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Outsiders in the periphery : studies of the peripheralisation of low income housing in Ahmedabad and Chennai, India

Coelho, Karen ; Mahadevia, Darshini and Williams, Glyn LU orcid (2022) In International Journal of Housing Policy 22(4). p.543-569
Abstract

The growing emphasis on affordable housing and the sharp increase in its supply in Indian cities over the past two decades is characterised by two features that diminish the inclusive and integrative role of affordable urban housing. The first is the move toward constructing new housing stock rather than upgrading existing stock. Second, most of this new housing, increasingly in the form of multi-storied tenement buildings, is located on urban peripheries in isolated or poorly connected sites. In focusing on the peripheralisation of formal low-income housing, this paper adds a new dimension to studies of peripheral urbanisation in India, which have hitherto focused on high-end speculative developments or informal settlements of the... (More)

The growing emphasis on affordable housing and the sharp increase in its supply in Indian cities over the past two decades is characterised by two features that diminish the inclusive and integrative role of affordable urban housing. The first is the move toward constructing new housing stock rather than upgrading existing stock. Second, most of this new housing, increasingly in the form of multi-storied tenement buildings, is located on urban peripheries in isolated or poorly connected sites. In focusing on the peripheralisation of formal low-income housing, this paper adds a new dimension to studies of peripheral urbanisation in India, which have hitherto focused on high-end speculative developments or informal settlements of the poor. Drawing on mixed-method field studies of four formal low-income settlements in Ahmedabad and Chennai, this paper argues that residents of these settlements experience a multifaceted dynamic of disconnection, not only from the city but also from other peripheral developments, rendering them outsiders in the periphery. Three dynamics of disconnection are studied: first, the allocation of fully built housing units disconnects residents from processes of housing production. Second, spatial dislocation constrains their mobility, both physical and socioeconomic. Third, these two dynamics, combined with substandard infrastructure and housing conditions, alienate residents from the new settlements, and curtail their engagement in processes of place-making or the production of neighbourhoods.

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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ahmedabad, Chennai, disconnection, low-income housing, Peripheralisation, resettlement
in
International Journal of Housing Policy
volume
22
issue
4
pages
27 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85088977335
ISSN
1949-1247
DOI
10.1080/19491247.2020.1785660
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
id
94416ea4-8fdf-4333-8c1b-2e1714293bc8
date added to LUP
2025-05-29 21:43:13
date last changed
2025-06-10 03:33:14
@article{94416ea4-8fdf-4333-8c1b-2e1714293bc8,
  abstract     = {{<p>The growing emphasis on affordable housing and the sharp increase in its supply in Indian cities over the past two decades is characterised by two features that diminish the inclusive and integrative role of affordable urban housing. The first is the move toward constructing new housing stock rather than upgrading existing stock. Second, most of this new housing, increasingly in the form of multi-storied tenement buildings, is located on urban peripheries in isolated or poorly connected sites. In focusing on the peripheralisation of formal low-income housing, this paper adds a new dimension to studies of peripheral urbanisation in India, which have hitherto focused on high-end speculative developments or informal settlements of the poor. Drawing on mixed-method field studies of four formal low-income settlements in Ahmedabad and Chennai, this paper argues that residents of these settlements experience a multifaceted dynamic of disconnection, not only from the city but also from other peripheral developments, rendering them outsiders in the periphery. Three dynamics of disconnection are studied: first, the allocation of fully built housing units disconnects residents from processes of housing production. Second, spatial dislocation constrains their mobility, both physical and socioeconomic. Third, these two dynamics, combined with substandard infrastructure and housing conditions, alienate residents from the new settlements, and curtail their engagement in processes of place-making or the production of neighbourhoods.</p>}},
  author       = {{Coelho, Karen and Mahadevia, Darshini and Williams, Glyn}},
  issn         = {{1949-1247}},
  keywords     = {{Ahmedabad; Chennai; disconnection; low-income housing; Peripheralisation; resettlement}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{543--569}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Housing Policy}},
  title        = {{Outsiders in the periphery : studies of the peripheralisation of low income housing in Ahmedabad and Chennai, India}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2020.1785660}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/19491247.2020.1785660}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}