The final article as part of the Three Ways of Doing Workshop features urbz. As an urban practise urbz has situated itself in Dharavi for more than a decade and a half and have focused on community-driven placemaking. urbz was founded by Rahul Srivastava and Matias Echanove and the organisation was born from the idea that residents are experts of their neighbourhood and participatory approach in urban design complements process and form. 

urbz’ model of practice has been foundational in understanding people-driven design, the value of co-creation at the neighbourhood level, and the significance of civic participation in planning processes. The process is complemented by the understanding that there are different skills in the urban process beyond architecture including anthropology, engineering, economics, and to my benefit, public policy and practice. urbz has spent the last 15 years in the neighbourhood of Dharavi, actively participating in the user-driven evolution of material and social life, through which they were able to conceptualise the ABCD of Dharavi Koliwada.   

The ABCD of Dharavi Koliwada where ABCD stands for Action-Based Comprehensive Development Plan for Koliwada in Dharavi is a series of urban in situ interventions that aims at engaging the community of Koliwada in the production of a comprehensive plan for the environmental, economic, and spatial improvement of Koliwada. Instead of relying on a conventional blueprint approach to planning where the nuances of lived experiences are often omitted, urbz aimed at relying on civic engagement and community participation in planning. The idea behind the project is to co-design social spaces within the neighbourhood through the perspective of its users. To achieve this, urbz facilitated interactions with community members through Charchas (Discussions) which helped in identifying the specific needs of the community. The process is a comprehensive blend of in-depth discussions and constant deliberations where ideas were continuously altered according to the feedback received from the community. It embodies a bottom-up approach in participatory urbanism which analyses the vision of people that frequent the urban context. 

What inspired me to engage with urbz is its interdisciplinary approach. Rather than working in silos, urbz believes that every discipline has much to offer to complement the social and spatial lives of people in Dharavi. As a policy student, a key takeaway from urbz’s work has been understanding the concept of social licensing, particularly in the context of the proposed redevelopment policy imposed on the lives of people in Dharavi. Social License is a critical component of participatory urbanism where building trust and dialogues in the locality takes precedence over a top-down approach. This is also a component that I feel is invariably missing from plutocratic policy-making which is consistently highlighted throughout their practice.  

Another critical aspect of policymaking is recognising the role of semantics in shaping policy frameworks. Words like Slum to describe Dharavi often carry biases that represent the place as marginal or problematic. For people in Dharavi, slum is a negative construct that powerful outside forces impose upon them. ‘Those who embrace the word, use it to describe what they assume are indisputable realities: warped places, injured and criminal people, and poor living conditions. Slum talk misrepresents poor neighbourhoods and the residents as being deficient, disordered, and unchanging whereas disadvantaged households and communities display strategy, energy, and resilience in the face of hardship.’ (Mayne, 2017) 

Urbz has been working to de-stigmatise the narrative surrounding Dharavi presenting it not as a slum but rather a ‘Homegrown Neighbourhood’ in the heart of the city. The term homegrown is used to describe settlements that are developed organically from within by users and inhabitants over several generations; it reflects the continuous updating of shelters and businesses by residents over generations. Homegrown settlements according to Matius and Rahul are gateways to a better life. By negotiating claims over occupancy people can reduce costs by leveraging form to generate capital. People typically add a floor on their existing structure to rent out or create a work-shop space. A reason that communities in Dharavi thrive is because its neighbourhood creates opportunities for its inhabitants. 

A key tool for urbz and its urban projects is the use of fiction to make us conscious of the power of imagination. Fiction guides action. As part of our participatory urbanism drive we have used fictional devices where residents brainstormed and imagined expanded ways of understanding a site which eventually is produced as short stories, poetry and screenplays. In Dharavi 2025, published by Mumbai Readers, Rahul and Matius have used fiction as an imaginative tool to recognise patterns and potential that eventually has guided urbz’ vision and practice. ‘Creating a new fictional imaginary was a move towards what we consider a valuable starting point in urban practice - 'recognition'. A way of seeing that transforms our understanding of urban spaces by helping us navigate prejudice and expectation, dreams and aspirations in more creative ways. It makes us re-look at spaces differently.’  (Rahul & Matias, 2024)

Planning, Policy Making and Collaborative Efforts

Planning which is the future of India shouldn't be restricted to a particular discipline. A fundamental failure in the Indian framework of understanding knowledge is how people and departments work in silos. I believe that activists, artists, financial experts, architects and planners should engage in open dialogues and collaborative conversations to foster planning processes that are free of rigid hierarchies. At a time when inequality is rising and there are larger pockets of people left behind from the scope of development, architects and activists who are outside the purview of the state (administratively) should be able to influence the reimagination of law and planning frameworks in India.  

Our Conversations continue, not confined to the four walls of an office but extending to dialogues with community members, urban local bodies, local contractors and people we encounter daily all contributing to our understanding of the complexities and quality of urban life. At the heart of participatory urbanism is a shared commitment of the three practices to keep the voices of people at the centre. While tools and pedagogies may vary, the guiding principle is similar: meaningful inclusive development through active civic engagement.  

References 

1. Mayne, A. (2017). Slums: The History of a Global Injustice. Reaktion Books.

2. Rahul, & Matias. (n.d.). Dharavi 2025. Mumbai Reader. https://www.udri.org/wp-content/uploads/Mumbai%20Reader/MR%207/18%20Notes%20from%20the%20Future%20Maria%E2%80%99s%20Return%20-%20Dharavi%202025.pdf

3. Rahul, & Matias. (2024). Fiction In Urban Practice. Urbz. https://urbz.net/articles/fiction-urban-practice