A Place to Call Home: Women as Agents of Change in Mumbai (Routledge Research in Urban Politics and Policy)

Any city is a product of politics and economics, organizations and people. Yet, the life experiences of women uprooted from its poorest quarters seldom inform urban resettlement plans. In this ethnographic field study, Ramya Ramanath, Associate Professor at DePaul University, examines the lives of women displaced by slum clearance and relocated to the largest slum resettlement site in Asia. Through conversations with diverse women of different ages, levels of education, types of employment, marital status, ethnicity, caste, religion, and household make-up, Ramanath recounts how women negotiate a drastic change in environment, from makeshift housing in a park slum to ownership of a high-rise apartment in a posh Mumbai suburb. Each phase of their city lives reflects how women initiate change and disseminate a vision valuable to planners intent on urban and residential transformations. Ramanath urges the concerted engagement of residents in design, development, and evaluation of place-making processes in cities and within their own neighborhoods especially. This book will interest scholars of public policy, women and gender studies, South Asian studies, and urban planning. Cover 1 Half Title 4 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Dedication 8 Table of Contents 10 List of illustrations 11 Acknowledgments 13 Glossary 15 1. Introduction 20 The Setting 22 The Methods 28 Note 35 References 35 2. Vibrant Matter of the Past: AWoman’s Theory of Place 37 The Dense Dongar 38 Women Encountering Urban Growth 40 Nature: Misery, Freedom, and Fear 49 Toilet: Public and Private 53 Conclusions 56 Notes 58 References 60 3. Deliberation Over Legitimate Benefactors in a Neoliberal Bazaar 63 A Bazaar of Players and Strategies: Old Saviors in New Garb 65 Perceived Degrees of Suffering 69 NGO Loyalists and Others 75 Early and Later Occupancy of Sangharsh Nagar 82 Conclusions: Benefactors and Beneficiaries 88 Notes 89 References 91 4. Hazards of a New Fortune 93 The First Few Years (Batch 1, Phase I of Relocation) 97 What Is Life Without Water? 99 Prestige Is Up, But So Are Expenses 103 So Many Rules and yet Unsafe 106 Conclusions 112 Notes 114 References 119 5. Buildings and Business, Love and Forgiveness 121 All Justified in the Name of Resilience? 123 The Young/Not-So-Young and the Restless 127 “As a Result of Getting Out, Madam, I Have Learned a Whole Lot” 134 Been There, Done That, Can Do It Again 141 “I’ll Wait Until Conditions Are Right, but Can You Help?” 147 Conclusions: Women Making Sense of and Giving Sense to Likely Alternatives 153 Notes 157 References 162 6. The Depth of Place 165 Tracing Boundaries of Home Through Networks and Differences 168 Building Social Mobility and Safety Through Benevolent Segregation 170 Restoring and Improving Livelihoods 172 Note 179 References 179 Index 181