More than a third of Bogota, the capital of Colombia, is estimated to be self-built by the inhabitants, mainly in the periphery of the city. In this article, we learn from Andrés Sánchez of urbz Colombia about the emerging forms of organisation and constant transformation in these self-built neighborhoods.

Pushpa has been living in Dharavi since she was born. Our day starts with her bright smile as she sells pulses right outside the urbz office. We recently had a little chat with her.

On May 9 - 10 urbz brought together collectives and institutions in Cali, Colombia. This is part of a 6 months project to develop a system to promote locally driven initiatives. 

The Handstorm workshop brought together various actors from all around the world to build things that could improve the neighbourhood based on discussions with residents and with the help of local artisans

The coming together of speculation-driven real estate development and the idea of “public space” has produced weird urban species.

How the Mumbai Metro line 3 could affect Dharavi.

The mangroves of Mumbai are a metaphor for Dharavi - both have managed to survive and thrive in areas where others cannot, are tolerant of difficult conditions, are extremely productive, have far-reaching influence and provide the foundations for larger ecosystems.

Metal enclosures within Homegrown Developments of Dharavi

Spontaneous workshopping through a 10-day-long Exhibition featuring community projects as part of the ABCD of Dharavi Koliwada

Handstorming is the alter-ego of its more cerebral version and geared towards a collective hands-on experience that makes and constructs in real time and space. It was the main mode of operation in our workshop with NYU AD students and produced some impressive and practical tools and objects.