slum
n.a crowded area of a city where the buildings are in very bad condition and the people living there are very poor.
n.a squalid and overcrowded urban residential district inhabited by very poor people. Often used to describe areas with inadequate infrastructure and housing.
“The government plans to improve housing in the city's largest slum.”
“Rapid urbanisation in the mid-twentieth century led to the growth of several slums on the outskirts of the capital.”
“Sociologists argue that the persistence of the urban slum is not merely a housing issue but a systemic failure of economic integration and public policy.”
Often used in the plural to describe larger districts; can carry a derogatory tone depending on the speaker's intent.
First attested in 1812. originally slang, in the sense "room", especially "backroom", of unknown origin.
See slumgullion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.