Tag Archives: Dharavi

The Right to the City Determined By Identity

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Dharavi, one of the biggest slum settlements, is worth $2 billion. With the booming population of today’s world, and the lack of land to build on, there is clearly a lot of attention to such settlements. David Harvey’s, The Right to the City, talks about the “most precious yet most neglected” human right to build and rebuild the city. (Harvey 35) So, say the government took over the land and moved the people from this settlement, what would that mean for the displaced people? The Indian Constitution states that they have a responsibility to “protect the lives and well-being of the whole population, irrespective of caste or class” – as almost any such document will say. (Harvey 35) Do they even deserve to be there in the first place? The Supreme Court believes that to go by such a ‘responsibility’ would be “rewarding pick pockets”… Harsh comment, but does the Supreme Court have a point? The title of Harvey’s article, Right to the City, can, by nature, be interpreted in many different ways from many different opinions. Who owns this right? 

When talking about New York City, Harvey hypothesizes that there is going to be a “Financial Katrina”, where many of the low income neighborhoods, drowning in debt, will be cleared out. Will this then act as a blank-slate-like environment where those parts of the city could be planned again? Will there be planned developments to these parts of the city for the real-estate companies to make millions over? Thinking towards the sense of identity that is discussed in the excerpt from S, M, L, XL, what would be appropriate for the identity of such a place? Take a look at Dubai; a city which grew in just a decade or two, essentially the quintessential blank slate for an architect’s pen and paper. But what comes from the hundreds of developments and thousands of new homes that are being erected at an unimaginable rate. Dubai is essentially the airport city, “not only multiracial, also multicultural.” (Koolhaas 1252) One can even argue that with the collage of all sorts of projects, it lacks identity.

Look back to Dharavi, and compare it to Dubai in terms of identity. As Koolhaas describes, “The stronger identity .. the more it resists expansion, interpretation, renewal, contradiction.” (Koolhaas 1248) So while certain parts of New York City may undergo a kind of “Financial Katrina”, and may be more open ended to be able to absorb a variety of developments, what would happen to a place like Dharavi if the government did take over? With clearly a strong sense of identity, how much would this $2 billion land being drooled over but certain professions actually allow to take place? When talking about possibility of even more developments in certain parts of the world, Harvey argues that there have been no “coherent opposition to these developments in the twenty-first century.” (Harvey 39) Yes, there have, in my opinion based on these readings. Dharavi keeps itself from becoming the generic city as described in S, M, L, XL. While the right to the city, whether it’s yours or mine, is certainly there, at times there is a sense of history that has written the course of the natural development of the city.

 

Works Cited

Harvey, David. “New Left Review – David Harvey: The Right to the City.” New Left Review – David Harvey: The Right to the City. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

Koolhaas, Rem, and Bruce Mau. S M L XL: OMA. S.l.: S.n., 1993. Print.

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

Static/Kinetic: An Intertwined Boundary

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Reading about the static and kinetic components of a city is a fascinating idea that creates a multitude of opportunities. The relationship between the two means for unique moments of interventions in the interstitial space between the two city identities. More opportunities come up when one considers the temporary characteristic of the kinetic city. It constantly modifies itself, and therefore is naturally created by materials with a temporary characteristic; as opposed to the more permanent, and common, building blocks of the static city. (Burdett 108) I find it particularly interesting when the reading begins to subtly label the kinetic city as having more of a ‘cultural memory’ as opposed to the static city which is, once again, subtly labeled as being more ‘object-centric (devoid of life)’. (Burdett 111) Furthermore, the issue of boundary, something that was also brought up last week when referring to the boundary of the formal and the informal market, an area Urban Think Thank referred to as Urban Acupuncture, is brought up again this week when discussing the boundary between the static and the kinetic city. An example given in the reading is the porch-like structure that is built by the PWD and attached to a building to protect the people from monsoons. What made me curious about this event was that the already-curious-boundary between the kinetic and static all of a sudden become even more blurred, in a symbolic sense, than they already are as the kinetic city clearly expands itself into the static, even if it’s momentarily. It raises quite a few questions, such as how the people living in the formal and static city respond to the informal and the formal city. While many of these readings are written from the point of view of the residents of the slums and their way of life, it might be interesting to see how the formal population sees it. How would they feel about a temporary structure that is attached to their building?

Looking at Rediscovering Dharavi, a small portion of the reading discusses a “a time when it was seriously argued that efforts should not be made to ease the lives of the urban poo by providing them basic urban services or house, because then many more of their kin would rush to the city.” (Sharma 37) Yes, argued that efforts should not be made. Recognizing that the government, or the people in charge of making such decisions, is part of the formal market and the static city, it is an interesting notion that such a train of thought actually existed at one point. Of course, by the 1980s, this kind of thought was scrapped and a more humane approach towards the topic was achieved. In fact, it is hard to label the government as being inhumane by thinking in that way because, “a place like Dharavi poses several difficult challenges for the government.” (Sharma 37) Part of the book discusses a what-if scenario: what if the government had anticipated the fast growth of Mumbai, and invested in low-cost, low-income housing for migrant workers? “Some of the present crisis that the city faces would have been averted.” (Sharma 35) While there exists a notion of nallah, or the diving line between settlements in Dharavi, one wonders the extent of the boundary between the static and the kinetic, the equivalent of the nallah, on a bigger scale. (Sharma 10) As mentioned earlier in this entry, this idea of the bigger scale nallah, the interstitial space, is what makes the urbanity of Mumbai so interesting.

One cannot deny that the “slum is not a chaotic collection of structures; it is a dynamic collection of individuals.” (Sharma 34) And these individuals, with years of trial and error, have figured out a way to live with each other, to tolerate each other. Not only is this true for the nallah boundary within the slums, but also the greater, more curious boundary between the static and the kinetic. Their coexistence with each other, their sense of being intertwined as a machine which works together, is made apparent with the concept of Dabbawalas. These “tiffin suppliers”, deliver food to thousands of workers across the city. (Percot 1) These informal employees visit the homes of dozens of employees, pick up the food that was prepared for them, and deliver it right to their workplaces. A job that is clearly in the informal sector, but very much thrives on the formal sector. In fact, it has become such a popular industry that it is “elevated to the status of model of Mumbai entrepreneurship.” (Percot 1) The idea of the Dabbawalas is very unique. While many will wonder why the worker won’t just bring his own food to the work place, it is apparent that the density of Mumbai makes it extremely difficult to carry one’s food to work at the peak of rush hour. The idea of the Dabbawala is pure entrepreneurship. Not only does it take a situation which might seem unfortunate for many and turn it into a job that satisfies both sides of the business, but it is a clear demonstration of the intertwined existing of the two economies, formal and informal, and the two cities, static and kinetic.

 

Works Cited

Burdett, Richard, and Deyan Sudjic. 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. Print.

Percot, Marie. “Dabbawalas, Tiffin Carriers of Mumbai: Answering a Need for Specific Catering.” (n.d.): 1-10. Web. <http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/03/54/97/PDF/DABBA.pdf>.

Sharma, Kalpana. Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia’s Largest Slum. New Delhi: Penguin, 2000. Print.

 

Labels and Stereotypes

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Should this be the true representation of a slum?
Photo by Daniel Berehulak/ Getty Images [3]

Tin roofs of different shades put in patterns not made for esthetics but for the sole purpose of keeping rain out, a dilapidated door that creeks, a card board wall with a humidity mark in the shape of heart, trash everywhere and grass ridden areas, one can say these are descriptions of slum conditions given by one who visits from the outside world. However, where in this description might one find the smile given by all the people encountered during the visit or the kindness with which one is treated when visiting each local vendor or the pride and diversity in character/culture found in each habitant of the slum? The fact is that this is very uncommon because sadly talking about such things would not give justice to what we outsiders consider “real” slum dwellers. For some reason there is a criminal connotation that is used when people think of these slums but why is this so? As Kalpana Sharma argues, “ It is this deemed illegal status of informal settlements like Dharavi that makes people presume that they are breeding grounds for criminals and other ‘antisocial’ settlements. And that their crammed condition exacerbates tensions-communal, class or caste. “ [1] Most of these assumptions are more than likely based on stereotypes created by media outputs that have failed to accurately portray the inhabitants of slums in an accurate way.
Dharavi is a slum in Mumbai that is characterized by living conditions that are sometimes not the most favorable ones. Its location in the city has changed in the past due to demolition in order to make way for new “legal” construction projects. However, Dharavi is a place that in itself is a mixture of different religions and cultures from all around India but whose population is extremely crowded into one sector due to large scale migration from rural areas during the latter part of the 1900’s. Furthermore, this combined with “inadequate supply of urban land and the lack of the creation of new urban centers resulted in extremely high density cities.” [2]These habitats of agglomerated living then amount for close interaction of these different people with quite similar goals and for a new kind of city that can be said to be “kinetic”. This elasticity of Dharavi to adapt is mostly based upon the fact of the high velocity with which construction is achieved and the ability to quickly dismount these dwellings due to the recyclability of the construction materials. Moreover, this kinetic behavior can also be seen as the personal adaptation that many of the inhabitants go through to live with people who at times in history they have been in conflict with.
The history that each inhabitant brings from their part of India contributes immensely to the development of the community. It is incredible that even though these groups are so different within themselves they still manage to organize themselves at the micro scale into their religious/cultural groups but come together at the macro scale to work in the informal job sectors and construct a better lives for themselves and the community. The human development of Dharavi is then quite advanced because if we consider a country with so much diversity in terms of languages, culture, and religion coming together in one neighborhood to live at peace then this is an achievement that many parts of the world are still trying to acquire. Consider the density of the population which is “an estimated 18,000 per acre. In this densely packed area you find twenty seven temples, eleven mosques, and six churches.” [1] It is no surprise that what surfaces for these inhabitants are not their less than desirable living conditions but the life stories and character of each individual.
Dharavi as Sharma states, “is the intermingling of the stories of its residents ordinary and extraordinary . Of their lives their histories and the history of the city of Mumbai.” [1]This allows them to create a developed neighborhood in terms of human interaction where acceptance has evolved to become a part of everyday life in order to create harmony and stand against the oppressions of those from the “formal” or “static” city. If we measured the level of human character development and perhaps not so much the material development then maybe we would not be so fast to connote these individuals with titles of criminals.

Discover Dharavi through its people:

1. http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=136

2. http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/06/the-dharavi-slums-of-mumbai-in-photographs/?nggpage=9

Bibliography

1. Sharma Kalpana, Rediscovering Dhavari: stories from Asia’s largest slum ( New Delhi ; New York : Penguin Books, 2000.), xvi-xxxviii.
2. 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.

3.  Berehulak Daniel, Mosaic of Poverty. Time Magazine, From Getty Images, http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1877000_1840436,00.html , Feb 2, 2013

 

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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

Exploding Myths

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When thinking about the attitudes of people living in slums, an assumption that seems easy to make is that the people forced to live in slum conditions will be bitter, depressed, and aggressive to get what they need. This would be linked to crime and violence that should be a regular occurrence in a place packed full of people with an attitude such as this. When compounded with religious tension and rivalry, it should only make matters worse. However, when reading about the slums in Mumbai, India, the opposite is true. Kalpana Sharma describes in his book Rediscovering Dharavi this assumption: “it is this deemed illegal status of informal settlements like Dharavi that makes people presume that they are breeding grounds for criminals and other ‘antisocial’ elements. It is also assumed that the spatial layout of such settlements, where people have no place to breathe and live literally on top of each other, exacerbated tensions – communal, class or caste….[yet] Dharavi explodes these myths.” Even though clashes have happened between the groups of Muslims and Hindus living together, Sharma demonstrates that the statistics are drastically low for this area.

A sense of community and dependence on others and the avoidance of conflict makes sense to cultivate in a slum environment, which benefits all parties involved. When trying to survive and provide for your family and yourself, fear of violence and crime is understandably something to avoid at all costs. In what may be seen as a benefit of this understanding is the link that the Mumbai slums have with the formal city. The connection between the “static city,” the formal, legal construct of Mumbai, and the “kinetic city,” the informal, always-changing slums, can be seen as desirable. Described by Rahul Mehrotra in Living in the Endless City, the attitude of being able to live together despite differences within the slums has become a conduit for the interconnectedness of the poorer class in the kinetic city living and inhabiting Mumbai alongside the static city.

The shared sense of community and survival of the kinetic city, with its drastically impermanent environment and the need to adapt to different neighbors and people groups is something that is worth studying more. In different places where kinetic-static city relationships exist, it would be interesting to observe the relationships between the communities and the individuals who share the same heritage and cultural backgrounds and locations.

In an interesting related post, this article notes the ways in which lower-income families in the Unites States have historically and consistently been more generous in terms of giving money, despite a lacking of it.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120826/LOCAL10/308269954