Housing - 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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…