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Reinventing Dharavi: an Ideas

Compendium
FOREWORD

Dharavi is well-established as one of the world’s most signi cant informal

communities, requiring a critical reimagination for a better future.

Reinventing Dharavi: An International Ideas Competition was conceptualised to

generate new ideas, concepts and interventions for a sustainable integration of urban
uses – a ordable housing, livelihoods, health and sanitation, recreation, education,
urban design and urban planning, social and cultural activities, environment,
governance and economics, amongst others.

The competition generated an exchange of approaches, both national and

international, as well as novel ideas, to enhance the existing characteristics and future
potential of this area, especially taking into account the needs of the residents.

The ideas are meant to articulate an array of multi-disciplinary strategies, considered

through a range of time structures, from short term to long term, transitory to
permanent and staged development cycles. It is essential that a larger group of
people be involved in this process of reinvention including government, civil
societies, NGOs and most importantly, the people of Dharavi.

The competition received proposals from 20 teams comprising a total of 140

participants, across 21 nationalities. Urban Design Research Institute has collated all
the submitted entries into this book.

The publication ‘Reinventing Dharavi: An Ideas Compendium’ is an abridged compilation of all the proposals received for the competition. The proposals are organised in the order in
which they were received, as twenty separate chapters, with the name of the teams and team members, which were only revealed after the competition process was completed.

A brief context on Dharavi and a gist of the competition process have been outlined in the Introduction, followed by the twenty chapters with the proposals in which the ideas
extrapolated from the teams have been organised under speci c categories namely, governance, planning, nance, housing, transportation, social amenities, phasing, services
infrastructure and environment.

An ideas matrix has been produced to summarise the central theme of each team under the ve prime categories of planning, governance, nance, housing and infrastructure. A brief
Foreword suggests how the ideas generated from the competition could be taken forward for furthering development in Dharavi and also provide pointers for slum rehabilitation projects
in Greater Mumbai.

Finally, the Appendices comprise the brief for the competition, brief bios of the jury, the Steering Committee and the Technical Committee, the resources and a glossary of terms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 8

Context

Competition Process

COMPETITION ENTRIES 18

1. SMART DHARAVI – A CITY IN MANY GROUNDS

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8/8/2020 Reinventing Dharavi: an Ideas Compendium - URBAN DESIGN RESEARCH INSTITUTE
2. REALIZING DHARAVI
3. THE GAME IS ON!
4. INCLUSIVE NEUTRALITY
5. DHARAVI IDEAS INTERVENTIONS
6. REINVENTING DHARAVI – WITHOUT PUBLIC FUNDS & BY ENGINEERING THE ECONOMICS
7. DHARAVI – A 21ST CENTURY FACTORY TO LIVE & WORK
8. NAYA DHARAVI
9. UNTITLED
10. THE MEANING OF VALUABLE
11. DEVELOPING DHARAVI,
12. RECLAIM GROWTH!
13. DEEP STREETS – SPECULATION AND SLOW VIOLENCE IN DHARAVI
14. APNA HAI
15. MUMBAI’S MICRO METROPOLIS
16. INFORMING THE INFORMAL – SYNERGIZING LIVELIHOODS
17. DHARAVI – CITIZEN ACTION FOR URBAN RENEWAL
18. UNTITLED
19. A PARTICIPATIVE DEVELOPMENT MODEL – DHARAVI COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
20. S.L.U.M – TOWARDS “INCLUSIVE” AND “SUSTAINABLE” DEVELOPMENT
AFTERWORD

Related Publications

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 S.L.U.M.
Towards "Inclusive,, and "Sustainable,,
Development fl'

20
SHORTLISTED

Min Tang, Reiji Kobayashi, Xiaomeng Chen,

Jonathan Sorriaux, Rumi Okazaki,
Maitreyi Agashe

The proposal focuses on sustainable

development through environmental
protection, economic efficiency, social equality
and CSR. It proposes the establishment of
S.L.U.M, a sustainable livelihood union of
Maharashtra metropolis. The primary ideas
include moving all industries into high-rise
SRA buildings, zoning plan for other industries,
farming in between pipelines that run through
the settlements and a modular housing
typology. The jury found that the governance
/
structure is missing from this entry and there is /
lack of a financial strategy.

350
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 PREMISE
Firstly, the lack of housing has been a serious
challenge in most developing countries during
the rapid urbanisation process. On the other
hand, building one's own shelter is an ability
people are born with, and has been practised
throughout human history. Ironically, this
ability has been considered a threat to the
aesthetic standard of modern cities. Secondly,
the discussion of self-built shelter is integrated
with the debate of the informal sector.
Dharavi represents a specific prototype that
can be regarded in its "mature phase" as against
other such settlements. Therefore, effort
must be made to reinforce Dharavi's strength
and extend its influence into other slums in
the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Dharavi
could function as a catalyst for new slum
redevelopment or self-development.
STRENGTHS OF DHARAVI
The strength and potential of Dharavi lies in its
socio-cultural diversity, location, land price and
its economic model. It may be considered an
arrival city (Saunders, 2011), an intermediate
platform to settle migrants.
Dharavi's other advantages (Jeb Brugmann,
2010) include :
• Low transportation cost
• Extremely high utilisation rate of property
(some 15,000 small workshops, many of
them are home-based)
• Location of manufacturers next door to
their suppliers and retailers
• Resident-worker-entrepreneur
Apart from efficiency, the ability to adapt
different businesses, such as the traditional
craft, modern printing and recycling industries,
352
in the same area, could also be considered
as an advantage of Dharavi. Dharavi has an
estimated GDP of USO 1.5 billion each year.
Networks of secondary suppliers and service
businesses, many of which are also located in
Dharavi itself, support primary industries. It
has a strong secondary and tertiary economic
sector including recycling, leather production,
textiles and embroidery, food and pottery with
thousands of other service and retail shops.
WEAKNESSES OF DHARAVI
The Eco-Issue
With several sensitive ecological resources
around Dharavi, such as the Mahim creek, large
mangrove areas, Mahim Nature Park at the
north of Dharavi, a river meandering towards
another large mangrove area and creek at the
Estuary of Ambapada nearby, it links the east
and west ecological corridors. The Mithi River
runs through densely populated and industrial
areas of Mumbai. The river is supposed to serve
as a natural drainage channel that carries excess
water during the monsoons. However, the river
has long been heavily polluted by sewage,
industrial waste and garbage from those living
along its banks.
Sanitation and Health
Dharavi is lacking in clean toilets, drinking
water, sanitation, garbage collection and
faces contamination from industries. Poor
environmental conditions increase the potential
of disease and death in the community.
Flood
Located on low-lying land and beside the
estuary of Mahim, Dharavi is always under the
threat of flooding during the monsoons, causing
a damage to livelihoods and deaths.
 Dharavi Current Land Use 1se in Dharavi

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Tata Power station
Residential

• Slums
• Rehabilitated Buildings

• SRA schemes included in SPPI.

• Other Schemes

• Co-operative hsg. Schemes

• Public Amenities
• Graveyard
•Open Spaces
• Open Spaces

• Garden
Playground

Characteristics of each cluster

Commercial

Industrial I manufacture

Culture I Craft based workshop

Residencial

Green

Livelihood Obstacles to Economic Development

On an average, in Dharavi, 93% of huts
measure less than 27.85 sq m. The high density
of population makes it a difficult prospect to
leave sufficient social area for the community.
Streets and the small leftover areas are the
most vivid social spaces, but without trees
and street facilities, their usability has been
restricted. Existing open spaces do not meet
the needs of different groups, particularly the
different gender and religious based space
requirements. Vast open spaces could also
lead to security problems or get occupied by
"slum mafias." Thus, Dharavi requires different
scales and types of social spaces (public, semi-
public, semi-private and private), rather than
homogeneous open spaces.
The lack of information, negotiating power, and
financial assistance, the low quality products
due to absence of technical research or
aesthetic guidelines, training centre, together
with pollution, unhygienic working condition,
lack of waste management after production
and service spaces (storage) and efficient
transportation system could be obstacle
for further development and high standard
products.

353
Recycling Wholesalers transport garbage to
13th compound in Dharavi
Garbage
collected by
rag-picker in ---
the city, sold to
Wholesaler.
It R;ig-plclcer
• Wholesaler
l' Maln-powertransportation ---- .. .... ___ _-... -..... _
- ............
j ~=~:'~~ness
• Receiving points, dissification lt
• Treatment workshops
• ~~~~~ent or
I
Ulan

Leather Semi tanned hides arrive at Dharavi Hides from tanneries to leather good
in order to do the finishing process manufacturers. (Around 5000 units)
(10-12 Tanneries)

---

*
•
• Wholesaler of hides
Primary •uppller
Tanneries
• Leather goods manufacturers
• Leather goods trader, mall

·~ Middle agent for export

• Export to international rnarlcet

Textiles I Fabric and other materials come Textile products produced by

from local wholesalers and primary workshops go to local retail, major
Embroidery suppliers markets and individual clients
-----------------------li Kti~!-~~!~- -- ------

• Wholesaler
*
•
Primary oupplier
Textile I Embroidery workshop
Textile shop
Ii Major rnarlcet
•~ Wholesaler with showroom ---
• Export to International marlcet

Food Purchase in different markets all Restaurant: mainly serves local

over mumbai, as well as local population
markets in Dharavi.
- ----- --------- -- ------ --"' .... ___ -_. ... ~ ---- -- ------ -------- -
...........

---

* •
Primary ouppller
Food production workshop
• Restaurant, food !hop

#$.
cib
j Local people
Feriwala, street vendors
Dellvery cydlst
'"'"": Y - - - - - -
ulla Market. ---------

Industrial patterns in Dharavi

Transport to manufacture inside Problem:
and outside of Dharavi
Lack of storage space;
Hygienic problem;
Working environment;
Pollution;
Illiterate manpower;
................. _ Absence of self-protection.

Hides from manufacturers to traders. Export Problem:

(Around 120 small and medium traders.)
Lack of storage space;
Hygienic problem;
Working environment;
Pollution;
Lack of negotiating power;
Illiterate manpower;
No former training;
Lack of financial assistance;
.-- Lack of information;
... Absence of technical research;
and aesthetic guideline;
Unorganized market;
Cheap, low quality leather.

Export to international markets Problem:

Lack of storage space;

Working environment;
Lack of negotiating power;
Illiterate manpower;
························..... No former training;
Lack of financial assistance;
Lack of information;

t Individual dient
Absence of technical research;
and aesthetic guideline•
..-
--·

:ii .... Show room and Wholesaler

If' ~ If' Dadar Market
Food industry: J>roducts delivered by 250 Problem:
street vendors, cyclists and dabbas
Unhygienic working condition;

············~
Reputation;
············· ... Illiterate manpower;
Lack of financial assistance;
Lack of education;
Expense of purchase process;
in different markets in the city;
Waste management after
J&,- ----·· production.
Te:.t Feriwala •••• ---····
.-· ...... --""
 GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The proposal acknowledges slum dwellers as
act«s In die urb;in development, ape<:lally
It\ ~nomlc actMty. The str.rb!&Y ls to
transfonm settlemen1s In Dharavl Into self·
cnatM! industrial • S.LU.M i.e. the Sustainable
Livelihood Union of Maharash11a metropolis.
The aspects which would need to be lntegr.ited
to create successful lrvellhood Sll'llteeles are:
Natural Qipfbl
Na1Ural resouroe stocks such u soll, water.
alr, gaietlc resources, etc.. and em1lronmental
services such as hydroloakal cycle, pollution
sinks, etc. from whldl resoiur.::e flows and
services usehll for livelihoods are derived.
Economic or Ffnandlll Qipftal
Qipltal base Including cash, credit/debt.
savings. and other ecort0mfc assm. lncludfng
basic Infrastructure. prodlldfon equipment and
tedinolo3le$.
356
Hu1111111 C'apltal
Sklll. knowledge, la~r. good health and
phySk;;al capability.
Sodal C.tt.al
Social ~rces (networks, social claims, social
relations. afflllatlons, associations) upon which
people dr.awwhen pursuing different llvellhood
stratesfes requiring coordinated actions. There
is a need fot bottom-up associations operated
by Inhabitants from different categories and
assisted byp1of: lonals frum NGOs and CBOs.
The new deflnltlon for a 'world class city' In
the de51gn scope Is to be Inclusive, sustainable
and flt\d Its own dlaracterlslfcs accumulated
throush history.
Sustainable development should focus on:
• Em1lronmental Protection
• Economic: Efficiency
• Social Equality
• Corporate social responslb!llty (CSR} In
economic actiYity
Other Prf ndplea:
Fleiclblllty
Anticipatory
Adaptive
Reform
UnsllStalnable towanls suslalB&ble
l.Ax:al decision making
lntear.rted symms
Includes bo1h formal and Informal aspe<:ts
Support programs
ll'aln!ng. educalfon, cn1dlt, lepl aid, etc.
Involvement Initiatives
Dlslncenllves for lnformlll actMlles

357
 PLANNING
The master plan proposal has been based on
Four strategies
three scales:
• Connecting Dharavi to Mumbai;
• Dharavi to its adjacent surroundings; and
• Establishment of Sustainable Livelihood
Union of Maharashtra
• Areas within Dharavi itself.
• Ecological corridors and cores
• Reinforcement of transportation
• Development of new tourist sites

Land use master plan

~--°!
-~' !
J :

Road system

•••
• •
Commercial area ~YI
;,
(!
Main transport
connection

Education and cultural

corridor
.
'~·
, !

Shuttle bus I
Craft-based production \

Residential area
Rapid connection
with other slums
4: ,
Industrial core shifted
to high-rise buildings
lt1 :,

Cores Land use master plan

358
 - M!wymad
- S Atrmd
Pi p ar:rt r=" it1111ra - -.npolh

o.1\--
----
Ollln I Ecluat!an. _ -
-
New: ' lliapfth
N- acandaryrmd

__
- Nnw-pl'l'mn'trmd
- Slalllebm
• lndlllllyan _. ~m•lt.idM1
8 EA• donan
-~ ..... -
- N•r-l'lll ,....
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• Q..,....,
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......._ . i '""'"""·

-"'"' • Ml!ntn1,.a1t:mr1rw:tian

359
 LIVELIHOOD
Link 1: Establishment of S.L.U.M - Sustainable Activities are proposed to be relocated and
Livelihood Union of Maharashtra Metropolis. reorganised as follows:

The URBAN SCALE of this proposal includes: Food Manufacturing Core

Food Industry combined with functional
• Expansion from single core (Dharavi) to a landscapes and services like restaurants on
multiple core network the rooftop. The supplier should consider the
• Setting up different cores: Characteristic nearby farmland.
industry core, commercial core, education
core, cultural and craft based activity core Research and Development Core
and green core with functional landscapes Transform SRA buildings into offices, Research
or food production which could have a and Development Labs, NGO offices and so on.
mixed use of residential as well.
Industrial Service Type
• Exchanges among members with a 'core to
Storage, logistics and transportation service
core model,' including skill training, setting
support for industries and commerce.
up secondary industrial core or moving part
of the production chain to nearby small
Craft/Creative Manufacturing Core
scale slums.
This core will integrate crafts, shifted from
the central part of Dharavi (Chamda Bazaar,
The DHARAVI SCALE of this proposal includes:
leather market) and Northern part (Kala Killa).
Collaboration with designers and artists from
• Improvement of polluting industrial
outside the area will assist in reforming a high-
activities and working condition of other
rise building with open space nearby, to rent
economic activities by shifting the current to this artist as their atelier. The meeting of
industrial activitytoSRAhigh-rise buildings. traditional craft with modern design, may create
• Create specifically functioned industry core new brands and networks for Dharavi.
according to current SRA building group.
• Reform the interiors of SRA buildings
according to the required production
processes.
• Keep the craft based living-working pattern
in the central area of Dharavi.

Proposed craft/creative manufacturing core

360
 ---_
,' ...
..--- ,...,....... ~a..-.
..............

-----
\ lndustri1VM1nuf11Ctur1111
Core
Recydin& and other

--__.........
i-.1111111Wllft1'&5 . . . .
Industries with machine

------ ' --c.t•

Mo
or chemical proc•nes are

' - ... ------ ~

: ----
-------- _,....._ proposed to be &tllftld from
13th compound. DormllDry
for m1&rant worbl'1 should
be amsldenid
industri:il
In
zone. A direct
the

connection with Mahlm

Stltlon rs required, as smaller
operaUons are dependent on

.--
the rall sy5teln to tnnsport
1"' - - - - - - - - - - ,
materials tD Dtlarmvl from
~
:::::::::-.
. ~ .......... .'
l ~........ I

. ...... n..... '

other parts of the city. There
--------- ~ a....a.Motll9 :
should be a bus station near
·..
I .....,.,..,,
~ _______ ;
I
Mahlm station, which could
cann!Cl with the new port.

tnclustrlll/Commen:111/
Tradlns/Flnandll Core
Establlshment of business
confdor, asthe conUnurtyaxis
.... from B;indr;J-Kurla Complex.
' 'The relmd aimmerclal
·' services such as hot!!ls,
watufn1nt landsap•s, port
could have new buildinp.

-
Prop.....i l.,..,rlriallcommen:Wltradlnglflnantlal c:m11

361
 TRANSPORT
The URBAN SCALE of this proposal includes:

• New bus connection: Headquarter and sub-

head with surrounding slums, the link with
current economic industry, airport and city
centre.
• Use existing direct link for delivery; establish
service core (storage, logistics) in different slums.
• Marine transportation lines to serve both
tourists and for service.

Core to Core
connection

legend

- Slum
Airport
B~ch
0 Mumbai_ferry_U!rminal
Mumbal_rall_stations
Railway lines
®•
•.
Industry core
Education core
Commercial core

-
Mangroves rnetro_monorall ® Culture core

••
SalLmarsh Hiihway Green core
Woodland Primary Rd High risk of flooding zone
Industry Secondary_tertiary Rd Service core
New Urban farm land Proposed busllne
® Proposed ferry terminal
mixed with wetland Existing direct connection Proposed bus stop

362
Proposed 'lhlnsporallon Malts Pion

•
enn--
•-- lmfllSllYQft
o• - -
0 . . . -1.... n.e DMARAVI SCALE ofttllt pro~l lndrles

. .........
0 °""".....
o-- • Rapid Inter settlement bus 1rnes and ferry
nnes w111 connect activity col"'5 and morn
amenities such as stations. airports.
• Shuttle buses wlll operam ln11de Dharwl
far daily use.
• New c"'55WllyS wtth multlple farms and
functions - mini publk bdlltles and JpOrt5
ere• wlll be settled on !tie 5kywallc near
two rallvay statfons.

363
 ENVIRONMENT
The URBAN SCALE of this proposal includes:
ECOLOGICAL CORRIDOR AND CORES
West to East:
The wetlands melting into the edge of Dharavi
can be extended into the inner wetland water
purification system in the slum. The wetlands
along the river to the south of the mangrove
can be extended and several flood prone slum
zones along the river line could be replaced
by mangroves and fish ponds. Slums could be
relocated or combined with nearby slums as the
fishing industry is increasing. The restoration
of the wetland and riverside to create an
ecological corridor could be beneficial for
increasing ecological diversity and reducing
flood damage.
South to North:
A railway farm can be created along the
Mumbai railway bridges, in the green corridor
from south to north, and in slums along the
railway line. The green corridor will also make
provide ecological diversity and provide food.

~ J JP

',.! l -. /f,

' I l
,A

..
'
..J ,.,
,.,
,,.,.
,..,
..I.
j
~
"" ....
.~

Dharavl and lts surrounding

Ecological link

Legend
0 Industry core
a Mumbal_ferry_termlnal
- Slum
0 Education core
- Airport
Beach
Mangroves
~

-
-
Mumbai_rail_stations
Rallway lines
metro_monorail
Highway
•
0
•
Commerdal core
Culture core

Green care
- Salt_marsh
- P~maryRd • High risk of flooding zone
- Woodland
- lndusb'y - Sec:ondary_tertiary Rd Q Service core
- N- Urban farm land - Proposed busllne • Proposed ferry termlnal
mixed with wetland ""'" Existing direct connecti Proposed bus stop

364
Proposed landscape master plan
The DHARAVI SCALE of this proposal includes:
Wetland Water Purification Network and
Flooding Relief Strategy
• Closed drainage, naturalised swales
• Small wetlands, large wetlands
• Storm water and grey water collected
from roofs and houses through pipes and
purified through the wetland network and
recycled
• Fish ponds will be made along the fish
village and the new ecozone
• Flooding water reservoir will be
constructed at the lower topographical
level in Dharavi
Green Network
Wetland networks are the main green grids,
benefiting the water system and form a pleasing
landscape element. Trees will be planted in the
middle and along both sides of the vehicular
road, beside the naturalised swale and in the
gardens and wetland parks in the industry zone.
Farm Land
• Railway farms will be created
• Pocket farms will be made into gardens
• Stepped Farm Corridors will be located
along the gutter in the mangroves,
bridging the farmlands inside Dharavi and
at the opposite side of the creek
365
 Garbage classification and recycling
• Classify garbage into industrial and food
waste
• Industrial garbage will be recycled and
sold together with garbage from outside
Dharavi in the garbage recycling industry
• Create a network of digesters to convert
food waste into biogas as energy and as
fertilizers.
Toilets
More toilets will be built for high density areas
in Dharavi, and the wastes could be collected
in the digesters.
15-20m Green buffer
4-Sm path, Naturalised Swale + Green System
Courtyard + Pocket farming+ Naturalised swale +Toilets with trash bin + Grey water collecting points
Bridge to station - Railway farmland + Sky public sport fields + Shopping mall
366
Hardscape
• Permeable paving will be used along the
2-Sm path, in order to relieve flood hit
areas and also reduce pollution.
• Street furniture and facilities as benches
and light poles will be used. Recycled
materials would be preferred.
• Steps will be combined with the
naturalised channels and swale for using
as a landscape element.
• Kiosks and dining zones will be built along
the channels.
I
HOUSING

A structural system with modular spaces could space, where people can utilise it for walking
be used, allowing for flexibility and different and a common yard for inhabitants is oriented.
combinations. The roof could be a community

~ .........

•
... ...
~

.............
.........lllQo

SOCIAL AMENITIES
Envisioned as a part of the Master plan is the
social core as a space for socialisation.

Macro Scale: Public Realm - Sports playground/ Micro Scale: Private Realm - Women's space,
facility park, waterfront small private yard for working, private toilet,
salon, small water storage
Semi-Public Realm: New artist apartment with
exposition space, Education place, Community
space, religion space, washing place, laundry,
water point, rooftop

367