urbz in collaboration with Chaal Chaal Agency and Res Do Chao recently hosted a series of talks to present their projects, emphasising their distinct methodology and varied co-design approaches in participatory urbanism. The discussion underlined the importance of deconstructing conventional narratives on architectural practices and encouraged engagement with communities to understand their needs and aspirations. 

Ideas bloom from conversations. Right before the Three Ways of Doing Workshop, we were stirred in an interesting discussion, Eesha and I. Her, an architecture graduate, and I, a public policy student. Two distinct perspectives coming together to explore how to better understand the world. We joined urbz almost around the same period and working here has pushed us to think beyond conventional narrative. Our conversation was centred around ‘How Designers and Architects are paving the way for policy-makers through unconventional channels and participatory approaches.’ We decided to dig deeper into the intricacies of policy-making through the lens of the three design practises: 

A shared principle across the three practices was the rejection of a one-size-fits-all blueprint for urban development, realising that such a regressive approach could never adequately address the diverse and ever-evolving nature of cities. It isn't to say that urban designers haven't adapted to the normative processes, but policy-making creates several challenges that disrupt their functioning.   

I would not be disillusioned in saying that there is a greater role for architects in urban planning and policy-making. While I support the idea, it also comes with the realisation that normative frameworks upon which urban policies are based haven't been reconceptualised in years. These frameworks are neither comprehensible to the general public nor does it aid the work of architects and urban designers. Urban planning has largely followed a vertical approach where asymmetrical power relations have influenced policymaking. These imbalances in power structures perpetuate inequities, stalling efforts to create truly inclusive cities. A shift in the status quo is required where civic action and community participation are embedded in the policymaking spectrum. It was thus interesting to engage with practices such as urbz, Chaal Chaal Agency and Res Do Chao who envision a collaborative process where the expertise of institutions would empower communities to take charge over urban spaces ensuring that development remains firmly rooted in the aspiration of its people. 

My curiosity regarding these urban intersections led me to have insightful conversations with Chaal Chaal Agency and Res Do Chao. This article presents my conversation with Sebastian Trujillo-Torres of Chaal Chaal Agency, which he co-founded with Kruti Shah. 

I was intrigued by how they came up with the term Chaal Chaal Agency. Sebastian pointed out that it is a play on words. Chaal in Hindi denotes a strategy in the context of a game where the next move is in the process of developing. Whereas Agency has a dual characteristic. One is the collectivisation of people and the other, is a more sociological and philosophical dimension to act outside the normative frameworks and out of pre-established structures of power. Chaal Chaal thus establishes a foundational model of practice that is strategic, playful and collectivised as they ultimately defy structures of power. 

Chaal Chaal Agency’s work in Gujarat has been noteworthy in understanding community-made urban infrastructures through the lens of the Sathwara community in Bhuj, predominantly women street vendors following a circular economy by exchanging vessels for old clothes. Sebastian takes us through CCA’s journey of developing relationships with different people including Activists, NGOs, and community members. They were introduced to the Sathwara community through an organisation called Khoj (NGO) and the National Hawkers Association (NHA). Gradually, through dialogues and mutual exchanges, they were able to decipher the needs of the community and on the other hand, community members started realising how design could complement their livelihood. The process included various mapping processes where they repeatedly indulged in understanding the community's economic model, climatic conditions, and forms of governance leading to the formation of project portable solutions.     

“We tend to imagine vendors as a monolith, where we think they are all the same. The population of vendors in India is much more than the population of most countries in the world. These are people who are extremely diverse in terms of culture and socio-economic backgrounds, many of whom are constantly moving from rural to urban and at times urban to rural. They have their own laws, they have their own organisations and almost every time they have their own kind of way which guides this specialised occupation.” 

 

Vendors in India have self-constructed their guidelines to both conduct commerce in public space and also how to occupy space when doing it. They are a group of highly organized people from diverse socio-economic milieus who are visibly under the purview and radar of the State where the police through institutions have larger supervision over their functioning. Not even a Hafta, (a bribe paid by hawkers to let them hawk in public spaces) has given them protection from eviction. Vending was legalized according to the Street Vendors Act of 2014, a 10-page document that is both superficial and does little to comply with the complexities of the occupation. There's a great lack of sensibility and knowledge to vending and the Act therefore reduces the ecology into a simple monolith mechanism. 

Vending is both sociologically complex and anthropologically, it has a great degree of value. The Act invariably imposes restrictions like relocating vendors to a different part of the city, isolating them from resources. This has caused a great deal of dissatisfaction amongst vendors in India. In terms of formulation, the Act demarcates vending zones, contrary to vendors who feel that there should be non-vending zones especially when there is already a large amount of vehicular movements, displacement, and other factors affecting their livelihood. These are aspects that need to be consulted, planned, and designed rather than expecting people to accommodate the infrastructure available.  

Chaal Chaal Agency has worked towards building trust amongst community members and understanding the basic needs of vendors. Some of the instances raised during National Hawkers Association meetings are about how there are no public toilets and facilities for vendors. These are basic infrastructure that the State should provide but due to the informality of their occupation, there is lack of political will to do so. Sebastian outlines the root cause of disruption in policymaking for the informal sector. He argues that there is no representation of vendor groups in larger political platforms, and whatever minimal representation exists is either manipulated or misguided. In terms of policy making these infrastructural conditions need to be thoroughly studied in an unbiased manner outside of political purview. This in order to have a scientific perspective, guided by structured behaviours of spatial and occupational temperament.

Dialogues, Discussions and Extending the Scope of Planning 

Architectural thought is about being able to use different scales in such a way that you connect the dots. Chaal Chaal Agency's experience as an organisation has been to understand the human aspect of different phenomena which characterises urbanity - how people behave, their economic and social dispositions and differential aspects of their livelihood. It has also been an experience to recognise spatial implications of these dynamics in the city. Architects have gradually started engaging in the welfare development and benefit of people and Sebastian believes that architects have the capacity to both understand human and spatial components vis a vis the ability to introduce this aspect into the larger scheme of planning.

Stay tuned for the forthcoming interview with Mariana from Res Do Chao where she gives her take on Negotiations, Participatory Budgeting and Co-Design Tools based on their work in Lisbon, Portugal.