Understanding Housing Preferences in Unauthorized Colonies: A Scoping Review of Evidence from Indian Cities

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of unauthorized colonies has become an integral, though often overlooked, component of urban housing in Indian cities. These settlements, emerging largely outside formal planning and regulatory frameworks, accommodate significant portions of the urban population particularly low- and middle-income groups excluded from formal housing markets. Understanding housing preferences within these colonies offers critical insights into the socio-economic, spatial, and governance-related factors that shape urban housing demand in India. Despite their prevalence, scholarly investigations into the residential choices and preferences of inhabitants in unauthorized colonies remain limited and fragmented. This review article examines existing literature to explore the underlying drivers of housing preferences in unauthorized colonies across Indian cities. Drawing from peer-reviewed publications, policy reports, and grey literature spanning from 2000 to 2024, the study synthesizes empirical findings to identify key factors influencing housing decisions. These include affordability constraints, proximity to employment opportunities, access to basic services and infrastructure, tenure security— whether real or perceived and social networks. The analysis also reflects on how informal governance mechanisms and state-led regularization initiatives influence residential choices and settlement patterns. By foregrounding the lived experiences and preferences of residents in unauthorized colonies, this review advances a critical understanding of the informal housing sector's role in addressing India’s urban housing deficit. It challenges the dominant narratives that stigmatize informal settlements, instead recognizing them as adaptive responses to systemic inadequacies in formal housing provision. Furthermore, this study highlights significant gaps in existing research, including the need for interdisciplinary approaches, longitudinal analyses, and deeper engagement with issues of gender, environmental sustainability, and housing quality. The findings of this review underscore the importance of integrating an understanding of housing preferences in unauthorized colonies into broader urban housing policies and planning practices. Such an approach is imperative for promoting inclusive, equitable, and sustainable urban development in India.