Comparing with other global south countries, India is characterized with its cultural and social division within the country: influence from British colonization and local Hindu tradition. Corresponding to elite and subaltern culture, most Indian cities are separated into “the static city” and “the kinetic city” in urban landscape and economic development. The static city, like its name reveals, represents the in state-controlled economy, under which middle and higher classes have relatively more stable life. As the site, the static city includes the elite architectural forms of the whole city. On the other hand, the kinetic city shows all contraction of the static city: post-industrial economy, lower income people, and the elastic and temporary urban condition that is not even recorded in traditional city map. It is surprised that in today’s India, these two sides of cities are sharing the same urban space, and more likely, to resolve into each other.  The kinetic city, acting as fluid, occupies every leftover space in the static city and starts to bond two parts of cities, establishing a rich relationship between the inner divisions of Indian cities.

The kinetic city, holding and providing living for more than half of the population, has potential to change the urban landscape mainly formed with static city’s architecture and infrastructure. Rahul Mehrotra mentioned in his article “The Static and The Kinetic” about the bazaar in Victorian arcades in Mumbai, which manifests the original use of the arcades in a more suitable and elastic way. Bazaars still function as the connection between streets and buildings as well as the shelter for pedestrians. The interpretation of the kinetic city provides opportunity for elite historic architecture to adjust its function to the current social condition.

Dharavi, one typical example of these settlements in the kinetic part of Mumbai, started from the edge of the city, and have to move every time when the squatted land become useful for the static side again. The kinetic city always is the vulnerable side in the urban land competition because of the illegalness. However, it is surprising that in this condition Dharavi even is able to function as a transfer station, giving “ jobs to successive waves of rural migrants till they can move on to something else” and some even start own business after the training in Dharavi.

The huge impact of the kinetic city to the State can no longer be ignored. Its requirement for the urban environment is proved to have huge impact on the “static” architecture, even though people still live in temporary simple kinetic house. Both Sharma and Mehrotra mentioned about the necessity of constructing architecture with communities genuinely involving in rather than the profit driven projects.

Burdett, Richard, and Deyan Sudjic. “The Static and the Kinetic.” Living in the Endless City: The Urban Age Project by the London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Society. London: Phaidon, 2011

Sharma, Kalpana. Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia’s Largest Slum

Since the middle of last century, mass of immigrants have been attracted to cities in developing countries by the explosive working opportunities created under the neoliberal structural adjustment policies in these countries. The informal sector of economy consisted of these new urban immigrants becomes more and more important in countries’ development. However, the surge of immigration’s settlements also brings huge pressure to the urban land, especially when these settlements are mostly illegal or “extra-legal”, “built without conformance to zoning or service regulations and enabled by bribes, populist governments, or property speculators who hope for eventual regularization and compensation for their investment.”[3] This situation brings problems both to city planning and the migrants themselves.

Mike Davis takes a more broad view looking at current slum conditions and the informal sector of economy supporting behind it in his book Planet of Slums. In one of the chapters “ a surplus humanity”, Davis mentioned the competition between informal sector and some small-scale formal enterprises, which reveals some part of hard life for informal employees, especially with the pressure of exorbitant rent fees when more urban land becomes private. The increasing strain in work and the hazard in illegal slum settlement form a potential political problem for the governors. A narrative non-fiction by Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful, rises up this question during the narration of author’s four-year living experience in a slum called Annawadi in India.

（http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Beautiful-Forevers-Mumbai-Undercity/dp/1400067553 )

Compared to Davis, Robert Neuwirth provides us with more optimistic vision through his experience in four different slums. He raises up a new point that “people are adapting: they are demonstrating survival strategies that make life not only bearable but in some places and in some respects quite manageable.” [3] While, the adaption not only occurs in migrants’ life, but also in original urban inhabitants’. They already get used to a certain life style with the informal economy.

As John Beardsley mentioned in his essay “ A Billion Slum Dwellers and Counting”, both Davis and Neuwirth didn’t provide solution for improving slum dwellers’ life. I think this is what we, as architects should consider in the city planning, as the importance of these informal economy supporters.

work cited

1.. Planet of Slums, Mike Davis

2.Shadow Cities, Robert Neuwirth

3.A Billion Slum Dwellers and Counting, John Beardsley