Metropolitan Design Center 2007 Undergraduate Travel Fellowship : John Wade

John Wade, Undergraduate, College of Design, 2007 Metropolitan Design Center Undergraduate Travel Fellowship Recipient.

Inadequate Housing and Homelessness in Mumbai

"A city of over 12 million people with half of its residents living in what the UN defines as a slum, “a heavily populated urban area characterized by sub-standard housing and squalor,” Mumbai (Bombay), India is a place where the problem of housing the urban poor is clearly visible. Overcrowding, poor structural quality of housing, lack of sanitation, limited infrastructure, inadequate access to safe drinking water, and insecure tenure affect the millions of inhabitants living in slums today. John spent 5 weeks submerging himself in the various and numerous informal settlements sprawled throughout Mumbai in hopes of better understanding how people and their communities go about acquiring basic and essential needs for survival. One of the most unforgettable and influential communities John visited in Mumbai was Dharavi. Often referred to as “the largest slum in Asia” and “a city within a city,” Dharavi provides inexpensive housing and unregulated work for many migrants recently arriving to the city. An estimated one million people live and work in Dharavi with a staggering population density of 18,000 people per acre. For the first time in history, the urban population has surpassed the number of people living in rural areas. As this rural to urban migration continues, a multitude of issues needs to be addressed promptly."
-John Wade

 





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