Catálogo de Investigaciones 2016-2017

catálogo de investigaciones | aÑo académico 2016-2017 139 Rethinking the Self-Build City: Architectural Systems Applied in the Informal Community of Dharavi It is of great concern that nowadays cosmopolitan cities continue to increase in population, aggravating overcrowding, pollution and poverty. The high birth rate and migration processes have generated mega cities and, due to lack of resources and sometimes mismanagement of governments, informal communities have developed rapidly throughout the world. The current population living in informal communities is approximately 1 billion inhabitants and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) estimates that by 2030 it will increase to 2 billion inhabitants. It is of most importance to study the existing needs of the population living in informal communities but it is also important to foresee the future informal settlements. The conditions of each informal community may vary, especially in the Asian region which houses 53% of the world’s urban population. Amongst this region, India is the second most populous country with approximately 1.3 billion inhabitants. The city of Mumbai holds one of the most populated informal communities in Asia called Dharavi. Covering an area of just 1 squared mile, Dharavi is home to approximately 1 million people and is considered as the economic center of Mumbai, yet most of these people live in subhuman conditions. It is for these reasons that a new system of infrastructure and affordable housing is proposed, providing salubrious conditions while developing public spaces for recreational, religious and commercial activities. The proposal responds to the existing climatic conditions which consist of heavy rains generated by monsoons, extreme hot weather and high levels of humidity. It also responds to the high density of the population by reducing the built- up footprint. By combining residential and commercial workshops this project addresses the economic, social and cultural dynamics that already exist within this community. sabdiel díaz vélez bachillerato en arquitectura mentor: arq. raúl rivera, arq. luis ayala y arq. wilfredo méndez infraestructure informal community mumbai dharavi incremental housing