<P> However, slum relocation in the name of urban development is criticized for uprooting communities without consultation or consideration of ongoing livelihood . For example, the Sabarmati Riverfront Project, a recreational development in Ahmedabad, India, forcefully relocated over 19,000 families from shacks along the river to 13 public housing complexes that were an average of 9 km away from the family's original dwelling . </P> <P> Slums exist in many countries and have become a global phenomenon . A UN-Habitat report states that in 2006 there were nearly 1 billion people settling in slum settlements in most cities of Latin America, Asia, and Africa, and a smaller number in the cities of Europe and North America . In 2012, according to UN-Habitat, about 863 million people in the developing world lived in slums . Of these, the urban slum population at mid-year was around 213 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 207 million in East Asia, 201 million in South Asia, 113 million in Latin America and Caribbean, 80 million in Southeast Asia, 36 million in West Asia, and 13 million in North Africa . Among individual countries, the proportion of urban residents living in slum areas in 2009 was highest in the Central African Republic (95.9%), Chad (89.3%), Niger (81.7%), and Mozambique (80.5%). </P> <P> The distribution of slums within a city varies throughout the world . In most of the developed countries, it is easier to distinguish the slum - areas and non-slum areas . In the United States, slum dwellers are usually in city neighborhoods and inner suburbs, while in Europe, they are more common in high rise housing on the urban outskirts . In many developing countries, slums are prevalent as distributed pockets or as urban orbits of densely constructed informal settlements . In some cities, especially in countries in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan, slums are not just marginalized neighborhoods holding a small population; slums are widespread, and are home to a large part of urban population . These are sometimes called slum cities . </P> <P> The percentage of developing world's urban population living in slums has been dropping with economic development, even while total urban population has been increasing . In 1990, 46 percent of the urban population lived in slums; by 2000, the percentage had dropped to 39%; which further dropped to 32% by 2010 . </P>

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