An architecture of informality: the physical and social environment of two informal settlements in Ahmedabad, India

Abstract

Informal architecture is the dominant mode of urbanisation in rapidly growing and industrialising cities throughout the world and in India. In Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat in India’s north-west, approximately 728,000 people live in informal settlements. As India adds 416 million new urban residents by 2050, it is projected that most of these people will be accommodated by informal architecture. Despite their prevalence, informal settlements have received little attention by architectural researchers in comparison to other disciplines. Policy and planning interventions directed at informal settlements most often focus on the deficiencies of the built environment and frequently ignore the agency of people who construct these places. Accurate descriptions of the physical environment and its relationship to the livelihoods and motivations of residents in informal settlements is a common omission. Yet, understanding the underlying processes that generate and give meaning to the self-built environment of informal settlements is critical to improve residents’ quality of life. The aim of this thesis is therefore to understand the spatial organisation and meaning of two informal settlements – Ramapir No Tekro and Gandhi Vas – in Ahmedabad, India, at the scale of the house and neighbourhood. Two research questions are addressed: First, what are the origins of housing typologies and settlement patterns in the two informal settlement cases? Second, how are the identified domestic and neighbourhood spatial patterns significant for households and community?To understand why the built environment of Ramapir No Tekro and Gandhi Vas has been arranged and built in such a way, this thesis documents buildings and public spaces in four informal settlements in Ahmedabad and a village in the north of Gujarat. Data were collected over three fieldwork periods totalling six months during 2017-2018 using a qualitative case study approach. The research methods included participant observation, shared open space use observation, settlement mapping, architectural documentation, and semi-structured interviews. Data from each case were analysed and compared to reveal consistent housing types, settlement patterns, and uses of private and public spaces. The study discovered that documented housing types and settlement patterns replicated the spatial organisation and use from residents’ rural villages of origin. Rural building traditions brought to an urban setting supported residents’ social and cultural practices and resulted in high levels of neighbourhood social ties valued by the research participants. In the urban informal settlements, five significant spatial patterns were identified including the dwelling location, incremental construction process, dwelling thresholds, shared open spaces at the centre of housing clusters, and neighbourhood organisation. These spatial patterns were significant for residents who self-built and managed their built environment by helping them access housing solutions within their economic means, sustain viable livelihoods, live according to their cultural traditions, and build and maintain social ties necessary for sharing and accessing basic needs and finding comfort and enjoyment.This thesis argues that Ramapir No Tekro and Gandhi Vas may have ‘informal’ tenure status, but this is not reflected in their architecture. The architecture of both settlements has traditional, rural origins with many kinds of significance for residents particularly apparent at the scale of the dwelling and neighbourhood. The architectural continuity found in the building patterns of the informal settlement cases demonstrates the historical and cultural value of their morphology; for residents to continue their traditions, live within a community of recognisable neighbours with whom they can enjoy social connection, and have a sense of ownership and control over their environment. To generate these findings, the methodological framework combined a novel mix of methods that contributes to a new standard for what constitutes a comprehensive spatial and social analysis for architectural scholarship on informal settlements. Making use of laser scanning technologies enabled capturing more data than previously possible and allowed for an analysis that is both detailed architecturally and measures the urban spaces of informal settlements. This thesis shows that sustainable, appropriate solutions to problems of urban poverty and inequity require recognition and adaptation of the inherently appropriate aspects of the architectural traditions that characterise informal settlements. Future research, design, and policy must include residents of informal settlements as key stakeholders involved in the transformation of their own neighbourhoods and cities.