PEASANT Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 I've just watched a documentary by Kevin McCloud about the Dharavi Slums in Mumbai, India (Links below) and I just think about how grateful I am to be living in Australia. Seriously, there are 1 million people living within a square mile in the Dharavi Slums! So my question is: If you had the choice, would you (a maintain and enchance the Dharavi Slums (or just slums in general) or (b destroy it? How and Why? I would retain and upgrade it seeing as history and a sense of community has already been established. I'm sure there are more to consider regarding this topic (especially if you watch the doco), but just give me your general consensus. Discuss. (Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0tHRs9Bng [Part 1] and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPANDq-XOEs [Part 2]) Really watch the documentary if you have time. Really eye opening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddingkip Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 your b option got fucked up by the smiley system and now looks out of place in the discussion. Anyway, I don't think getting rid of the slums help, I was in India this summer. People don't like the living in the slums for sure, but where else are they supposed to live? They can't afford proper houses otherwise they would live there. And they don't want to live in the countryside, they want to live in the big city where the opportunities are. What would help a whole fucking lot in India is general cleaning and plumbing, it's by far the dirtiest country I've ever seen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0night Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 i was in mumbai this summer and attended a panel where we got to put questions to some dharavi residents, i myself was too ill to go to dharavi the day before but all my friends on this trip had done. interesting facts. the indian government owns the land dharavi is built on and could at any moment do anything they choose with it. dharavi has several important industries and an amazing community spirit that crosses religious and ethnic lines. attempts by the government to help the people of dharavi are viewed with suspicion and generally understood as token gestures rather than sustained support and genuine interest in improving their area. a slum in western discourse generally has connotations of crime, destitution, relentless poverty and misery, and dharavi neatly illustrates why that is a patronising and misleading assumption. this is not to say that their living conditions are acceptable or fair, but that they are doing more than just surviving in them (we spoke to a man who owned a company making car parts from recycled plastic. his company sells parts to global manufacturers) and they are not imposed upon by gang violence and drugs. they need better infrastructure, especially in terms of hygeine. they need the government to work with community leaders, to do more than attempting to impose a new way of life as some of their attempts have thus far. Building massive tower blocks for residents to live in, outside of the slum itself, where they then have to come down into Dharavi every day anyway, is not the answer. taking people out of the homes they live and work in and towards a 'modern' indian way of living is what the people in dharavi necessarily want. and if anyone thinks the answer lies in simply obliterating the homes, livelihoods and industries of a million people then you're wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEASANT Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 your b option got fucked up by the smiley system and now looks out of place in the discussion. Anyway, I don't think getting rid of the slums help, I was in India this summer. People don't like the living in the slums for sure, but where else are they supposed to live? They can't afford proper houses otherwise they would live there. And they don't want to live in the countryside, they want to live in the big city where the opportunities are. What would help a whole fucking lot in India is general cleaning and plumbing, it's by far the dirtiest country I've ever seen In the documentary people were questioned if they preferred to live in the slums. Most of them said all they needed was a proper sewage system because if you actually go in the Dharavi, there are kids literally sh*tting on the walkways and creaks are filled with these dangerous substances. Living in the big city or just elevated apartment blocks would make them lose their sense of community already established for decades. They've also established trades and markets within that cramped area. I mean if you look at this: http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/feb/18/best-ideas-redevelop-dharavi-slum-developers-indiait says Dharavi's micro-industries turn over $650 million annually! Most of this I imagine is from the markets, recyclers and the pottery-makers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEASANT Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 i was in mumbai this summer and attended a panel where we got to put questions to some dharavi residents, i myself was too ill to go to dharavi the day before but all my friends on this trip had done. interesting facts. the indian government owns the land dharavi is built on and could at any moment do anything they choose with it. dharavi has several important industries and an amazing community spirit that crosses religious and ethnic lines. attempts by the government to help the people of dharavi are viewed with suspicion and generally understood as token gestures rather than sustained support and genuine interest in improving their area. a slum in western discourse generally has connotations of crime, destitution, relentless poverty and misery, and dharavi neatly illustrates why that is a patronising and misleading assumption. this is not to say that their living conditions are acceptable or fair, but that they are doing more than just surviving in them (we spoke to a man who owned a company making car parts from recycled plastic. his company sells parts to global manufacturers) and they are not imposed upon by gang violence and drugs. they need better infrastructure, especially in terms of hygeine. they need the government to work with community leaders, to do more than attempting to impose a new way of life as some of their attempts have thus far. Building massive tower blocks for residents to live in, outside of the slum itself, where they then have to come down into Dharavi every day anyway, is not the answer. taking people out of the homes they live and work in and towards a 'modern' indian way of living is what the people in dharavi necessarily want. and if anyone thinks the answer lies in simply obliterating the homes, livelihoods and industries of a million people then you're wrong. I totally agree. I mean if I were the Indian government, I would just release all ownership to the Dharavi land to the people themselves. Btw, how was the trip to Dharavi? I don't imagine the smell of it to be... pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0night Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 I totally agree. I mean if I were the Indian government, I would just release all ownership to the Dharavi land to the people themselves. Btw, how was the trip to Dharavi? I don't imagine the smell of it to be... pleasant. i was too busy eating plain rice and drinking rehydration solution in the hotel room, cause i forgot to use antibacterial gel before i ate some peanuts on the train from delhi. spent 17 hours on that train with stomach cramps, vomiting, diaorrhea and nearly passed out in the toilet. took 3 days to recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Map Painter Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 The Indian government is useless when it comes to issues like these. The money's apparently better used elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEASANT Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 For the people who voted on the poll, explain why that should be? Would like to hear your guys opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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