Negotiating the Peri-Urban

Abstract

India's rapid urbanization results in a horizontal urban expansion to the periphery, shaping them into a dynamic rural-urban interface termed the 'peri-urban'. On the one hand, urbanization has profoundly impacted villages within the urban boundaries and resulted in a massive breakdown of local space through gradual changes in land use, economy, and social linkage. On the other hand, infrastructure works in the city have provided many job opportunities, attracting poor migrants from surrounding rural areas to move to the city. In 2010, about 35% of the population in Navi Mumbai were rural migrants. They were mainly working in labour-intensive sectors, such as quarrying.

Unprecedented urbanization in India increased existing inequalities and exacerbated urban exclusion in the context of disability to access social services and formal houses. Government interventions have been unable to respond to the exclusion appropriately, especially in the housing sector. Under the existing social housing allocation system, most quarry workers are excluded from applying for formal social housing without legal citizenship and stable incomes in the city. They have to live in self-built informal shelters which have difficulty accessing basic amenities and are exposed to high levels of risk, including pollution, dynamite blasting, and heavy industrial road traffic. In general, the dynamic socio-spatial spaces in the peri-urban area are full of multidimensional conflicts between villagers, migrants, and government officials. Fortunately, housing is a combination of domestic activities, income generation, and social linkage in the Global South. It is significant for urban development and facilitates social integration.

From an urban aspect, long-term socio-ecological urban resilience will be achieved through urban upgrading in Navi Mumbai's quarry belt. The upgrading will be divided into three phases: resettlement, urban upgrading, and ecological restoration. Focus on the resettlement phase, the proposal of the residential cluster is based on quarry workers' collective and mutual-help lifestyle. The temporality in the quarry area has also been taken into account, which may help the project adapt to the post-quarry period. Finally, a conclusion of urban-scale design principles will serve for upscaling and replicability of this project. It will guide the resettlement and upgrading of many informal settlements located in the quarry belt.