Academic Thesis in partial fulfilment of the Bachelors of Architecture degree at Mumbai University
| Advised by Ar. Shirish Joshi | India, 2017
A case for the rehabilitation of internally displaced people of Ahmedabad, India
Several instances of displacement occur in our cities, due to multiple reasons: development projects, communal disharmonies etc. What this leads to is the formation of haphazard resettlement colonies and ghettos within the city. The thesis was initiated as a way to enable a riot displaced community in Ahmedabad, and to reintegrate them into the society. The riots of 2002 transformed the city into a polarized landscape. The internal displacement that occurred in 2002 created islands of refugees within the same city, most of them involved in low income and low value jobs in dealing with waste, while the other part of the city continued creating world class infrastructure and public spaces that remained exclusive at best. The research intent was to first understand what the idea of ‘place’ and identity is for the displaced. Secondly, research was undertaken of the ‘place’ that these resettlement colonies occupy in our cities. Citizen Nagar in Ahmedabad was chosen as the place for intervention. The design attempted to use programmatic institutional inserts to create a sense of place, and to create value in the low value resettlement colony. The design tried to legitimize the existing waste management infrastructure by bringing it under the purview of state controlled institutions, in order to ensure that there is a legal standing to this new infrastructure and that they cannot be displaced again.
Programmatic Masterplan for Citizen Nagar
Citizen Nagar as of 2020. Credits: People's Archive of Rural India
