Archives - Question of Cities

Dharavi makeover: Public loss, private gain in this mother of all redevelopment projects

Among the largest informal settlements in the world, Dharavi in Mumbai, is finally set to undergo redevelopment. Aptly called an informal city within a city, the vibrant settlement, though lacking in basic amenities, is home to nearly a million people…

25 years on, Mumbai’s SRA model eludes housing crisis but yields hefty profits for builders

When slum dwellers are rehabilitated, they face a new set of problems and challenges. They are pushed into cramped tenements in multi-storeyed buildings, and their struggles continue. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) model became the default way to rehouse slum…

Mumbai needs a master plan for slum land, not mere populism

Slum land was seen as a huge profitable space in which slum dwellers could be pushed into small areas while the larger spaces could be used to construct five-star hotels and homes. When the Slum Rehabilitation Authority was launched in…

Insider accounts of precarious lives in a slum and a resettlement colony

What does it mean to live in a slum not only devoid of basic amenities – where even auto rickshaws refuse to ply – but also under the constant threat of demolition? What does it take to rebuild a life…

Mumbai: The way forward from slums to affordable housing

That Mumbai’s slums are a perpetual feature of the city and there is not enough land for affordable housing are manufactured myths. It is possible to use slum land to make affordable houses. A scheme for the redevelopment of slums,…

Housing as a way to claim citizenship and exercise rights in Indian cities

The city is a key site where various notions of citizenship are claimed and contested. Since much of urban India lives and works in the realm of “informality”, urban residents often gain their rights over housing not through formal legal…

Jaga: Odisha’s land title to slum dwellers worthy of emulation

In a landmark move, pushed by slum dwellers’ movements, the Odisha government introduced a law which made the Jaga Mission possible. Instead of evicting slum dwellers from nearly 3,000 slums in its cities, including from prime areas in the capital…

India’s urban housing crisis: Chasing the affordable dream

Cities in India are centres of commercial activity and infrastructure development. The urban poor, often employed as informal labour, live in informal settlements because they cannot afford houses in cities. With the urban population set to increase, the shortage of…

Living the homeless life as Delhi’s shelter homes lie vacant

With thousands of shelterless people battling Delhi’s inclement weather on the streets, the Right to the City seems to be a far-fetched dream. Most pavements and spaces under flyovers in India’s capital, Delhi, have people living there. The number of…

Story of slums in laws, judgments, and housing schemes

As the number of homeless and urban poor multiply in cities, adequate housing remains a complex issue that governments have neglected. The Right to Life under Article 21 has been interpreted by courts to mean a life of dignity which…