Abstract:
In India, millions of people flow towards cities everyday in search of better living.
However this flow increases the pressure on those cities to fulfil their basic
needs. As a result, what those people get is a sub-standard way of living with no
proper shelter and infrastructure.
In order to provide benefit to other stakeholders who get stuck in this urban
encroachments, government launches housing for rehabilitation or relocation of
slum dwellers. However, such rehabilitation schemes are insensitive to the needs
of the slum dwellers. They are forced to live in conditions which do not suit their
lifestyle. As a result, many of them move out and settle or form another slum in
some other part of city. At worst, they don’t shift at all in the new housing. Hence,
money and resources invested in rehabilitation go in vain.
If such situation continues, then all the schemes leading to slum rehabilitation
would ultimately fail and ‘Housing for All’ would only remain a far-off dream.
Therefore, in order to make such schemes a success, it is important to
understand the needs of the slum dwellers and design accordingly. Rehabilitation
housing should not only fulfil their basic needs but also empower them to grow.
Dharavi, being one of the largest slums in the world is to get redeveloped by the
government. However, if the current situation of the slum rehabilitation projects
becomes a future of Dharavi, then it would lead to massive failure of huge
scheme. Another challenge associated with Dharavi is that it is a densely
populated area which makes the rehabilitation more difficult. Additionally, as the
land prices in Mumbai are very high, optimum utilisation of space is a key factor
governing any housing development in Mumbai. Is it possible to come up with a
solution that takes into considerations these constraints and still prove beneficial
for all the stakeholders involved? The research attempts in deriving such solution.
