How to (Re)Develop a Slum: Dharavi, India
What counts as a slum, and who should benefit from its redevelopment? Our Task Force starts from the observation that slum redevelopment is not an issue of urban planning alone but also is consequential for human rights, environmental sustainability, and economic equality. In 2008, we reached a critical historical juncture when the world’s urban population outnumbered its rural, and now some of the most densely concentrated urban populations in the contemporary world live in areas described as “slums.” The vast majority of the world’s slums are located in cities of the Global South like Jakarta, Lagos, and Mexico City. Our Task Force will examine plans to redevelop what is often described as the world’s largest slum: Dharavi, spread over roughly 550 acres in the heart of Mumbai, India, in which more than a million people currently live. Among the questions we will ask are: What are the politics of slum redevelopment? Whose voices matter in the process of planning to redevelop a slum? What are the effects of redevelopment for its residents, neighboring areas, and the urban environment? This Task Force will make a set of recommendations to inform bilateral and multilateral funding agencies like USAID and the World Bank that fund urban redevelopment projects around the world.
