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Negotiating shared spaces in informal peri-urban settlements in India : the role of amenity buildings and the effect of the post-hoc introduction of infrastructure towards the creation of common places

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Tang, Bo (2014) Negotiating shared spaces in informal peri-urban settlements in India : the role of amenity buildings and the effect of the post-hoc introduction of infrastructure towards the creation of common places. Planum : the Journal of Urbanism, II (29). pp. 28-49. ISSN 1723-0993

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Abstract

This paper investigates the creation of common places in informal peri-urban settlements in India through negotiation and sharing, and aims to develop a sensitive understanding of the role of amenity buildings and the effect of the post-hoc introduction of infrastructure. The approach takes collective architectural making as a catalyst for self-empowerment and social change, discussed primarily through first-hand experience of practical testing through small-scale live interventions.

Two case studies of on-going live projects addressing the scarcity of resources provide an empirical basis for this study: [1] The Kachhpura Settlement Upgrading Project started in 2006 focuses on sanitation in Agra; [2] The Quarry Classrooms Project, initiated in 2008 deals with amenity buildings in quarry worker settlements in Navi Mumbai. Both projects were carried out as collaboration between Indian NGOs, local communities, and architectural researchers and students, in a continual cyclical process of negotiation involving a strong hands-on approach from the bottom up.

Connections are established between improved access to basic services, amenities and facilities and the opportunities for creating common places, leading to suggestions on improving, appropriating and cultivating shared territories in today’s informal peri-urban settlements, culturally and physically.

This paper concludes with suggestions on how the notion of cooperative placemaking might be applied in other situations of rapid change and scarce resources where architect, NGO and local population might collaborate to provide shared infrastructure and community facilities, whilst creating opportunities for improving livelihoods and the quality of life within informal peri-urban settlements in India.

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