Housing

Altering Extant Power Dynamics

For SDI, house construction has always been about altering the extant power dynamics that place a premium on external, developer-driven solutions and ignore the contextually-appropriate ideas emerging from the urban poor. Recognizing that slum dwellers have always been the architects and engineers of their settlements, SDI gives communities the opportunity to define what adequate space and affordable cost means in their particular environment. Taking cues from the ground, SDI negotiates with governments to create an enabling environment for pro-poor housing, whereby slumdwellers can continue to play a central role in the design and construction of their homes and communities. Vacant land surveying, participatory housing exhibitions, architectural planning, and community construction practices are always crucial components of the reversal of the standard undervaluation of slumdweller-capacity.

Vacant Land Surveying: Although cities often claim there is no land left for the poor, this is almost always untrue. When poor people learn about their own cities and educate themselves about development plans, they can challenge this fallacy. Identifying vacant land has helped many Federations negotiate for resettlement and upgrading deals.

House Models: These exercises are a democratic appropriation of a middle-class practice that is popular in professional circles. Using large colourful pieces of cloth to represent walls, slumdwellers physically construct their dream houses, deciding on the size of the bedrooms, the position of the kitchen, and the orientation of the lounge. Through discussion and argument, the community agrees upon a layout plan that is appropriate and affordable for all.

Architectural Drawings: Along with the full-size house model, women from the community often imagine and design their dream houses in miniature, building their own interpretations from cardboard boxes. The full-size house model and these miniatures serve as the foundation for final plans to be drawn up by slumdwellers and an architect. This teaches communities to redefine their relationship with professionals, and allows them to translate their visions into a real blueprint.

Construction: Though this approach is contextually specific, most SDI construction practices use some blend of community labour and technical support. The goal here is to use the knowledge and skills of the formal sector in complement to the knowledge and skills of the informal sector - building quality houses without eclipsing the participation of beneficiaries. By working alongside professionals, community labourers can hone and develop their skills as proficient builders. Some affiliates even have a formal accreditation process, whereby community labourers can then take their competency certification to the market.