Squatter settlements are informal and often unplanned areas of housing that are typically occupied by the very poor on the fringes of cities or in other marginal urban spaces, where residents do not have legal rights to the land they occupy or the dwellings they construct. Housing in squatter settlements is often self-built by the settlers themselves using whatever discarded or inexpensive materials they can find, resulting in makeshift structures that may lack basic amenities such as clean water, sanitation, electricity, and secure tenure. These settlements often emerge due to rapid urbanisation, poverty, lack of affordable housing, and inadequate urban planning, and they can face challenges related to overcrowding, health risks, and the threat of eviction. Sociologists study squatter settlements to understand the living conditions, social organisation, and the struggles for recognition and basic rights faced by their residents, as well as the broader issues of urban poverty and inequality.