Deprivation and Incidence of Urban Public Services: A Tale of Three Cities

• Published in: Review of urban and regional development studies Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 207 - 220
• Main Authors: Gangopadhyay, Partha, Nath, Shyam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford UK and Boston, USA Blackwell Publishers Ltd 01.11.2001
• Subjects: Cities; Delhi; Deprivation; Development studies; India; Low income; Maharashtra; Public Services; Regional studies; Social Class; Social Inequality; Socioeconomic Status; Urban Areas; Urban services; Urban studies; West Bengal
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-940X.00041
• ISSN: 0917-0553

We approach the problem of deprivation and incidence of urban public services by quantifying the extent of deprivation of different income groups in relation to both desired and minimum levels. Three types of deprivation are clearly established. First, deprivation in both Bombay and Calcutta is higher than that of Delhi. Second, there is a serious concern for primary health and education because it is established that the lack of these local services is the major source of deprivation among urban settlers. Finally, we report how well different income classes are served in these cities: the rich are worst‐off in Calcutta and best‐off in Bombay. Middle income and poor citizens are best‐off and worst‐off in Delhi and Bombay, respectively.