Abstract
“In art there are only fast or slow developments. Essentially it is a matter of evolution, not revolution.” – Bela Bartok. This is a study that embraces the paradox of slums to highlight that their spontaneous and authentic morphological form blooms in the absence of public support, in an effort to stem the tide of negative development of informal settlements and suggest a new approach to slum rehabilitation. This paper will provide a comprehensive literature study of the definition of slums and the range of typologies of slums to frame their barbarous and challenging lifestyle into a context that will suit the intentions of this paper and prove where previous government interventions failed. Then, a discussion which introduces the Making Room Paradigm to present a solution that prevents the problems of informal settlements from the earliest development stage. The Making Room Paradigm is an urban solution which prepares for the development of informal settlements before they begin to evolve by establishing a grid-formed infrastructure to make room for the informal settlements to exist within. That way, settlements have direct access to public services and are both physically and socially included in the city.
After introducing the Making Room Paradigm, an insightful and qualitative review of morphological, social, perceptual and economic urban dimensions of slums will be studied as they contain valuable lessons in which Mumbai must adopt and possess in a new paradigm in order to achieve change whilst preserving its character.
The Making Room Paradigm is a solution that Mumbai can use to evolve informal settlements and allow them to be more included, whilst preserving their characteristics within a strict and managed arterial grid that is capable of catering public services for the most poor, low-income working class. This grid can inhabit the social, economic and perceptual qualities that the formation of slums contains by studying the strengths of these dimensions to suggest a proposition for the infill for a planned infrastructural grid. This will allow these settlements to grow and provide access to public services and improved drainage and sewerage systems.
By allowing informal settlements to develop within this new paradigm, this will encourage them to progress and their social, economic and environmental values can be enhanced in this progressive approach to slum development. The objective of this paper is to highlight these lessons, the qualities and the values that slums hold and
which Mumbai can conserve by including them within this new paradigm in order to preserve the character of 60% of the city and successfully achieve change.
Cases of renewal will demonstrate examples where existing informal settlements are directly treated with improved infrastructure culminating stunning evidence of the slums ability to flourish and economically enhance. Case studies found in developing cities in Asia and Latin America will be included in an attempt to differentiate paradigms and their efficiency.
This study will conclude with an overview that although it is evident that slums are not a silver bullet, neither a desirable place to live, they have got compelling characteristics that combined with a sustainable and resilient planning system, will have something very prosperous to teach and direct for preserving the character of Mumbai in future interventions.