INTRODUCTION

SMART CITIES MISSION

The Smart Cities Mission was created and introduced under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration in 2015, and aims to develop 100 “Smart Cities” across the country to make them more sustainable, resilient, and citizen-centered. The mission recognises that there is no universally recognised defnition for what makes a “Smart City”, and participating parties are encouraged to create initiatives and projects that align with “typical features of comprehensive development” that are outlined in the mission (Smart Cities Mission, 2016).

Panaji, along with 13 other cities, was chosen to participate in the mission during the second round of funding applications. The Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) is the agency responsible for the creation, implementation, and monitoring of Smart City projects in Panaji (Imagine Panaji, 2016). This organization operates under the mission of:

“Making the environment and urban infrastructure of the city smart, efcient, and sustainable through smart technological means and active citizen participation so as to enhance the overall quality of life of the citizens of Panaji.” (Imagine Panaji, 2016)

HISTORY OF PANAJI

The State capital of Goa can trace its humble beginnings back to a small fshing village, called “Pahajani” at the time. Following centuries of political and dynastic change, in the 15th century it was transformed into a city of cultural importance with forts, palaces and other large buildings during the rule of Muslim Sultan, Adil Shah. Just a century later the city witnessed another major transition and change in power. 16th century Panaji was now a Portuguese colony, and in the 19th century it was elevated to the status of State Capital - taking this title away from Ela (Old Goa). This process was catalysed by the 1759 Viceroy’s move into the Adil Shah Palace (the Old Secretariat building of current Panaji) as his own residence.

While Goa as a region fourished with a unique local culture during the Portuguese infuence, the 20th century brought about their departure from the city. In 1961 India annexed Goa into the Union, and with it, Panaji. Fast forward into the present and Panaji and holds the administrative and cultural power in the State. Goa as a whole has also transformed into one of India’s tourism hubs, due to its impeccable coastal beauty, engrossing heritage, and free spirited culture. Whilst this has accelerated the development process, it has also left the city facing huge pressures associated with rapid growth. And Panaji, being the central node of Goa, starkly exhibits these social, environmental and cultural imbalances.

HISTORY OF THE ST INEZ CREEK

The St. Inez Creek, when approached today, is striking in its inaccessibility. It is obscured from view by the urban landscape, largely shunned by communities, and unloved by most of the local population. It is such a degraded feature of the City that it is hidden out of sight and out of mind, a far cry from its prominent place in the urban landscape during the Portuguese colonial period. As we discovered through our feldwork, complex social, political, and environmental changes in just 20 years have transformed the Creek from a community asset into a liability for the city.

The Creek began life as a natural stream in the historic landscape of pre-colonial agricultural irrigation systems - which included man-made bunds (dykes), sluice gates and nallahs (irrigation channels), which created controlled, brackishlike areas known as khazans for the production of fsh and salt-resistant rice (Monteiro, 2019). Such habitats create the raw ingredients for the quintessential Goan Fish Curry, which remains one of the identifable dishes of Goa to this day.

Shortly after the commencement of Portuguese rule and the establishment of Panaji as the colonial capital of Goa, the natural Creek was probably widened to become a fully-fedged tidal channel stretching from agricultural felds west of Taleigao Village to the mouth of the stream at the Mandovi River, coexisting with other artifcial irrigation channels. Until 20 years ago, the upper reaches of the Creek supported a wide range of fauna and fora including edible fsh, turtles, crocodiles and various birds, whilst the water was typically clear enough to see “all the way to the bottom”. Older residents have consistently spoken of activities such as swimming and fshing that formerly took place. There are a number of 17th-century bridges along the Creek with a high level of clearance to allow the passage of boats and to aid the ‘fushing’ of the tide. (Figure 1.02)

Figure 1.02- 17th Century bridge along St Inez Creek.

N

ST. INEZ BANDH

PANAJI

CAMRABHAT

TALEIGAO

Key

Panaji Municipal Boundary

Taleigao Village Panchayat Boundary

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE CREEK

In the last 20-30 years, the Creek has transformed from a valued asset for rural communities, to a feature which poses a “tremendous health hazard for the people living in the surrounding area” in particular due to high levels of water pollution and the creation of mosquito breeding grounds (LKS Ingenieria, 2017). There is a clear lack of governance and accountability among government agencies for managing the Creek and enforcing environmental regulations. Theoretically, the Creek falls under Coastal Regulation Zone rules (Royal Haskoning DHV, 2019) which should restrict development adjacent to the Creek, but for political reasons these have not been applied or enforced, which remains a point of resentment and frustration for civil activists in Panaji today.

DRIVERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGREDATION

Whilst neglect by those in power is clearly a primary driver, the reasons for the degradation of the Creek are complex, multifaceted and often opaque. Most of our stakeholders disagree as to the primary causes of pollution. Based on a review of the available literature and frst hand interviews, a summary of some of the main drivers of environmental degradation of the Creek are given in Figure 1.04.

Figure 1.03 - Area map of Panaji.

CAUSES PROBLEMS

Build-up of sandbank in the mouth of the Creek

Hardening of the banks of the Creek Illegal dumping of solid waste

Inappropriate bridge construction

Hard-edged development directly adjacent to Creek

Informal sewage discharge Restriction of tidal fushing

Loss of creekside fora Stagnation of Creek water

Breeding of mosquitos

Loss of community livelihoods

Loss of navigability

Seasonal fooding

Loss of ecosystems

Siltation Figure 1.04 - A summary of the primary causes for environmental and social degradation of the St Inez Creek.

PROPOSALS FOR RESTORATION OF THE CREEK Within the last four years, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has commissioned two major studies for the environmental and hydraulic rejuvenation of the Creek (LKS Ingenieria, 2017; Royal Haskoning DHV, 2019). These contain a comprehensive list of engineering solutions, along with proposals for improved governance under a single managing body. There is some evidence of limited community involvement in the development of these proposals, but very little recognition of the livelihoods of those

living adjacent to the Creek. Civil activists who we’ve engaged with have also made their own proposals, but with a far greater focus on community involvement and empowerment (d’ Silva, Tallulah, 2019). Much of the Creek itself falls under the theoretical ownership of the Comunidade of Taleigao, a historic organisation of collective ownership that derives from the pre-colonial period. The Comunidade, in common with civil activists, are in frequent confict with the Taleigao Village Panchayat and the Corporation of the City of Panaji, who have historically preferred a policy of “structural solutions, using hard engineering approaches [which] doesn’t recognise non-structural and nature based solutions” (Royal Haskoning DHV, 2019). There have been historic proposals for the complete concretisation of the Creek (Kamat, Nandkumar, 2009) which have been rebufed under protest from the community.

ST INEZ BANDH SETTLEMENT

Figure 1.05 - Inside the St Inez Bandh community.

A dainty bridge, a high rise luxury business hotel, and a busy street with jam-packed parking slots. These are some of the factors that characterise the St. Inez area. The junction which connects the St. Inez Road and the Dr. Braganza Pereira Road looks like a typical commercial and central area. But interestingly, this axis is not even a near representative of its perpendicular. Here runs the namesake St. Inez Creek, which has years of exploitation and degradation clearly on display. Just a short walk along the creek, and we see how diferent it is to the junction near the luxury hotel. An ignored and unmaintained patch of green later, the view quickly reveals the residential blocks. At frst, we come across a complex that visually aligns with the surrounding landscape. However, as we continue walking along the creek, we come across the settlement that contrasts greatly with the surrounding environment.

That settlement is the St. Inez Bandh, a dense row of single-storey houses spanning the length of about 260 metres. (Figure 1.06) With a thriving population from both Goa and Karnataka, it has a character and energy that cannot be ignored.

Figure 1.06 - A dense row of single-storey houses in St Inez Bandh.

These houses have reportedly stood there for some 50-60 years, much before any of the commercial, residential mid-rises existed. Despite the longstanding presence of this area, this community faces a variety of risks namely with tenure security. This topic will be explored further in the report later.

Figure 1.07 - St Inez Bandh is settled directly alongside the St Inez Creek.

Their adjacency to the Creek was initially what supplemented their lives. (Figure 1.07) Yet now the story has fipped, and their linkage with the creek is exactly what threatens them. While it is apparent that both the creek and the settlement have adverse impacts on each other due to years of mismanagement, they cannot be simply put aside. Hence this complex relation deserves a broader and inclusive approach.

THE CAMRABHAT AREA

Entering Camrabhat today is like stepping into a diferent world, when compared to the surrounding environments. Just 1.5 km from the leafy villas of Campal, the community is socially, economically and environmentally distinct from much of the rest of Panaji and Taleigao. Being the only contiguous ‘slum’ in the City it has been described as “Panjim’s Dharavi” (Team Herald, 2015), in reference to the famous slum and one of the econmic centres of Mumbai.

Figure 1.08 - Entrance into Camrabhat over the Creek.

The community is a part of the Taleigao Village Panchayat on the very outskirts of the municipal area of Panaji, and today is home to around 300 people. It consists of three distinct areas:

“Formal” single-storey housing; “Informal” single storey housing; and “Formal” four-storey housing The story of the development of the area, and the growth of ‘slum-like’ conditions is one of broken political promises and a disconnect between governance and the needs and livelihoods of a community.

The area was originally developed as singlestory housing complex for low-skilled employees of the Municipal Administration of the Corporation of the City of Panaji, most likely just after the end of the Portuguese colonial period in 1961. Most of the original settlers migrated from Karnataka State, and the current residents typically descend from these original pioneers. Over time, as these families have grown, further migration has taken place and the settlement has expanded. As a result of this growth households have developed illegal extensions, and an entirely new area of ‘informal’ slum-like housing has developed on a previously open green space with relatively poor living conditions. Despite regular political promises to upgrade the slum or translocate the residents to a nearby site “till date not even a stone has been moved” (Team Herald, 2015) and the quality of the urban landscape has barely improved in the last 17 years.

Figure 1.09 - Densely built informal housing in the slum area.

“In [the] 80s and 90s Camrabhat was a place to live in with open surroundings, playing ground for kids. The area initially had three buildings of municipal quarters besides around 50-odd houses for other ground workers.” (Nandrekar, Suraj, 2016)

The land in Camrabhat is owned by the municipality, and although the people living in the informal settlement today have no legal tenure, they are politically tolerated by the authorities. Most households also have connections to the water and electricity supply network. However, there is nevertheless concern around what would happen if the government were to redevelop the area (Team Herald, 2015) and the Outline Development Plan for Taleigao has designated it as a ‘Commercial Zone’ (Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority, 2019). Similarly, in the past 10 years, a number of large colonies have developed in the area and in some cases these appear to encroach into the agricultural land which surrounds Camrabhat. The history of the community has created a unique and highly complex urban patchwork which sustains many strong families, despite some deep rooted problems.

Figure 1.10 - Inside the Camrabhat community.

METHODOLOGY FRAMEWORK

“Bottom-top Relationships” “Bottom-top relationships”

“Value-based and developmental planning” “Bottom-to relationships”

“Planner as a facilitator” “Bottom-top relationships”

As we discovered early in our situational analysis, the formal planning system has failed our community. Strengthening horizontal partnerships between communities and amongst higher-level institutions can help to align organisations and groups around common goals.

For our feldwork, we wanted to identify, build on and strengthen the value that already exists in the community - their assets - and advocate for the rights of those whom are most marginalised or disadvantaged.

Our approach to the feldwork was far removed from that of a traditional planning exercise, which has failed our community in the past. We wanted not to “plan for people” but to facilitate a process that will allow people to make better choices and resources “needed to improve their lives and livelihoods”.

Table 2.01 Urban Ecological Planning Principles.

PROPOSAL

The primary purpose of our feldwork is to “build critical self-awareness of the role of the urban practitioner in challenging environments” (NTNU, 2019). To achieve this we immersed ourselves in a ‘messy’ system that faces complex issues unique to the local environment, but refect common challenges experienced by marginalised communities around the world. The Urban Ecological Planning course emphasises nine principles that diferentiate it from traditional planning processes (Silwa et al., 2018). Three of these that we felt resonated most with our feldwork are outlined in Table 2.01.

In addition to embracing these principles, we recognised that the people of the community are our primary stakeholders, whose livelihoods are majorly interdependent on wider systems - social, environmental, political and others. The principles of human-centered design recognise “that the people who face those problems every day are the ones who hold the key to their answer” (IDEO.org, 2015) and therefore participatory processes would form the heart of our research and the key to developing our Problem Statements.

Building community resilience requires commitment to a long term presence, due to “highly participatory nature of area-based interventions” (Parker, Elizabeth et al., 2015). Whilst three months living and working in the feld initially seemed a substantial length of time, in the context of trying to play a part in spatial or social change, it was just a fraction of what is normally allocated for area-based projects. We therefore recognised the need to structure and rationalise our approach to data collection, situational analysis and ideation within this short time period, and manage expectations as to what we could achieve.

To most efectively fnd solutions for complex communities, it’s arguably best to ideate early and build ‘loops’ into feldwork that allow planners to “tinker and test... fail early and often” (IDEO.org, 2015). For this, we broadly followed the principles of design thinking (Miller, Benjamin, 2017) when defning our methods and approaches to the feldwork:

Empathise - an insight into the needs and desires of the community Defne - rationalising and comprehending needs and desires, developing problem statements Ideate - generating ideas Prototype & Test - developing and testing hypothetical solutions To focus our research within the constraints of time and resources allocated to us, we adopted the following research question:

“The purpose of our research is to gain an insight into the lives and livelihoods of some of the most marginalised communities of wider Panaji, appreciate some of the blockers to these communities achieving their potential in the context of wider, complex systems and propose potential planning solutions to alleviate these”

AREA ANALYSIS METHOD

For the frst week of our research, we combined both groups to perform an overall assessment of the area around the St Inez Creek of Panaji, from Campal in the north down to Camrabhat in the south. We performed transect walks with the aim of gaining an initial, personal ‘impression’ of our area, and to start scratching the surface of the communities and livelihoods in our area.

The northernmost end of the St Inez Area consists of the large, well maintained Campal Gardens and the INOX entertainment complex, which both draw people from across Panaji. Campal itself is one of the city’s oldest and wealthiest neighbourhoods, with wide treelined boulevards, well maintained parks and large old leafy villas; some over 400 years old. Many residents have been there for multiple generations. Moving east across an attractive 17th Century bridge, we enter the area formally known as ‘St Inez’, typifed by busy commercial establishments. The area is very diverse - the multiple examples of large churches, mosques and Hindu temples refecting the diferent communities that live there. We also encounter the frst small-scale settlement adjacent to the St Inez Creek, the St. Inez Bandh. Further down the creek is the Calculo Mall. The Mall attracts middle and upper class visitors from across Panaji, and is the only signifcant mall in the city aimed at a wealthy target market. Moving south, we cross the Creek once again and pass the modern Tonco Sewage Treatment Plant before arriving at the Camrabhat community and the surrounding colonies.

CAMRABHAT

Harnessing nature and human potential for catalysing change in a community

03

METHODOLOGY

One of the objectives of the Urban Informality Project Course is to immerse ourselves “in a marginalised urban environment”, where livelihoods are at least partially characterised by informality. The Camrabhat community has been consistently described by media reports, and civil activists we subsequently met as Panaji’s “only slum” and “the most marginalised community in Panaji”. Our initial walkthrough revealed mixed but often poor quality housing, a degraded environment, poor rubbish collection facilities and low levels of spoken English. Further discussions revealed malnutrition, and access to skills and education as some of the issues in the community.

However, beyond this we also witnessed a ‘village-like’ atmosphere of outdoor interactions, evidence of festivals and a passion for sports and activities amongst many of the children.

Further investigations have revealed that the community is palpably isolated from the surrounding colonies - demographically, socially, economically and physically. Whilst no-one in our team had worked in this type of urban environment before, working in Camrabhat presented a clear opportunity to learn from an environment that is very diferent from our home communities and, perhaps, give us an opportunity to build on the positive aspects of an area shunned by much of the city.

Empathise Define

Formal meeting with North Goa Planning Department Formal meeting with Taleigao Sarpanch (village head)

Formal prototyping meetings with local engineer, Imagine Panaji and Smart City fellows

Formal meetings with local activists Formal meetings with local architect and NGOs

Week 1 2 3 4 5 6

September October

Multiple site visits to empathise and build relationships with community “Emoji” workshops with community

Supporting local activists with existing beautification projects Art, mapping, transect walks and ideation workshops with children

Desk-based research into the history and demographics of the community Group workshops with SPA Delhi

“Difficulty building trust with local residents” “Starting to gain insights through children”

“Sense of hopelessness” “Communication barriers”

“Are people lying to us?”

Ideate Prototype & Test

Creek Rejuvenation Seminar Welfare Association Stakeholder Meetings

8 9 10

Fieldwork Report

11 12

Final seminar in Delhi

13

November December

Additional “Emoji” workshops with community Ethnographic observations of different areas of site Final presentation of proposals to community and stakeholders

Informal and formal prototyping and testing of proposals with community and stakeholders

“People are opening up about negative aspects of area” “Deeper insights through translator”

“First venture inside informal properties” “Huge enthusiasm for first photomontages” “Sadness on our final site visit! ”

RESEARCH DESIGN

The core of our research, both for situational analysis and further ideation, relied on six main participatory methods. These were sourced from a broad review of literature, past projects in Urban Ecological Planning and were tested and refned in the feld.

From an early stage we agreed to focus on the community’s assets and understand how these are exploited to support livelihoods, or how their absence or weakness could increase vulnerability. The focus of our proposals would then be to build on these assets to bring longterm benefts.

Assets which we focused on are:

Human capital: Quantity and quality of labour resources, and the ability of the community to access them. Social capital: Social structures, rules, trust and norms in a society. Physical capital: Basic infrastructure and productive equipment. Financial capital: The fnancial resources available for the community. Natural capital: The natural resources or services provided by nature which support peoples livelihoods. Political capital: Access to political and decision-making processes (Adapted from Radoki, Carole, 2002) Methods that work in one particular community are unlikely to be directly applicable to another, and we quickly found that certain social features of our community created limitations and opportunities for certain methods. In particularly, the low-level of community pride signifcantly limited our ability to take photographs and use them for situational analysis or ideation, due to the risk of building resentment in the community against our presence. However, the low rate of participation of women in the workplace has allowed us to engage them in the daytime, largely free from the infuence of men, and hence gain greater insight into their lives and livelihoods. At an early stage we became aware that the ‘truth’ in Camrabhat, and the surrounding area, is highly subjective - particularly around the subject of pollution and environmental degradation. Diferent individuals, communities and authorities had strong but often conficting assertions as to the root cause of various emergent aspects and perceived problems in and around the community. We therefore sought to seek a diverse range of views, especially from those whose voices are less likely to be heard in the public sphere, and where possible verify opinions with evidence. Beyond simple research, dispelling misinformation can ultimately be a way of empowering communities to advocate for their rights.

PARTICIPATORY METHODS AND ETHNOGRAPHY

The team used fve diferent types methods (and variations of these) to collect data, help create spaces for participation and progress our stages of design as shown in Figure 3.02.

Design Stages

Initially ‘Empathise’, transitioning to all stages

Define

Empathise, define and ideate

Define

Define and ideate

Participatory Methods

Informal interviews and observation

Formal interviews

Community mapping and art

Transect walks

The ‘emoji’ game

Levels of Ethnographic Research

Up to participant as observer

Up to observer

Up to observer as participant

Up to observer as participant

Up to observer as participant

Figure 3.02 - Participatory methods used in research. Figure 3.03 - Initial site walk around in Campal area.

These techniques helped us to progress both our fve design stages, and to understand the livelihoods of our community from diferent ethnographic levels. We started with a ‘walk and talk’ approach and informal interviews with the people living in the settlement. We then teased out the feelings and aspirations of community members through diferent exercises - including a drawing exercise, mapping exercise, many guided tours and the “emoji” game. Moreover, we performed ethnographic observations and wherever possible correlated information about the site through our extensive network of external stakeholders, articles, reports and websites. Finally, through ideation to prototyping and testing the community guided us towards ideas and potential proposals.

Examples of our engagement, mapped around ethnographic levels, are outlined in Table 3.01 on the following page.

Ethnographic Level

“Observer”

Activities

Presence in the community in particular locations and spaces - water wells, sports grounds, shops, toilets and other public spaces.

“Participant as observer”

Informal discussions with residents, where we explained the purposes and background behind our feldwork. Asking open-ended questions. Occasionally provoking responses - “what do you think of this?”

“Observer as participant”

Direct engagement in community activities, especially the construction of a ‘foating garden’ in the Creek and an art workshop on the bridge.

Table 3.01 - Ethnographic levels adapted from Mayo, Lorin, 2017.

Insights and Outcomes

How diferent community members use diferent spaces, at diferent times of day. The gender and age split at diferent locations. Body language and the nature of interactions.

Deeper descriptive insights into livelihoods - including family structure, employment and connections to other parts of the city. Engagement sometimes limited to those who could speak English, and sometimes dominated by men.

Sensitisation and trust-building with community members, including children. Created a sense of ‘investment’ and commitment to the community.

INFORMAL INTERVIEWS AND OBSERVATIONS

Informal interviews formed the core of our feldwork, as they immersed us in the dayto-day livelihoods and lives of the people in Camrabhat. In ethnographic terms, through many of our interactions we moved beyond a simple “observer” towards becoming an “observer as participant” through our direct involvement in community activities, which gave us a deeper insight into more private aspects of the people’s lives. Our primary technique for this method was simply our presence in the community - sensitising them to us being there, building relationships with individuals and building “empathy” - the frst stage of the design process. Because of the strength of family groups within Camrabhat, we found that talking to one individual could quickly draw in an extended family and give us an insight into their livelihoods as a whole. In many cases, we found that using simple props (such as a pen and paper, or a map) could help to overcome shyness and give new

Figure 3.04 - Informal interview with a community leader.

opportunities for knowledge transfer. In other cases, we identifed ‘gatekeepers’ (including a local civil activist) who was able to give us quicker and more direct access to community activities. Later on in our feldwork, this technique was also employed in the “defne”, “ideate” and “prototyping” design stages. For these, we guided the conversations around specifc issues we had previously identifed and ‘provoked’ community members with ideas to spark a wider conversation (IDEO.org, 2015). For example, when introducing a large proposal for food mitigation we initiated ideation about other solutions to solve the same problem. Moreover, when proposing a water supply scheme we ‘dug deep’ into the implications of having a 24hr water supply for the livelihoods of women in the community.

The language barrier, especially amongst adults, was an initial issue when applying this method. In some cases, younger members of a family would act as ‘informal translators’. In other cases, we worked with students from SPA Delhi and the Goa College of Architecture to provide a more formal translation service. We originally hoped to employ a translator from within the community, but all the individuals we approached were unwilling or unable to fulfll the role. It’s possible that there was a social barrier to them supporting us due to our role as ‘outsiders’ in the community, and the suspicion from some individuals.

Figure 3.05 - Informal interviews with a family in the community.

FORMAL SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS

Formal interviews were pre-arranged discussions with individuals who have a particular role or relationship with the community. For each discussion we prepared a number of set questions in advance, generally seeking to gain information about the community or its wider context. These were then followed by more open-ended questions to prompt further discussion. These interviews were sometimes the most challenging, as they were often saturated with bias and restricted by the formal or societal role that the particular individual plays.

Figure 3.06 - Formal Interview with Vishal Rawlley. It was, therefore, vital to place our fndings in the context of the interviewee, and crossreference them against others where possible. These interviews were employed particularly in the “defne” stage when digging deep into particular aspects of the community or the wider context. There were also used during the “prototyping” stage, where we wanted to test the feasibility of our proposals.

Some examples of our formal interviews are given in Table 3.02.

Interviewee

Taleigao Sal Panch (the head of the Village Panchayat)

Local civil activists

Deputy Town Planner

Local Goan architect

Discussion

We discussed land ownership and proposals for redevelopment of the Camrabhat slum, and gained an insight into the approach of the government authorities towards slum rehabilitation. He could be considered over-optimistic about the prospects for slum rehabilitation, and we had to frame our insights in the knowledge that this individual is elected and prone to promising improvements for the electoral cycle.

We gained some broad insights into the livelihoods of community members, past initiatives in the community, and their successes and failures. Some are still successful (the sports group and the theatre group), whereas others have not been maintained by the community and have disappeared (vegetable garden, foating garden). These individuals were highly sceptical of top-down government policy and approaches from the Panchayat and others, and therefore ofered a diferent perspective on bottom-up community initiatives.

We aimed to gain detailed information on the Outline Development Plan (ODP) for Taleigao, but the individual appeared to be defensive and unwilling to discuss the details of the ODP - especially anything which might imply any shortcomings in his department. We were unable to gather any information on his approach to slum rehabilitation, and our experience was somewhat refective of that with other government representatives.

This local architect was involved in developing previous proposals for slum rehabilitation and relocation to an adjacent site in Camrabhat around 16 years ago. We were able to examine how the slum has changed in the last few decades. It provided an additional example of how governmental and non-governmental organisations frequently promise interventions which are never implemented.

Independent Engineer

Following focused ideation with our community, we “dug deep” into these ideas through formal interviews with experts. One of these was a local engineer with extensive experience of working with the local government, who gave us guidance on the technical feasibility of these ideas.

Table 3.02 - Information gathered through formal interviews.

COMMUNITY MAPPING AND ART

Camrabhat is a complex web of diferent housing typologies, characterised by small winding lanes, unprotected services and informal housing. To an outsider, it can appear bewildering, impenetrable and difcult to rationalise and comprehend. We quickly identifed that fnding internal gatekeepers and guides would be absolutely essential for understanding the livelihoods of the community that lived there.

A civil activist had suggested that children in the community were likely to be the most enthusiastic guides, but any activity would have to be fun and engaging to ensure they maintained interest. We quickly identifed mapping as a fun and engaging activity that sparked conversation and greatly supported our situational analysis. The typical sequence of events was as follows:

1. Gather a group of children, with the help of a local contact if possible 2. Show an aerial map of the community and point of key orientating features - such as the bridge, shrine etc. 3. Ask the children to point out where they live. 4. Ask the children to draw other areas of the community they visit on a regular basis - such as where they play, where they do sports, where they talk to their friends and where they shop or go to school. 5. If possible, ask more sensitive questions such as where they use the toilet, or their opinions about diferent areas.

Figure 3.07 - Drawing and beautifcation exercise with the children.

Community mapping allowed us to identify features such as wells, bars and pathways which were new to us. This technique supported us during the “empathise”, “defne” and “ideate” stages.

TRANSECT WALKS

Through our contacts in the community, we were taken on several guided walks by groups of children, both male and female, to identify many of the features from our community mapping. Through the walks, which were especially useful for exploring the ‘informal’ settlement, we were able to record housing typologies, estimate household sizes, identify and observe how people used diferent site features and penetrate parts of the community we could never have entered alone. The presence of large numbers of stray dogs and some apparent suspicion towards outsiders made having a guide absolutely essential in many parts of our community. This technique was particularly supportive of the “defne” stage of our work.

Figure 3.08 - Transect walk through the community.

TOWARDS PARTICIPATION- THE ‘EMOJI’ GAME

Interviews “can be highly subjective” (IDEO. org, 2015), and power typically rests in the hands of the interviewer - the power to ask certain questions, the power to interpret what has been said and the power to decide what to do next. Such a process is subject to our individual and theoretical biases, which we inexorably carry as baggage when operating in the feld.

Figure 3.09 - Emoji workshop.

However, efective participation “involves an inevitable sharing and then transfer of power” (Moser, Caroline, 1989) and means putting the power of decision making and interpretation into the hands of the community. Our other methods had struggled to reveal people’s opinions about