Quantify or Qualify?

This post reflects on the methodological challenges faced in our ongoing research on Gendered Mobility and Climate Action.

Is Climate Change Man Made?

The second blog in the series on Gendered Mobility and Climate Action discusses the methodology and approach we used to conduct the research.

Legitimising the Self-Built

On how self-built structures in cities claim legitimacy bit by bit - A comparison between Mumbai and Philadelphia

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.

Comunidades: Foundations for a Sustainable Habitat?

This post provides a historical overview to further understand Goa’s complex rural-urban systems. The aim of this series is to develop a vision for its future that builds on a close reading of its past and engaging actively with its present.

Khotachiwadi Calling

urbz would like to invite everyone who is interested in learning about and taking action to address the current situation in Khotachiwadi. We will go over the previous studies and reports once more and speak about how we can take simple measures to reconsider the recommendations made in prior reports, as well as fresh recommendations from residents and experts.

Men of Steel

A look into the collective intelligence of Khetwadi’s steel artisans.

Beyond the Urban-Rural Binary: France, Italy and Goa

This is the second part of the Goa- Beyond the Urban-Rural Binary which explores how Goa represents a distinctive pattern of urbanization, representing the coevolution of its countryside and urban centres.

The View Out

Metal enclosures within Homegrown Developments of Dharavi

3 X 3

Understanding spatial optimization for commercial spaces in homegrown neighborhoods.

The Way Up

Vertical Accessibility within Homegrown Developments of Dharavi

Goa - Beyond the Urban-Rural Binary

The first of two posts looking at how Goa represents a distinctive pattern of urbanization, representing a coevolution of its countryside and urban centers.

Tokyo - Mess is More

Long dismissed as an urban mess, a weird by-product of Japan’s fantastic rise to economic prominence in the postwar period, Tokyo is gaining renewed attention as a model of urban development and management.

India and Jugaad: The Design Comes As We Build

This essay discusses urbz' "The Design Comes As We Build" project which recognizes local builders in homegrown settlements by providing them a space to showcase their design imagination. You can access it here

The Making of Leather Goods

In the second part of this series, we explore two leather workshops near the 90 feet road in Dharavi, to understand where and how all processes in the creation of leather products are carried out.

Hyperlocal: Travelling without moving

This text explores some reflections Andreas Ruby started to develop when participating in the workshop "Limites x Limites", organised by Aidec and ConstructLab, which questioned the uses and design of a future park in Geneva's iconic neighbourhood "Jonction".

A day's work at Kumbharwada

In a new series, we re-explore the homegrown streets of Dharavi in search of local arts and crafts. First in the series- Dharavi's famous Kumbharwada

Dharavi works

Dharavi works is a series of projects designed in Mumbai by urbz in partnership with local inhabitants and contractors.

ICRC Campus

urbz is working on a comprehensive plan for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) HQ in Geneva. About 1200 people work in Geneva and another 20,000 work in over 100 conflict zones around the world

The IFRC Park will be open to the public

IFRC Park

The urbz team is working with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) in Geneva on a participatory landscape design involving staff, neighbors and partners.

Gendered Mobility and Climate Action

This project is undertaken under the C40 Women For Climate mentorship program, Mumbai in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra. The Mentee, Vidisha Dhar, is supported by Lubaina Rangwala (WRI), urbz

urbz Goa

urbz has been engaged in Goa for over a decade through our office in Aldona. Our work in Goa is mostly centred around research on various aspects of Goa's urbanism that challenge the urban-rural binary. In the

Participatory process Onex-Centre

urbz is working with the Municipality of Onex in Geneva, putting together a participatory process to evaluate and contribute to a master plan aiming at improving the quality of life, providing new housing and

Covid-19 in Dharavi

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 urbz has been researching its effect on the people of Dharavi. 

Project Étoile

urbz has been mandated by the State of Geneva to develop a concept and program that integrates living, working and culture for a 60,000 m2 mixed used development in the city’s new downtown.

Handstorm in Dharavi

Our annual Handstorm workshops in Dharavi with the "Engineers for Social Impact" from NYU Abu Dhabi generate incremental innovations that improve the quality of life in this massive settlement

Urban Typhoon Kochi, June 4-9, 2019

June 4-9, 2019

The Urban Typhoon workshop in Kochi is open to all citizens and visitors interested in working in urban areas and are willing to engage with communities participation. Together we will explore

Riponne-Tunnel

urbz is carrying a 18 month long participatory process to redefine the two largest public squares in Lausanne (Switzerland). / urbz conduit une démarche participative de 18 mois visant à réimaginer les deux

Koliwada Charcha

The exhibition Koliwada Charcha is an attempt at understanding the essence of Dharavi Koliwada's architectural and visual language. 

Point-du-Jour

Public consultation for a densification project in Geneva / Démarche de concertation pour un projet de densification au Petit-Saconnex, Genève.

Circulatory Urbanism

For the past 5 years, urbz has been following families who's lives are spread between Mumbai and their ancestral villages in the Konkan (Western India).

pots in kumbharwada

Make in Dharavi

This series of interviews portrays the economic life of Dharavi in Mumbai through the activities of its inhabitants.

Delta V

Project de quartier participatif à Versoix, Genève (09.2017 - 02.2019)
Participation planning project in Geneva, Switzerland.

Proyecto Manila

Building a Community center by understanding social dynamics and participatory planning in a homegrown neighborhood in Bogota

Ecoparc Meyrin

Concertation pour faire émerger un nouveau concept d’EcoParc pour la zone industrielle de Meyrin.
 

Shinbisum

Generating new models for participatory development for Ulleung island in South Korea

Mashup workshops

The mashup workshops take many different forms and happen in all kinds of places. They take specific neighbourhoods as sources of inspiration and unleash a maximum of creativity onto them!

Homegrown cities

This experiment in affordable housing led to the co-designing and construction of a small house in Shivaji Nagar, in Govandi. A neighbourhood in Mumbai that is struggling against all odds to keep growing and

The Design Comes as We Build

urbz invited local builders from Dharavi to design the best possible house they could imagine. These designs were translated into physical models by artisans. 

Homegrown Things

We produced everyday-life objects based on the specific needs of residents and the skills available in the Shivaji Nagar area in Mumbai.

Khotachiwadi

urbz has been involved with the heritage precinct of Khotachiwadi for nearly a decade. We have organized many events workshops there and produced a strategic plan for the area among other things.

Cultura Fertilis

Étude d’opportunité pour un équipement culture d'importance majeur à future place de l'Étoie (PAV).
Opportunity study for a major cultural center in the planned neighbourhood of PAV in Geneva.

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.

Bareilly Street

Studies, workshops, street exhibition and plans towards making a small square in Dharavi children friendly

Vers des chantier furtifs

Enquête de terrain pour améliorer l’expérience des usagers durant les travaux de construction en ville, avec COLAS SA et le laboratoire de sociologie urbaine (LaSUR), EPFL.
Field research on how to improve the

Breaking Ground

Stratégies pour la densification participatives et graduelle des zones villas à Genève.
Strategies for the incremental and participatory densification of residential suburbs in Geneva.

Genève

urbz est un collectif spécialisé dans la programmation urbaine et la gouvernance participative.

Urban Typhoon

Urban Typhoon is a 5 days long workshop taking place working with local associations to generate programmes and plans for the improvement or preservation of neighbourhoods.