It was back in 2008 that we organised our first massive participatory workshop in Dharavi Koliwada, Dharavi, Mumbai. We started to call these workshops Urban Typhoons because of the intense concentration of energy that results. We had about 150 participants including residents of Koliwada, architects, planners, urban theorists, and students from Mumbai and beyond coming together to discuss the future of Koliwada, an urban fishing village. It was then that we discovered the willingness amongst the Koli community to explore all types of alternative ideas for redevelopment which is important to probe the question of form, typology, and diversity of habitats. We were inspired to embed ourselves in Dharavi, Mumbai, and set up an office soon after. 

It is now 2024, and we have spent the last fifteen years in the neighbourhood actively participating in the user-driven evolution of its material and social life. This has given us the confidence to conceptualise and embark on a project called “The ABCD of Dharavi Koliwada” where ABCD stands for Action-Based Comprehensive Development Plan for Koliwada in Dharavi, which will be produced with the active participation of the residents. Through a series of urban in situ interventions, we aim at engaging the community of Koliwada in the production of a comprehensive plan for the environmental, economic and spatial improvement of Koliwada. 

The action of the Comprehensive Plan includes people’s participation, which is key to the project. To ensure this, we conducted a series of discussions, workshops, and public exhibitions with the Koli community, including the Dharavi Koli Jamat, Fisherfolk, Women, Youth and Non-Kolis. It is through this process that we have distilled four need-based interventions which could trigger the incremental improvement and development of the neighbourhood. We are working closely with local Koli builders to realise these projects. The projects include the Customs House Study Space, a Garden of Festivities by the Mithi River, Street Lighting and the redesign and planning of the Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure. 

The central idea of the ABCD is to encourage user-driven planning as opposed to top-down planning, which relies on the Masterplan. The collectively identified needs translated into the four projects that we are currently working on. However, the process does not end here; there are emerging needs like the Improvement of the fish market facilities - hidden within the settlement known only to the Kolis and other residents. Parking was another issue identified during the week-long public exhibition held in the neighbourhood. We hope to continue our collaboration with the Koli community to identify more needs and contribute to the development of this urban indigenous neighbourhood.