A Place to Breathe

The chosen site for the graduation project demonstrates how the shortage of affordable housing becomes a problem in the Mumbai, how this issue has been responded, and how these actions affect the living quality. The challenge is how to generate an alternative for the provision of affordable housing by taking into account not only the issue of density, but enhancing the living quality of the dwellers. The issue of housing shortage which led to the emergence of squatter settlements has been confronted with various approaches by countries around the globe. Many attempts including slum Up-grading and Slum Rehabilitation Program have been endeavored. Currently, the In-situ redevelopment program is seemed as an affordable example in providing affordable housing since it cut down the land cost for the housing provision. Many one-story row houses, Baithi chawls area, have been seen as a potential property to be redeveloped becoming four to five storeys residential building and built on the same footprint. This arbitrary attempt compromises the dwellers to live in an extremely cramped and dense area.

In addition, the site also illustrates the fact that the present housing solution increases segregation among the inhabitant of the area. Rahmat Nagar, an area located on the south of Oswal Nagari in the east Nala Sopara, clearly shows how the attempts in providing housing without any planning and integration between the government, private sector and the local community, can result a great segregation. People from various income groups can be found in the area. However, the urban fabric of this area suggested these people to live separately according to their income status and there is no urban gesture to unite this segregation. Looking at the larger context, this problematic development is also happening in Mumbai city and cities around the globe. Affordable housing for inclusive development is the theme of the global housing studio. The above-mentioned housing condition illustrate the contradictory instances happening in Mumbai and other cities. Therefore, the graduation project attempts to offer an alternative in-situ redevelopment scheme for inclusive development.