Urban Design Studio: Mumbai’s Eastern Waterfront
January 2009

Urban Design Program
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Columbia University, New York

The site

The context of the studio will be the 30 km of shoreline on the eastern coast of Mumbai, one of the richest cities in Asia in economic as well as cultural terms, but also one where over 60% of the people live in informal settlements without adequate infrastructure. Within this, the studio will focus on the docklands, which were the raison d’être of Mumbai’s founding and development till recently.  Mumbai Port Trust owns approximately 1800 acres of this land between Colaba’s Sasoon docks and Wadala. These were previously used for container yards, warehouses and ship repairing. With the moving of the port activities to the more modern container port across the harbor, this premier land situated in the Mumbai Island is underutilized for marginal activities such as ship breaking and recycling. The shape this redevelopment will take will deeply impact the future of Mumbai.

The redevelopment involves major ecological and social issues such as the displacement of dockworker communities and their livelihood. It also has the potential to provide much needed public space and amenities in the densest city in the world (22,000 persons per square kilometer).  However, the issues of such developments are complex, as seen in the Mill Land redevelopment just a few years ago, where the land got sold off to developers who quickly built luxury housing for profits. This occurred in spite of the vocal opposition of NGOs and prominent architects and planners who lobbied for holistic development that would provide housing and amenities to all segments of Mumbai’s society.

Above all, the Mumbai Eastern Waterfront project needs to balance the following conflicting needs:

-      Environmental concerns with the pressure for speculative real-estate development

-      Interest of owners and developers vs. that of residents and workers.

-      Interest of stakeholders and residents vs. citywide and regional interests

EWF Website: http://ewf.urbz.net

Issues

1.    Waterfront sustainability in the context of the Mumbai estuary: reclamation in the face of sea level rise, flooding and monsoons.

2.    Pollution of the Eastern Waterfront and destruction of the marine ecology.

3.    Social equity, rights of the people who are currently living in the docklands and working in Mumbai’s informal economy.

4.    Potential of the waterfront as a new public space for Mumbai.

5.    Provision of affordable housing on the site.

6.    Historic preservation of the docklands fabric, and local histories.

7.    Transportation infrastructure to connect the Eastern Waterfront with the rest of the city and New Mumbai, across the harbor.

Locations

1. Colaba – Gateway: Tourism

2. Chor Bazaar, Other Bazaars: Dock related informal economy.

3. Mazagaon – Matharpakadi: Colonial Heritage Neighbouhourhood.

4. PD’Mello Road: Informal Habitats and settlements, Relocation, Rehabilitation

5. Sewri: Infrastructural projects, links with New Mumbai, Environmental Impact, Mangroves

6. Wadala: Emerging High-rise Landscapes, Salt pan land Conversion.

Download CAD Map of Bombay (45MB Download)