Sociological Study on the Strategies of Urban Poor to Survive in the City (Case Study: Households of the Urban Slums in Tehran City)

Introduction: With increasing urbanization in developing countries, urban poverty has also become an important social issue. The present study was conducted with the aim of explaining the phenomenon of poverty in Tehran through a qualitative, comprehensive and data-oriented research.
Method: The research method used is grounded theory, which belongs to qualitative methods. Data collection techniques included documentation and library methods, direct observation, written records, data recording, and the use of in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Sample selection was initially purposive and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. In order to select a sample representative of the community under study, efforts were made to include a combination of age, gender, occupational and educational status, and residence in urban neighborhoods as much as possible. Participants included poor households living in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th districts of Tehran. Several criteria were considered in the selection of participants, namely: 1. Be head of household; 2. Have lived in the city for at least two years; 3. Have been recognized as needy by residents and social activists in the neighborhoods, and their poverty was verified based on the testimonies of official (charity and aid organizations) and unofficial (residents, businesses, and social activists) agencies.
Findings: Based on this study, exclusion from the labor market, which includes all types of unemployment, incomplete and temporary, and low-income informal employment, is the main factor explaining the phenomenon of urban poverty in the city of Tehran. The results show that the urban poor have taken a number of measures to address urban poverty and migration has been one of their measures in the past and in the present. In the past, it was groups and ethnic groups; in recent years, it has been individuals. Due to the weakness of their economic and human capital, they have also been unable to enter the formal labor market, and underemployment of women and child labor are common among them. In the area of housing, there is the model of shared living in small spaces and sharing the appliances and facilities of the place of residence. In the field of treatment, alternative and informal treatment methods are used.
 Conclusion: The results of this research show that unemployment, temporary and unstable work, which is one of the components of exclusion from the labor market, has led to the persistence of the poverty situation in the society studied and to a series of strategies of urban slums aimed at surviving and meeting the minimum needs. Social exclusion is not limited to small environments, but is also related to macro constructions and processes. Therefore, by referring to micro-environments through qualitative research, one can also observe the effects of macro-processes. In the macro dimension, the rapid development and growth of rapid urbanization has led to widespread migration of rural and unemployed villagers to cities, putting additional pressure on the urban labor market. The lack of infrastructure and opportunities for work and employment has led to many immigrants living in a state of subsistence poverty in the cities or on the outskirts of the cities and experiencing all kinds of social exclusion in their daily lives.