Publications

Place, Work, Folk

Place, Work, Folk is a fortnightly column in The Hindu Sunday Magazine by Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava, which is inspired by Patrick Geddes and analyzes current urban issues in India and beyond.

The Village Inside / The Slum Outside

Bringing knowledge and skills from their villages, generations of Dharavi residents have pushed the slum outside of their homes, streets and neighbourhoods. Isn't it time we recognize and support their efforts? We compile and republish two texts originally published by New Village Press in New York and Strelka University Press in Moscow. 

The Golden Thread

One among the many ways of watching Nishtha Jain’s exquisite documentary, ‘The Golden Thread’ (2022), is by following the imagination of urbanist Patrick Geddes.

Marginality, Climate Crisis, and the Right to the City: The future of participatory urbanism in the US

In a global context, populations marginalized because of race, class, gender, creed, etc. are those most incessantly stripped of this right to design the city in their own image within formalized constraints. In this way, the “informal” urban process of self-construction is inherently a product of this same marginality that excludes these groups from “formalized” city-making.

Cultura Fertilis_urbz_2018

Opportunity study for a major cultural center in the new central business district of Geneva. Sorry it is in French. It has nice illustrations though! :)

Beyond the informal

This essay looks at the theoretical and practical implications of a much used and abused notion in urban planning and development circles, that of ‘informal settlements’.

urbz in the news

Article in The Asian Age about local development initiatives in Dharavi (Mumbai), which urbz supported.

"I studied for 2 years after marriage"

Radha is a passionate tuition teacher, and she is proud of her contribution to the education of many students. She discusses the importance of education in Dharavi.

"Mumbai Return" - The Catalogue

The future of Indian cities and villages is resolutely networked and circulatory. Revisit or discover the "Mumbai Return" exhibition, just a year after it was shown at Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum. (13.6MB)