Would it be possible to make a slum sky-scraper?
If you are
interested in slums and informal settlement, it is likely you know about Torre
David in Caracas. It is a known landmark of informal settlement appropriating a
failed sky-scraper project. Torre David features in movies and even in an episode of Homeland[1].
Less known so far is a concrete carcass in Dharavi where squatters made their homes after the developer had to leave the project too early. For us it is a fascinating case where differences between
the informal and formal sector come to light.
In
Koyla Khata building at the heart of Dharavi, squatters have appropriated the
first and second floor, whereas all other floors are vacant since 2005. Kuttiwadi, April 19, 2013.
It happens that housing projects fail while they are still under construction.
An example is the 256 tenements Koyla Khata building in Kuttiwadi, Dharavi. We were told that the name Koyla comes from Cola, a reference to the softdrink factory that once stood here. The
story goes that Koyla Khata was developed in 2005 for the relocation of slum dwellers who occupied land along railway tracks. The contractor failed to finish the
project within the budget, went bankrupt and the building became subject of lawsuits. All that
was built was a GF+7 concrete structure. Gradually, squatters appropriated the
structure and added doors and window grills. Nowadays the first and second
floors are inhabited. Higher floors are not, since the pressure in Dharavi's water system
is too low to reach that high and carrying water all the way up is not an
option. Since the abandoned upper floors are an ideal place for drug addicts, the residents of the lower floors have actually blocked the staircases that go further up.
Ground floor is also not inhabited, as it is perceived as unsafe; it is the
domain of glue sniffers and drug addicts. The people in the slum surrounding
Koyla Khata would rather see the whole building disappear. They complain about
the bad effect criminals have on their youth. Rumor has it people even move out
of first and second floor nowadays.
Koyla
Khata's ground floor is a hangout for glue sniffers and drug addicts. Kuttiwadi,
July 25, 2014.
The vacant floors in Koyla Khata put forward several issues. Bearing
in mind that Koyla Khata sits at the heart of Dharavi, surrounded by slums
where the demand for housing is enormous; one would expect the building to be
appropriated in no time, whereas it clearly is not. Of course, regular water
piping does not reach high enough, but the use of DIY piping and an electric
pump is common in all India. The vacancies on ground floor are just as
enigmatic. Most settled Dharavians live on ground floor and rent out the upper
floors of their dwellings. The idea that living on ground floor is unsafe is
apparently not that relevant. This suggests that a layout with a central double
loaded corridor that is for circulation only and with tenements that have their
back towards public space is deeply contrary to what people prefer.
The 75% vacancy in a context of severe housing shortage suggests
that living conditions in Koyla Khata building are worse than in regular ground
bound slums. The structure, i.e. the design of the building, is apparently not
even suitable for squatting. This case suggests a profound mismatch between
high-rise and what people need. Demonstrably, people prefer to pay a
considerable rent for a slum dwelling to squatting in a free of cost third
floor half-finished tenement.
This also sheds light on the
phenomenon of people leaving other high-rise redevelopment projects and
returning to the slums. It supports the observation by SPARC that
people leave market-supplied mass housing because of its inadequate design.
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