Informal settlements, despite containing a majority of the people, are treated as aberrations. Forced to live outside legal sanction, the poor are condemned to a degraded quality of life.
Inequalities in education, which were already very large, have been considerably worsened by the long closure of schools. But this crisis is also an opportunity for renewal of the education system.
A team of young architects learns that their formal learning provides only limited guidance to tackle the stark challenges faced by those living in an uplanned colony next to a major urban dumpsite.
The experience of women street vendors during and after the lock-downs shows that responses to crises mut be bound better by the law and rules, and strike a balance between different vulnerabilities.
By listening to residents, and understanding the needs that have driven them to organic solutions, it is possible for Master Plans in cities to be a lot more attentive to the lived realities of people.
Can people themselves decide how governments should respond to their needs? Janta ka Faisla asks us to consider how the practice of democracy would look if it began from the most vulnerable citizens.
Urban waste continues to grow, and governments at different levels are responding with a range of approaches. There are several reasons to choose decentralisation.
For some, the plight of countless desperately poor people trapped by the lockdown was a call to action. But for others, it was a time for unscrupulous opportunism and cruel discrimination.
Extended Producer Responsibility-based interventions can be designed to ensure that wastepickers and informal workers remain an integral part of the new regime too.
Hundreds of millions were caught off-guard by the lockdown. As the government struggled to respond, it was up to citizens to recognise the humanity of each other and do what they could.
Waste pickers and others in informal recycling supply chains have long sought better terms and conditions of work, and to be heard as equals in decisions about waste management.
The suddenness of the lockdown left poor people unable to prepare themselves. To survive, they had to leave their homes in search of support, making them vulnerable to more than the virus.
The Delhi HC ruling in Ajay Maken offers hope to residents of informal settlements by protecting their right to housing and enhancing their role in decision-making about urban space.
Looking into what’s happening in the State of Karnataka, Kathyayini Chamaraj discusses the housing needs and rights of the urban poor.
Mumbai is closer to finalising its 20-year development plan, from 2014 to 2034. The plan might be hiding more than it reveals, writes Darryl D'Monte.
India Together is published with support from Oorvani Foundation.
