Slum parliament: a convergence model for holistic redevelopment of urban informal settlements
- Vol.87(10), Oct
- Mumbai Arihant Publications 2022
- 60-64p.
Slum Rehabilitation or redevelopment is one of the heavily researched topics globally. Government bodies, stakeholders, civil society organizations, research organizations, urban planners, and designers have been working for ages to derive an efficient model. This world has witnessed numerous models emerging, some succeeded and some failed. Amongst them, the participatory model has been the most discussed approach. Participatory approach in social housing and slum rehabilitation is common, but the question is to what extent this model is receptive to people's voices, needs, opinions, and suggestions. Often the participatory model becomes jargon thrown at the communities by decision makers. If not framed efficiently this model ends up as just a ritual rather than benefiting the communities. The theory of participation often creates euphemisms and are celebrated but in reality, it becomes empty. Thus, even with this typology in place, it is often difficult to derive an efficient approach. ‘A ladder of citizen participation’ by Sherry R. Arnstein describes how there are different rungs to the ladder of citizen participation ranging from non-participation, degrees of tokenism, to degrees of citizen power. Where exactly does one place the needle on this ladder of participation in different stages and processes of community redevelopment, to find the right equation to derive a humanitarian model?