Dharavi, widely known as Asia’s largest slum, is home to more than a million people and characterized by its prime location in the middle of India’s commercial and financial capital of Mumbai. With significant government and market pressure to develop into a world-class city, and increasing population growth continuing to limit housing opportunities, the fate of Dharavi has become a highly contested and politicized issue (Boano, Lamarca & Hunter 2011). In light of this pressing problem, this essay will provide an overview and description of Dharavi, an outline of the key housing issues and challenges that the government and stakeholders face, and an analysis of housing policy initiatives.
Overview of the city’s/neighborhoods general characteristics
Dharavi is situated on prime real estate in the heart of Mumbai, encompassing almost 293 hectares and housing between 700,000 and 1.2 million residents (Chatterji 2005, p. 198; Sharma 2000). From a distance, a view of Mumbai city exposes the very stark divide between the rich and abject poor; decrepit informal huts made of mud, brick, asbestos and garbage (Desai 1988, p. 71), set against a backdrop of modern million dollar skyscrapers (figure 1). Contrary to this depiction though, Dharavi also stands out for its lively and prosperous informal economy in small-scale industry, handicrafts and recycling (SPARC 2010); that employs over 80% of Dharavi’s residents and produces an annual turnover of over $500 million a year (BUDD 2009; The Economist 2005, p. 43). As a slum, Dharavi is therefore unique in the fact that it is characterized as both a residential and industrial area, a feature that has greatly influenced both the tolerance and encouragement of its existence (Sharma 2000) .
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Sudhir Venkatesh’s ethnography Gang Leader for a Day is a summary of his research through the University of Chicago in the 1990s. Venkatesh chose to do research on poor African-Americans in Chicago, and their experiences in public housing developments. He concentrated his study on the Robert Taylor Housing to better understand how residents lived and differentiated from those in other parts of the city. Venkatesh’s target population was those living in harsh living conditions, primarily black and poor. Throughout this paper, I will be addressing Venkatesh’s research and its limitations. I will also share my opinion on Venkatesh’s analysis and understanding of his findings about the residents, and how his experiences mesh with my own. In
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In the second chapter of the book "Planet of Slums," Mike Davis seeks to answer what characteristics and types of slums are prevalent in different parts of the world. Davis continues his startled, alarmed, disgruntled and depressing tone from the previous chapter. Overall, the chapter is divided into two parts. The first part attempts to explore and examine the global slum census, and the other part describes the various slum typologies
“Understanding people who are homeless also plays a very important role – as many poor people who are being provided homes through government schemes are renting their homes to others and they are going back to their previous dwellings (slums/huts). The solution to slums is not to evict people, or to eradicate the dwellings, but to create conditions so that people can improve their own dwellings, with the assistance of the community. One of the best ways to do that is by giving slum-dwellers security of tenure, so they know they are protected against arbitrary, unfair, or illegal eviction. If people know that, even if they only make a couple of hundred dollars a year, which many people do, they'll spend money improving their house that they wouldn't otherwise do if they were afraid of being evicted. If governments acted in partnership with people in this way, many good things could
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Mike Davis in his book Planet of Slums, discusses the Third World and the impact globalization and industrialization has on both urban and poverty stricken cities. The growth of urbanization has not only grown the middle class wealth, but has also created an urban poor who live side by side in the city of the wealthy. Planet of Slums reveals astonishing facts about the lives of people who live in poverty, and how globalization and the increase of wealth for the urban class only hurts those people and that the increase of slums every year may eventually lead to the downfall of the earth. “Since 1970 the larger share of world urban population growth has been absorbed by slum communities on the periphery of Third World cities” (Davis 37). Specifically,
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This paper will be predominantly focusing on public housing within Ontario. Not only will it look at the basics of Ontario but examine more directly on Regent Park within Toronto. It will discuss what public housing is and the explanation for why it exists, the government housing programs that are present with regards to public housing and the results of the government programs. The Purpose of this essay is to argue that the problem of public housing will never
Set in the slums of India’s Mumbai district, Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo guides readers into the undercity of Annawadi. Separated from the flourishing world city merely by “a coconut-tree-lined thoroughfare”(Boo 68) and billboards, illegally residing residents of Annawadi lives and stories are documented by Boo during her stay. As residents acclimate to her presence, they continue with their daily lives, and her work follows. From the female slumlord who dreams to hold power to the young boy with his head in the clouds, Behind displays the hopes that even the poorest and richest people have: to be better than their surroundings. But below these aspirations lies darker routes to success, including corruption. Forevers warns
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For example people living in Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi, who have poor housing conditions with poor schools and lack of employment opportunities, may be denied to other opportunities which other sections of society posses. Banks might refuse loan opportunities due to lack of collaterals, insurance companies might reject their applications, or an opportunity of employment might be taken away from a deserving person due to personal and past records. It can also be possible that people themselves might exclude themselves from society’s mainstream. Individuals might drop out of education or turn down a job opportunity or due to lack of confidence, self-esteem and self-value. This might happen due to interaction between human agency and responsibility or social forces might shape people’s views and situations. (Giddens,
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