Koliwada's are fishing hamlets in Mumbai city and unlike most settlements, they extend beyond terrestrial boundaries. The waters of rivers, creeks and seas, all form part of an amphibious habitat that is integral and deeply familiar to the Kolis.
We are taking the Design Comes as We Build project to the next level - the Homegrown Street!
Two short videos present the Homegrown Street Project in Sangam Gully, Dharavi, Mumbai.
On how self-built structures in cities claim legitimacy bit by bit - A comparison between Mumbai and Philadelphia
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.
UPDATED: A photo essay narrating the experience of making the model of Afzar Ali’s house in Sangam Gully Dharavi. A G+3 structure designed by Giriraj, a contractor from Dharavi
In the third part of this series, we explored the elaborate process that goes into embroidery (locally known as zari work).
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.
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
Study of the multifunctionality of houses in Sangam Gully through visuals
urbz founders Rahul Srivastava and Matias Echanove reflect on community-driven placemaking in the Indian metropolis.
In this article, we travel to Cape Town in the western capes of South Africa. The homegrown settlements in Cape town have emerged from occupations of underutilized buildings and vacant lands in peripheries of the city. ‘Occupations’ in Cape Town act as points of contact and interaction between homegrown communities, grassroots housing movements, and the city’s planning institutions.
We continue across the border to Karail, a basti (neighbourhood) in Dhaka, Bangladesh to understand homegrown settlements and their formation.
Article in The Asian Age about local development initiatives in Dharavi (Mumbai), which urbz supported.
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).
Not all is worthy of the bin! Our latest column in The Hindu explores features of Indian urbanism that could inspire cities around the world. (The Hindu 24.09.2017)
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 improving.
We produced everyday-life objects based on the specific needs of residents and the skills available in the Shivaji Nagar area in Mumbai.
