Tag Archives: dabbawalas

Informal Intervention

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Architects have to ability to become urbanites and work with the higher political and economic powers which cause constant movements of religious and trade communities in the slum cities. At the street level, architects have no business with clients but they are able to work at a larger scale. I am not saying that there is a need to change the systems that are already in place because they are in some way problematic, but these systems can be enhanced and nurtured to produce even more efficiency to the system.

In “Living in the Endless City” by Ricky Burdett and Dayan Sudjic, Rahul Mehrotra discusses how Mumbai is a Static City and also a Kinetic City. The Static City is all the infrastructure and permanent constructions that define streets and neighborhoods and overlapping with those is the constantly changing Kinetic City. There is the city which is constructed by markets and festivals which changes space and ownerships by the minute. The Kinetic City is out of the control of any political, economic, or even architectural organization, it simply exists in the present. As communities get pushed out of certain areas, others move in and change the Static condition making the Static City affected and part of the Kinetic City. There is potential in this overlapping relationship which can foster opportunities for architectural interventions.

In the case of Dharavi, “’Redeveloping’ a place like Dharavi is no easy matter, as successive government and planning authorities have discovered” (xxiv, Sharma). Slums don’t necessarily need to be redeveloped or gentrified for the higher classes to move in later. Instead, infrastructure can be focused on to benefit existing conditions so that people can stay and thrive rather than be pushed out. Monuments become markers and public transportation offers connectivity. These Static City constructions can be strategically useful for networks like the Dabbawalas which are illiterate and need symbolic markers throughout the city. Architects can recognize the realities of slums like Mumbai and Dharavi and instead of proposing a Haussman plan to destroy and rebuild the land, they can increase the effects of positive cultural systems.

 

Sources

 

“Living in the Endless City”, London School of Economics

“Dabbawals, Tiffin Carriers of Mumbai: Answering a Need for Specific Catering”, Marie Percot

“Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories From Asia’s Largest Slum”, Kalpana Sharma

The Community of Squatters

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In squatter settlements such as Dharavi, it is important to note that the social situation is often not the most pressing issue that needs to be addressed.  Many times, particularly in settlements that have existed for long periods of time, there is a strong sense of community that is not always present in affluent areas.  In Dharavi, people are employed, have a community with similar histories surrounding them, and are proud of how they have improved their own and their family’s situation.

Dharavi has roots going back over one hundred years, and thus has had time to establish itself, its businesses and its neighborhoods, as well as assert its importance within the city.  As it has become more centrally located within Mumbai between two major train routes, Dharavi has become a focus for the city, particularly the politicians.  Multiple redevelopments have been attempted, however, the only truly successful ones included community involvement (Sharma xviii).  A sense of belonging to a group is part of what sets Dharavi apart from many densely populated areas of the world.  People can connect over their common struggle to move upward in society as well as over cultural similarities.

Inhabitants of slums in Mumbai, like the dabbawalas, often live with a group from their home town.  This strengthens the sense of community, and promotes a peaceful environment, not a violent one as many people assume.  For much of its existence Dharavi has been a relatively peaceful place to live. There have been religious riots in recent years, but previous to that, there were seemingly few problems.  This indicates that even in an area of such density containing an enormous variety of people, governmental control is not necessarily the only solution.

Most importantly, while much of the world is in a state of economic distress, Dharavi has avoided many of the problems that come with government involvement in the economy.  As a result, “almost everyone seems to be employed in some kind of work. And many have prospered through a mixture of hard work, some luck and a great deal of ingenuity” (Sharma xxxv).  This is not to say that the working conditions are safe or healthy, quite the contrary, they certainly need to be addressed, but at least many of the residents of Dharavi are employed (Sharma xviii).  The availability of jobs also allows for social mobility, giving many the hope for a rags to riches story of their own.  This is a promising  aspect of the extra-governmental society that has formed within Mumbai, which proves that even without government control, economies can flourish.

Many people consider squatter settlements to be disorganized in every way solely because they often appear so in their physical layout.  With a closer look at Dharavi, it is made clear that just because it do not follow government standards, that does not mean that it is a disorganized place.  In fact, the complex network of dabbawalas that Percot describes illustrates that intense focus on detail and planning.  Without each person being in exactly the correct place at the correct time, the system would fall apart.

The dabbawalas are the perfect example of the successes of informal settlements.  They function as a single organized entity with a complex set of rules that govern their jobs.  They have created a system of symbols that when paired with their extensive route planning allows them to have an efficient system of deliveries throughout Mumbai (Percot 8).  These men all belong to a single community, from a single area of India, so they have a strong sense of solidarity, as well as social control within their group (Percot 4).  Stories like those of the dabbawalas are what make Dharavi such a unique settlement with incredible potential.  They express the highly organized social and economic system that has grown within an ‘illegal’ community.

 

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.

Percot, Marie. “Dabbawalas, Tiffin Carriers of Mumbai: Answering a Need for Specific Catering.”

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

Illegitimacy Becoming Legitimate

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The situation within Mumbai shows that a strong and complex relationship exits between those in the city that are illegitimate, the “kinetic city” and those that are legitimate, the “static city”. [1] This relationship is, in a way, self-serving in how the static city legitimizes the kinetic city. Mehrotra depicts the kinetic city as brushed under the rug to make room for the static city, but the physical girth of the kinetic city has made that less of an option. Therefore the static city has no choice but to acknowledge the presence of the kinetic city. This acknowledgement of the kinetic city, is more then simply an acknowledgement of a problem but more a confession. The static city had in a way denied the existence of the kinetic city.

This new acceptance alters the relationship that exists between the static and kinetic city. The static city, the city of the working class has legitimacy. The inhabitants that make up the static city follow the norms of the established society with all the legal ramifications and standards that come with it. They have legitimacy as a people and as individuals. The static city did not have the legitimacy. But the new relationship between the two gives the static city legitimacy. As the kinetic city grew and became more complex it forced it self into a position where it had to coexists with the static city. This created the opportunity for interaction.

The dabbawalas are an example of this legitimacy and interaction. The working class of Mumbai, the static city, and the dabbawalas, the kinetic city, exists in a homeostatic relationship. The dabbawalas need the socially motivated wishes of the working class to have a home cooked meal for lunch as to provide them with jobs while the static city needs the dabbawalas to indulge there wishes. [2] This relationship forces the working class to realize the existence of the kinetic city. This admittance of existence is what gives the static city its legitimacy. The working class is now integrating the lower class into existence.

This legitimacy has effects on both the kinetic city and the static city. If the kinetic city was to be threatened then the static city too will change. If the dabbawalas cannot do there job because the trains stop working then the static city loses it home cooked lunch on a day to day basis. The static city has now become dependent on the survival of he kinetic city and the systems and infrastructure that maintains the institution of the dabbawalas and the kinetic city.

This is based on the idea that the static city legitimized the kinetic city, but it is very possible that the kinetic city delegitimizes the static city. If the static city has become dependent on the kinetic city and the practices of the kinetic city, with out directly altering the nature of the kinetic city, yet becoming dependent of the kinetic city it can be said that the kinetic city is the instigator of change.

 

[1] “Living in the Endless City”, Rahul Mehrotra. pg 108.

[2]” Dabbawalas, Tiffin Carriers of Mumbai: Answering a Need for Specific Catering”, Marie Percot. pg. 2