'The Ultimate User-Generated City'

A look inside the real slum featured in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". The film won 8 Oscars including Best Picture.

1 minute read

February 23, 2009, 1:00 PM PST

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"Its depiction as a slum does little justice to the reality of Dharavi. Well over a million 'eyes on the street,' to use Jane Jacobs's phrase, keep Dharavi perhaps safer than most American cities.""

"People have learned to respond in creative ways to the indifference of the state -- including having set up a highly functional recycling industry that serves the whole city."

"Dharavi is all about such resourcefulness. Over 60 years ago, it started off as a small village in the marshlands and grew, with no government support, to become a million-dollar economic miracle providing food to Mumbai and exporting crafts and manufactured goods to places as far away as Sweden."

"No master plan, urban design, zoning ordinance, construction law or expert knowledge can claim any stake in the prosperity of Dharavi."

FULL STORY: Taking the Slum Out of ‘Slumdog’

Saturday, February 21, 2009 in The New York Times

Community / Economic Development Social / Demographics India Slums Mumbai Dharavi View More

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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