encyclopedia, 6(3), 60. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia6030060
Datta, U., & Raman, R. (2026). Climate-responsive urban design: Integrating nature-based solutions in smart cities. In Future Smart Cities (pp. 193–224). Elsevier.
Fosudo, O., Bolukale, O., & Ibrahim, O. (2026). Informal settlements and poverty dynamics: Conceptual insights for sustainable urban planning. Urban and Regional Planning, 11(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20261101.11
Hendricks, M. D., & Van Zandt, S. (2021). Unequal protection revisited: Planning for environmental justice, hazard vulnerability, and critical infrastructure in communities of color. Environmental Justice, 14(2), 87–97. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2020.0054
Hunter, L. M., Koning, S., Fussell, E., King, B., Rishworth, A., Merdjanoff, A., Muttarak, R., Riosmena, F., Simon, D. H., Skop, E., & Van Den Hoek, J. (2021). Scales and sensitivities in climate vulnerability, displacement, and health. Population and Environment, 43(1), 61–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-021-00377-7
Hussain, M., Usman, A., Tariq, J., Ahmed Lak, T., Seemi Malik, A., & Nadeem, M. A. (2026). Spirituality, altruism, and resilience of older patient’s informal caregivers: investigating the moderating effect of the context of care in Pakistan. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 38(1), 88–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528030.2023.2251916
Ilyas, A. (2026). Urban climate stress and human health: A scoping review. Premier Journal of Environmental Science. https://doi.org/10.70389/pjes.100022
Khan, M. (2020). Assessment of intra-city urban heat island effect in relation to vulnerable stakeholders in Karachi, Pakistan via LCZ classification and land surface temperature analysis [Thesis].
Khan, M. M., Yasin, G., & Hussain, M. (2025). Moderating role of social support in the relationship between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being among Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Qlantic Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.55737/qjss.vi-iv.25453
Koyaro, M., Njoroge, N., Raido, M., Banana, E., Nyamangara, T., & Muganyi, S. (2026). Heat impacts on informal settlements. Urban Climate.
Lak, T. A., Dr, Shoaib, M., Malik, A. S., Dr, Nadeem, M. A., & Hussain, M., Dr. (2025). Visualizing masculinity: A photovoice analysis of Pakistani men’s self-presentation on Facebook. Regional Lens, 4(1), 215–224. https://doi.org/10.55737/rl.2025.41075b
Lak, T. A., Yasin, G., & Hussain, M. (2022). Role of intergroup contact as relational initiative to alleviate prejudice among faith based groups. Journal of Management Practices, Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(6). https://doi.org/10.33152/jmphss-6.6.3
Majlingova, A., & Kádár, T. S. (2025). From risk to resilience: Integrating climate adaptation and disaster reduction in the pursuit of Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 17(12), 5447. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125447
Mangara, F., & Dorasamy, N. (2026). Climate change adaptation and urban resilience in Southern Africa. In Sustainable Urban Development in Southern Africa (pp. 147–180). Springer.
Marcotullio, P. J., Keßler, C., & Fekete, B. M. (2022). Global urban exposure projections to extreme heatwaves. Frontiers in Built Environment, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.947496
Mutereko, S., Hussain, A., & Sohail, A. (2021). Assessment of individual and institutional investor’s investment behavior during covid-19. A case of emerging economy. Gomal University Journal of Research, 37(03), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.51380/gujr-37-03-02
Organization, W. H. (2025). Understanding the health and tourism nexus.
Qureshi, N. S., & Cardenas, C. M. (2025). Recognizing carceral health as a public health discipline. Critical Public Health, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2025.2575808
Rizwan, M., Haq, I. U., Ranjha, A. N., Lak, T. A., Hussain, M., & Usman, M. (2026). Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among the Pakistani population, and reason for attempting suicide among suicide survivors. Health & Social Care in the Community, 2026(1). https://doi.org/10.1155/hsc/2948037
Sikhosana, P., & Mashalaba, Y. (2025). Rethinking rural development research: Gaps, frameworks, and emerging directions (2010–2025). Town and Regional Planning, 87, 7–23. https://doi.org/10.38140/trp.v87i.9898
Sohail, A., Ahmad, A., & Khan, M. M. (2021). An exploratory study to investigate the role of Shariah governance in Islamic financial institutions. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 12(10).
Sohail, A., Hussain, A., & Qurashi, Q. A. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on investment decision of individual investors in emerging stock market. Electronic Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2, 1–13.
Topaloglou, L., & Nikolaidou, K. (2025). Exploring climate, energy, and environmental justice in climate. Sustainable Built Environment for People and Society, 3. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1010123
Veld, S. d. (2024). Understanding vulnerability: Climate change risk perceptions of environmental non-migrants in coastal Bangladesh. https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/47033
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Copyright in the Journal of Social Sciences Review is retained by the author(s). Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
JSSR's Editorial Board shares the vision of providing free access to information, education, and science for everyone, thus promoting its content through an OPEN ACCESS POLICY, fulfilling the DOAJ definition of open access. The JSSR adheres to an Open Access and Copyright Licensing Policy based on the belief that making research freely accessible to the public promotes greater global knowledge sharing.
The JSSR uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. The authors who apply and publish in JSSR consent to abide by the copyright policy set out in the Creative Commons 4.0 license (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license).
- Copyright in the Journal of Social Sciences Review is retained by the author(s).
- Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified.
While "By 'open access' to this literature, we mean its free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself."
