Temporary homes on a bridge. All these will be washed away during the monsoon. Slum is ruin and it is a construction site, urban ruin as a human nature's life providing platform. Slum is open form, as nature is. The dynamics and energies of a slum are much more powerful than those of a fixed, closed form settlement, industrial architecture.
Construction workers. These guys are nomads moving from one construction site to another. They will build up their own village from the left over construction material of the houses that they are building.
Exactly what is sustainability then – according to me understanding the ubiquitous role of fossil energy in our life is critical to getting at true sustainability.
ReplyDeleteHydrocarbon fuels (coal, oil, gas) are in depletion when man drilled the first barrel of oil or shoveled out the first coal. That’s because hydrocarbons were formed in particular geological periods in the earth’s past – so they are finite since they are not being replenished.
And oil is running out – no one denies that any longer, the contention is when will it finally.
Hence designing a habitat that will in perpetuity not be dependent on fossil fuels is what I would call sustainable. Permaculture is such a design framework – completely mimicking nature.
In a small way some of us in Mumbai have started urban permaculture – a first of its kind urban permaculture course designed for Mumbai. Those interested can see here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/62578259/Sustainable-Urban-Living-Urban-Permaculture-Course-in-Mumbai-Brochure