Climax City

3.The Spontaneous Slum

Dharavi in Mumbai: Reputed to be the largest slum in the world (see map on page 190).

Kacchi basti in the Indian city of Jaipur translates as ‘temporary settlement’ and is the term used by many people to describe the slums that they would rather didn’t exist. However, to the residents of these temporary settlements they are anything but temporary. Take Pranbhai Thekedar, who lives in Ambedkar Kacchi Basti in Malviya Nagar, an otherwise respectable suburb of Jaipur. He told me (SH), ‘We settled here about 40 years back and are the ones who built Malviya Nagar. We nurtured it, we are very much part of it.’⁴¹ This is ...