Getting the information base for Dharavi's redevelopment

Abstract

This is the third in a series of papers chronicling the evolution of negotiations on plans to redevelop Dharavi, Mumbai's vast informal settlement, from the perspective of practitioners supporting Dharavi's residents in their struggle for inclusive development. This paper highlights progress that took place during 2008, including the completion of a baseline survey, constructive engagement with the government and positive amendments to the plan that emerged from this dialogue. The paper also highlights continuing challenges that residents and civil society face in working with the state to ensure that development benefi ts Dharavi's residents and enterprises.

Architecture & Legitimacy: Strategies for the Development of Urban Informal Settlements

“…In 2004, Dharavi became the focus of a multi-billion dollar redevelopment plan initiated by the government. They proposed that the whole settlement be broken up into 5 pieces and given to developers for redevelopment, offering the current residents of Dharavi, who qualify, free housing in the new scheme (Patel, Arputham, Burra, & Savchuk, 2009). Although proposals promised free housing for all current residents, planners failed to make contact with the residents to determine who was eligible for redevelopment and what their needs were.…”

Mapping urban assemblages: the production of spatial knowledge

“…The complexities of this issue are illustrated by the case of the giant informal settlement of Dharavi in Mumbai where the State wished to undertake a detailed mapping of morphology, functions and populations as a prelude to extensive redevelopment (Patel et al 2009). The resident communities were suspicious of the State's agenda and deeply resistant to such mapping.…”

Planning and the ‘stubborn realities’ of global south-east cities: Some emerging ideas

“…has been turned into an empowerment strategy. With examples dating back as far as the 1980s (Patel et al, 2009), poor urban communities in informal settlements in cities of the global South-East have increasingly adopted the tactic of self-enumeration and mapping in order to reinforce and specify their demands for land and services and to increase their 'visibility' to the state. The scaling up of NGOs such as SDI has spread these tactics from their origin in India to informal settlements in other parts of the world.…”

“…The scaling up of NGOs such as SDI has spread these tactics from their origin in India to informal settlements in other parts of the world. In what could be described as a growing global self-survey 'movement' amongst poor urban communities, these traditional tools of planning -the survey, the map and the plan -have been appropriated and used as a mechanism to further the claims of marginalized groups to urban space (Bryan, 2011;Hassan, 2006;Huchzermeyer, 2009;Karanja, 2010;Patel et al, 2009). Sometimes these strategies have been followed by 're-blocking' in which shelters have been reorganized by their occupants to make more orderly spaces for the insertion of claimed basic services.…”