Mumbai

Self-construction: a bottom-up answer to low income housing

From such megacities as Delhi and Mumbai to smaller cities such as Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Dehradun, self-construction is visible throughout India, a country where over 60 percent of the urban poor live in settlements where units have been self-constructed. Contrary to popular belief, these settlements are not all "slums" as seen near railway stations or large drains, but a range of neighborhoods including urban villages, unauthorized and planned colonies that vary both in terms of their legal status (right to sell, build, mortgage) and access to urban infrastructure and services. In the absence of scalable private and government housing initiatives, these low-income neighborhoods are the largest source of affordable housing for the country's poor. Read and discuss.

Submitted by Rakhi Mehra — Thu, 09/06/2012 - 01:00

Can mobile phones save the lives of mothers and their children?

High maternal and infant mortality rates continue to burden the developing world. Despite calls by international organizations for an increased focus on maternal health, more than 500,000 women in developing nations die during pregnancy or childbirth each year. But a new three-year initiative, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), is showing mobile phones' potential to improve the state of women in India giving expectant and new mothers access to vital, often life-saving information. Read and discuss.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 09/03/2012 - 01:00

Are Mumbai's recyclers leading the city's green movement?

In Mumbai, the ragpickers' daily collections most likely end up in the city's largest — though officially unrecognized — recycling center: Dharavi's 13th compound. In this small area of Mumbai's sprawling slum, 15,000 single-room factories recycle an estimated 80 percent of Mumbai's plastic waste. Could it be that these shanty room enterprises — whose supply chain is maintained by one of India's poorest and most marginalized groups — are actually leading the city's green movement? Read and discuss.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Sun, 08/26/2012 - 01:00

Room for girls in India's 'integrated' classroom?

In Mumbai, the land of extremes, different socio-economic classes live in close proximity, yet their worlds almost never intersect. Nowhere is this separation more apparent than in the education system — but a recent landmark decision by India's Supreme Court attempts to change the make-up of India's classrooms forever, providing daily opportunities for these two worlds to meet. However, the educational dreams of girls are often cut short due to a range of cultural and social dynamics and if girls are admitted under the new quota, schools will need programs to ensure the success of these children. Read and discuss.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 08/20/2012 - 01:00

Making Mumbai's streets safe for women

Despite rhetoric of equality and empowerment in a country "on the rise," Indian women continue to experience systemic violence in many forms, and poor women are especially vulnerable. Recent reports show that women in Mumbai feel increasingly unsafe and that instances of violence against them — including rape, kidnapping, and molestation — are up from the previous year. And given the unwillingness of women in this highly patriarchal society to admit abuse for fear of retribution, the current data may mask a much, much larger issue. Read and discuss.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 08/13/2012 - 01:00

Solar-powered water ATMs in India's slums

Clean water does not come easily to Mumbai slum dwellers. Women must orient their entire day around collecting and hauling water of questionable quality obtained at exorbitant cost; meanwhile, water-borne diseases like hepatitis and typhoid kill and incapacitate thousands every year. The need for new solutions to India's urban water crisis has led to distributed models — off the main municipal water grid — that offer the opportunity to work with communities and address their specific needs. One such solution is Sarvajal: solar-powered ATMs that dispense not money, but safe, treated water with the swipe of a pre-paid card. Read and discuss.

Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 08/06/2012 - 01:00

Alchemix discussion in Mumbai: How to innovate for the urban poor?

Given the state of Mumbai, Innovation Alchemy recently hosted an Alchemix discussion on urban issues at Bombay Connect, an incubator and co-working space for social entrepreneurs in Mumbai. The session focused on the need and opportunity for breakthrough innovation designed for, and implemented with, the urban poor — a rapidly growing challenge in urban centers such as Mumbai, where 54 percent of the population (more than 10 million people) lives in slums. The discussion featured two social enterprises: Swasth India and WaterWalla. Learn more.

Submitted by Mumbai — Mon, 07/30/2012 - 10:11

Designing for livelihoods in government slum-rehabilitation projects: Sundernagari, Delhi

A key principle of the central government's "Slum Free India" policy is to redevelop slums in situ (upgrading their current situation rather than dislocating slum dwellers) and offering them basic tenure security. Still in its pilot phase, the policy, Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), emphasizes a process for community engagement and has laid down detailed guidelines for the interaction process. Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) was one of four NGOs tasked by the local municipality in Delhi to work on the pilot to be sponsored by the Ministry of Housing. MHT was to engage the community and propose an alternative design for redevelopment in an eastern Delhi neighborhood of Sundernagari; mHS engaged on data analysis, community facilitations, and architectural and urban design for the site. The results have the potential to influence redevelopment in the capital city as well as other major urban centers such as Mumbai. Learn more.

Submitted by Rakhi Mehra — Mon, 07/23/2012 - 01:00

Street vendors in Mumbai, Part III: National Policy as solution

Of all the state attempts to provide some protection to street vendors, Maharashtra — home to Mumbai — is the worst. In 2010, the state's legislature modified the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act and all other similar laws governing local bodies. The amendment states that any person engaged in street vending in a non-hawking zone will be fined INR5,000 ($96) and imprisoned for six months. Even pickpockets and other petty criminals are given lighter sentences. Does the government think a street vendor is a bigger criminal? Learn more.

Submitted by Sharit K. Bhowmik — Tue, 07/17/2012 - 01:00

Street vendors in Mumbai, Part II: Laws and regulations

In Part I of our series on street vendors in Mumbai, Professor Sharit Bhowmik, an expert on labor issues, introduced us to the hawkers and their lives. Many of Mumbai's street hawkers, who number about 250,000, were formerly wage earners in the formal sector who took to vending after the shutdown of textile mills in the 1980s. The vendors color Mumbai's streets with their wares, but the municipality has been less than welcoming. In Part II of our series, we look at laws governing street vending and related landmark court cases. Learn more.

Submitted by Sharit K. Bhowmik — Mon, 07/16/2012 - 01:00