Patrick Geddes’ work in Edinburgh eventually led him to India, where he helped planners across the country to implement Conservative Surgery. He stressed the importance of preserving existing densities, networks of alleyways, and clusters of houses. He saw the value of their complexity, and also argued that it was much cheaper to make small improvements rather than knock the whole lot down – which was pitched as an alternative. For Geddes, many Indian settlements could be compared to Edinburgh’s Old Town, with its hybrid residential, commercial and light-industrial spaces connected by narrow alleyways.
Dharavi sits on a slice of land that’s considered very valuable to real-estate moguls, and its redevelopment is at the tip of many tongues. Suggested plans for Dharavi are an orgy of Public-Private Partnerships, Transferable Development Rights and high-rise 'solutions’. The Development Plan envisages chopping up Kumbharwada with wide avenues (a dated, car-centric approach). This was the same issue faced by Geddes when he came to India in the early 1900s. He instead ensured that existing typologies, densities and streets were kept, with small openings created where possible. Rather than thinking about wholesale redevelopment as a solution to the problem of pollution found in Kumbharwada, and in Dharavi as a whole, let’s take heed of Geddes’ wisdom and rule it out from the start. Instead, we should think of answers that can be implemented at a small-scale, in collaboration with the local community.
Recommended reading / references:
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Baweja, V. (2015). Architecture and Urbanism in "Slumdog Millionaire": from Bombay to Mumbai. Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, 26(2), pp.7-24.
Dovey, K. (2013). Informalising Architecture: The Challenge of Informal Settlements. Architectural Design, 83(6), pp.82-89.
Dovey, K. and Tomlinson, R. (2012). Dharavi. [Melbourne]: Melbourne School of Design.
Engqvist, J. and Lantz, M. (2009). Dharavi - Documenting Informalities. New Delhi: Academic Foundation.
Financial Express (India) (2010). Made in Dharavi.
Geddes, P. and Lanchester, H. (1917). Town Planning in Jubbulpore. A report to the Municipal Committee by Professor Geddes and H. V. Lanchester, F.R.I.B.A., 1917.
Geddes, P. and Tyrwhitt, J. (1947). Patrick Geddes in India.
Goldsmith, S. and Elizabeth, L. (2010). What we see. Oakland, CA: New Village Press.
Habraken, N. and VALKENBURG, B. (1972). [De dragers en de mensen.] Supports: an alternative to mass housing, Translated by B. Valkenburg. London: Architectural Press.
Haworth, R. (2000). Patrick Geddes' concept of conservative surgery. Architectural Heritage, 11(1), pp.37-42.
Jeffries, S. (2015). In praise of dirty, sexy cities: the urban world according to Walter Benjamin. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/sep/21/walter-benjamin-marseille-moscow-cities [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018].
Nisbett, M. (2017). Empowering the empowered? Slum tourism and the depoliticization of poverty. Geoforum, 85, pp.37-45.
Srivastava, R. and Echanove, M. (2014). The Slum Outside: Elusive Dharavi. Moscow: Strelka Press.
Vision Mumbai - Transforming Mumbai into a world-class city - A summary of recommendations. (2003). [online] McKinsey. Available at: http://mumbaifirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/McKinseyReport.pdf [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018].