A Place to Call Home: Women as Agents of Change in Mumbai PDF
Preview A Place to Call Home: Women as Agents of Change in Mumbai
Ramya Ramanath skillfully engages an incredible range of women whose experiences vividly illustrate their struggle to make homes, access liveli- hoods, rebuild lives and construct new identities in the aftermath of their resettlement. These voices are a powerful mode to understand the dynamics of the brutal dislocations, disruptions, and transitions the poor experience in Mumbai. Rahul Mehrotra, Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Harvard University Ramanath shows us the value to be gained when women are ‘listened’ to. Most literature on slums and relocation/rehabilitation takes particular stances on the existence of informal settlements and state intervention in them. The author adds nuance and complexity to these conventional nar- ratives on both fronts. Above all, these narratives also expose the false- hood of the claims of participatory processes by movements, its politics and dynamics and their vulnerability to pressures of the larger political economy. This book will be a learning tool for cities around the world. Amita Bhide, Professoor and Dean of the School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India A Place to Call Home sensitively highlights the everyday rhythms of the lives, aspirations and frustrations of a diverse group of 120 women before and after their displacement from a slum in Mumbai’s famous national park to Asia’s largest urban resettlement scheme. It is a must read for anybody interestedin gender,place making, urban resettlement and public policy. Lyla Mehta, Professor, Institute of Development Studies, UK This page intentionally left blank A Place to Call Home Any city is aproduct of politics and economics, organizations and people. Yet,thelifeexperiencesofwomenuprootedfromitspoorestquartersseldom inform urban resettlement plans. In this ethnographic field study, Ramya Ramanath, Associate Professor atDePaulUniversity,examinesthelivesofwomendisplacedbyslumclear- ance 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 house- hold 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 avision valuable toplannersintentonurbanandresidentialtransformations.Ramanathurges theconcertedengagementofresidentsindesign,development,andevalua- tionofplace-makingprocessesincitiesandwithintheirownneighborhoods especially. Thisbookwillinterestscholarsofpublicpolicy,womenandgenderstudies, South Asian studies, and urban planning. Ramya Ramanathis Associate Professor and Chairof InternationalPublic Service at DePaul University. Her research, spread over three continents, draws on disciplinary perspectives in urban planning, anthropology, and urban sociology. Her research focuses on thebehaviorofinternational and domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the context of their interactions with government agencies, other NGOs, and intended bene- ficiaries. Ramanath teaches courses on the management of international NGOs, sustainable international development, cross-sector interactions, and policy implementation. This page intentionally left blank A Place to Call Home Women as Agents of Change in Mumbai Ramya Ramanath Firstpublished2019 byRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 andbyRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninforma business ©2019Taylor&Francis TherightofRamyaRamanathtobeidentifiedasauthorofthiswork hasbeenassertedbyherinaccordancewithsections77and78ofthe Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor reproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,or othermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopying andrecording,orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem, withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksor registeredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationand explanationwithoutintenttoinfringe. LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Names:Ramanath,Ramya,author. Title:Aplacetocallhome:womenasagentsofchangeinMumbai/ RamyaRamanath. Description:NewYork,NY:Routledge,2018. Identifiers:LCCN2018008987|ISBN9781138667341(hardback)| ISBN9781317212461(webpdf)|ISBN9781317212454(epub)|ISBN 9781317212447(mobipocket/kindle) Subjects:LCSH:Relocation(Housing)–India–Mumbai.|Slums–India– Mumbai.|Women–India–Mumbai–Socialconditions.|Cityplanning– India–Mumbai.|Housingpolicy–India–Mumbai.|Urbanpolicy– India–Mumbai. Classification:LCCHD7288.92.I42M86732018|DDC363.50954/ 792–dc23 LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2018008987 ISBN:9781138667341(hbk) ISBN:9781315618944(ebk) TypesetinTimesNewRoman byTaylor&FrancisBooks To my grandparents This page intentionally left blank Contents List of illustrations x Acknowledgments xii Glossary xiv 1 Introduction 1 2 Vibrant Matter of the Past: AWoman’s Theoryof Place 18 3 Deliberation Over Legitimate Benefactors in a Neoliberal Bazaar 44 4 Hazards of a New Fortune 74 5 Buildings and Business, Love and Forgiveness 102 6 The Depth of Place 146 Index 162
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