Transitional Sociability: Versova Koliwada

Transitional sociability a study of the urban fishing villages of Mumbai

AMI K. JOSHI 5th Year, B.Arch University of Mumbai School of Environment and Architecture 2019-20

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Transitional sociability a study of the urban fishing villages of Mumbai mapping sociability in the context of transformations and shifts in economy

AMI K. JOSHI

Supervisors: Rupali Gupte Ravi Punde Dushyant Asher

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Certificate This is to certify that the dissertation titled Transitional Sociability is the work of Ami Joshi whose signature appears below as Author.

The Author certifies that this is the original work carried out by the Author and is not paraphrased, or copied in whole or in parts (except for those statements and graphics mentioned along with references) or submitted in any form to any other institution for obtaining an academic degree.

The Supervisors whose names and signatures appear below confirm and certify: that the above mentioned dissertation is the original work of the above mentioned Author; that it is carried out under their supervision; and that the work is of acceptable quality necessary for partial completion of the course to obtain the Bachelor of Architecture Degree.

The Director whose name and signature appears below certifies that the Supervisors are appointed by the School of Environment and Architecture for undertaking the above mentioned work and based on the evaluation of the Supervisors, the above work is acceptable for the partial completion of the course to obtain the Bachelor of Architecture Degree from University of Mumbai. _________________________ AUTHOR _________________________ _________________________ SUPERVISOR 1 SUPERVISOR 2 Name: Name: Date: Date: ________________________ _________________________ EXTERNAL EXAMINER 1 EXTERNAL EXAMINER 2 Name: Name: Date: Date: _________________________ DIRECTOR School of Environment & Architecture INSTITUTION SEAL

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Acknowledgement I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who has made it possible for me to be here today and for being a great support system for me through this journey. I hope to have your support for all things to come, moving forward.

I sincerely thank all of those at School of Environment and Architecture for contributing in shaping me to be able to understand and contribute to the study through this dissertation. I further thank my institute for enriching me with an ocean of knowledge and be a part of research of utmost importance in the current context. All of these experiences play a huge part in me being able to work on this thesis, and hope to do some justice to it. I would like to thank Prasad Shetty and Rohit Majumdar for helping me frame my argument successfully. I would like to further thank Rupali Gupte for her constant support and assistance in polishing and sharpening my arguments. Your assistance has been instrumental in being able to compile this thesis.

To my parents, my facilitators, you have always had immense confidence in me. Thank you for instilling the abilities in me that I have today. Without you, I am nothing.

To all of my classmates and friends, I want to thank you all for five brilliant years of growth, learning and perseverance. You all have been amazing. Thank you for constantly helping me get better, as a person and peer. Thank you Hetvi Lapasia, Foram Desai, Gautami Kasat, Gaurav Edwankar, Siddharth Chitalia and Saniya Ranade for constantly providing insights and valuable inputs to my work, and for encouraging me during difficult times. These five years of architecture would have been very difficult without you all.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family- my mother, Swati Joshi; my father, Kiran Joshi; and my brother, Prithvi Joshi for continuously motivating me during these five years of architecture.

Special thank you to my brother for bringing me little gifts and stationery every now and then!

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This study is dedicated to the urban villages of Mumbai..

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List of illustrations 0.1 0.2 0.3 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11

Map of Bhati Koliwada Map of Versova Koliwada Map of Mumbai locating the site of study A Koli woman during the daily auction and sale The Versave Macchimaar Vividhakaryakari Sahakari Society Ltd. Office The typical street scape of Versova Koliwada Section diagram of a street with traditional houses on both sides Section diagram of a street with traditional houses with raised walls defining the thresholds Section diagram of a street post transformation with tall buildings on both sides Section diagram of a street post transformation street sections with shops on both sides Section diagram of an old street showing visual connectivity in old house forms Shops in the new house form of the village Section diagram of a street showing degrees of publicness in old houses form Section diagram of a street showing degrees of publicness in post transformation house forms Diagram depicting the change in the sociability of the house fronts in the new house forms (below) as compared to the old house forms (top) Diagrams depicting the different ways in which house fronts are organized in the old houses Diagrammatic representation of ‘individual spaces contributing to the common spaces’ (Structuralism and Social Space,Herman Hertzberger) Diagram for the sociability mobilized by the verandas in old houses Mending of fishing nets in a small shack in Versova Bhati Koliwada as seen from one of the large courtyards towards the Jetty Road Plan of Bhati Koliwada showing the road networks Cluster plan of study site 1 mapping initial site observations Cluster plan of study site 1 Cluster plan of study site 1 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch Cluster plan of study site 1 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces Cluster plan of study site 1 identifying the transformation in house forms observed in the swatch Cluster drawing mapping various activities in the swatch mobilised by the degree of sociability of the space Cluster plan of study site 2 mapping initial site observations Cluster plan of study site 2 Cluster plan of study site 2 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch Cluster plan of study site 2 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces

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Cluster plan of study site 1 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces A typical day with daily activities of the house being extended onto the street Drawing showing the formation of shops in the by-lanes and their connectivity with the street Plan of Versova Koliwada showing the road networks Cluster plan of study site 3 mapping initial site observations Cluster plan of study site 3 Cluster plan of study site 3 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch Cluster plan of study site 3 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces being reduced to roads becoming largely vehicular Cluster plan of study site 4 mapping initial site observations Cluster plan of study site 4 Cluster plan of study site 4 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch Cluster plan of study site 4 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces Cluster plan of study site 5 mapping initial site observations Cluster plan of study site 5 Cluster plan of study site 5 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch Cluster plan of study site 5 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces Drawing showing the formation of shops along the main road of Versova and their relationship with the street Drawing showing the new shops and their disconnection from the street Mapping the nature of the transformations and their effects on light, ventilation and habitability of the streets below, reducing sociable spaces of the village A comparison of the various house forms of both the settlements- Bhati Koliwada and Versova Koliwada Re-imagination of old spaces- extensions built in the new houses are a derivation of the old verandas Re-appropriations of verandas in the context of economic changes Inside the Ice Factory at Versova Koliwada Street of Bhati Koliwada that is seeing similar transformations of houses as in Versova Ice produced in the ice factory being transferred into boats at the dock

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Table of content I

Abstract

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Maps

1.1 The context 1.2 The transformations 2.1 Transformation and economy 3.1 The mapping 4.1 Bhati koliwada- the study 4.2 Versova koliwada- the study 5.1 Comparison 5.2 Conclusions 6.1 Architectural application of the thesis 6.2 Architectural Intent 7.1 References 15

Abstract Urban villages have been undergoing transformations due to shifts in the economic activities of the villages. These shifts bring with them a demand for new configurations in the builtform of the village, changing the house form and its associated public spaces. This changes the sociability of the village.

In the context of urban fishing villages in Mumbai, these changes in the sociability fracture the relationships of the people within the community by disrupting the delicate relationship between the built form and open space. It does so by altering the hierarchy of the spaces within the settlement, allowing the new built form to take over the available common spaces. The common spaces in a fishing village not only facilitate its everyday activities, but also become spaces for their communal symbiotic relationship to flourish.

With the setting up of the co-operative, the ice factory and the cold storage in Versova village, the daily functioning of fishing and its allied activities have become mechanical, minimising the required time investment and presence of the community, reducing it further with migrant labour being available to work on the boats. This, along with the individuality of the emerging G+3 builtform typology, has disintegrated the sociability of the village, and hence, the community.

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Through this thesis I aim to establish the importance of sociable spaces in urban villages. In order to do so, the study incorporates the comparison of two fishing villages at different stages of transformation- Versova Koliwada, largely transformed builtform; and Bhati Koliwada, a settlement functioning as per the older way of communal living. Through readings of ‘Social space and Structuralism’ by Herman Hertzberger, the study begins to establish patterns of sociability offered in these cases.

The next stage of the design thesis will be focused on speculating the shifts in built form for Bhati Koliwada as similar instances of economic changes and transformations seen in Versova Koliwada are observed at their nascent stage.

Through the study of living patterns in both the settlements, it was clear that the transformed house forms disrupt the everyday sociability of the people; the industrial logic of the ice factory and the working of the co-operative leaves little room for the people to actively partake in the everyday functioning, making their activities mechanical.

The aim of the thesis is to argue for a change in the way these transformations occur, and to rethink the typology of the builtform to incorporate spaces of sociability at different scales in the neighbourhood, as was seen in the older contexts. It identifies the demand for a house form that recognises the needs and aspirations of the people for the transformations, considering the shifting economies, while laying importance to the series and hierarchy of open spaces and their relationship to the builtform.

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Bhati koliwada

Location: Off Madh-Marve road Population: 600-650 % of people fishing: 85% 0.1 Map of Bhati Koliwada

0.2 Map of Versova Koliwada

Versova koliwada

Location: Andheri West Population: 4500-5000 % of people fishing: 40-45%

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0.3 Map of Mumbai locating the sites of study 19

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The context Every city has a set of people, a community,

that are said to be its original inhabitants. These communities develop a way of life and activities that are carried out generation after generation, taught by the elders of the community to their successors.

One such community is the fishing community of Mumbai, the Kolis. Owing to its long coastline and geographic location, Mumbai has a large and diverse availability of fish close to the shore. This led the communities to indulge in fishing and generate income by selling the surplus catch to the other communities, hence, taking fishing as a means of generating income, making it their primary economic activity.

The community set up homes along the coast, configuring the spaces around them to facilitate fishing and its other allied activities. For example, large courtyards and open spaces were used to dry and store the catch and repair the nets. Children played in these spaces and women used them for their daily chores. Clothes were dried on long ropes and children would enjoy playing under their cool shade. During the fishing season, surplus catch was stored in containers outside houses, in the verandas.

Nets were dried and mended by the men with the young boys sitting there, learning. The courtyards became shared spaces of the houses, and hence the community. These spaces became centres of community activities commonly performed by all families, encouraging co-ordinated working and a 21

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strong sense of community interdependence. This later helped them to form a cooperative that looks after the everyday requirements of the fisherfolk, the materials required for storage and labour needed to aide working. A cooperative manages and facilitates smooth working in most forms of economic activities, especially in villages.

Fishing villages have a strong sense of spatial hierarchy within themselves, a hierarchy that defines the movement and asserts the importance of spaces.

The main road of the village acts as a spine that knits the village together. Smaller roads connect to this main street at junctions that become nodes of interaction among the folk. The main street leads to the sea and the dock, popularly referred to as the bunder. This is where the boats dock and unloading of the catch happens. A larger bunder can also host auction and sale. This is an activity where women are most engaged in. The auction which happens twice a day- early morning and late afternoon, is one of the busiest times for a Koli woman. The surplus fish is packed and kept in the cold storage for future use and export purposes.

Over the past four years, I have had the opportunity to study fishing communities of different scales and practices and understand their patterns of living and performing activities. The village of Dhuriwada, on the coast of Konkan region of Maharashtra, is a small fishing community of about 50 houses.

The quaint village has a low-density housing that is spread out, each house designed to have a series of transition spaces that allow the people to interact, communicate and socialise. The everyday functions of the house happen outside, in common spaces.

The large open spaces of the community are used for events and gatherings as much as they are for performing the allied functions of fishing activities, like repairing nets and drying fish. The houses are constructed by the community themselves using materials locally available. As a result, the houses are low-lying structures with small rooms as most of the activities of everyday life happen outside.

The village of Versova, however, is nothing like above. Tall buildings, narrow streets and shops of everyday products make up the village. The houses are reconstructed to make way for shops, restaurants and other services. The street is lined with these new economic ventures pouring out onto it. The space has evolved into an urbanised, high density living area. Transformations of the builtform have been observed in the past two decades. These low-lying houses have been transformed into 3-4 storeyed buildings with a provision to conduct commercial activities along the street.

Previuos page: 1.1 A Koli woman during the daily auction and sale Current page: 1.2 The Versave Macchimaar Vividhakaryakari Sahakari Society Ltd. Office Next page: 1.3 The typical street scape of Versova Koliwada 23

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What could have led to these large-scale

transformations? What has influenced the advent of new economic activities within the community that solely depended on fishing as its primary source of income generation and sustenance?

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1.4 Section diagram of a street with traditional houses on both sides

1.5 Section diagram of a street with traditional houses with raised walls defining the thresholds

1.6 Section diagram of a street post transformation with tall buildings on both sides

1.7 Section diagram of a street post transformation street sections with shops on both sides

The transformations Transformations have happened as a result of future generations being engaged in activities beyond their everyday involvement with fishing. To understand this, it will be useful to trace the time since it has been happening. Youngsters are opting to go for further education and set up their own businesses, even if on smaller scales. Some opt to educate themselves further to aide their fishing business, while others prefer to join entrepreneurial practices and learn the working of a business. They spend time to engage in these things, apart from the daily inputs that fishing needs. As owners, they choose to employ labour to do the manual work as they, themselves, spend a large amount of their time engaging in and developing other economic activities.

from the fishing activities have contributed towards a change in the way of life leading to the transformations of the house forms to accommodate for the new activities that the people are leaning towards. This gives rise to a changing village, a transforming village, in terms of its economy and hence a change in the infrastructure and built forms that it comprises. The kinds of changes mainly observed are of a difference in the typology of the houses, now of high-density apartments as compared to independent houses that existed in the past.

After the recent proposals of the coastal road project and the statue in the sea, ‘it is has become increasingly taxing and expensive to continue with the fishing and sustain through it. Large investments are needed, more resources and time go into a journey that does not yield as much as it used to’, say the locals at Versova Koliwada. Large trawlers competing with the fishermen’s boats reduced the fishermen’s chances of a good catch. Moreover, pollutants have affected the quality of the fish.

Consequently, they are encouraging their children to steer away from these activities and invest their efforts elsewhere. It is this change in the work forms of the community that is contributing towards a change in the spatiality of the village. A disconnect

In the initial days of study, I spent my time on site seeing people’s daily activities, taking up the role of an observer. In due course, conversations with the locals about their everyday life and activities gave me an insight into the routines that they follow, the time during the day there is high intensity of work and when they have a period of rest. Walking to the dock with a fish seller and engaging in conversations about the changes that she had seen in her 20 odd years of being associated with the fishing business she narrated the way the settlement was changing slowly over time.

Referring to the narrow lanes within the settlement she reflected upon the time when the older houses dominated the typology of the settlement. Much 27

1.8 Section diagram of an old street showing visual connectivity in old house forms 28

smaller than the present ones in size, they comprised of verandas on all sides, giving the impression of a wider and more porous space. This space, she reminisced, was often occupied by them as children to sit and play among themselves, waiting for their mothers to get back home from the bunder with the day’s supply of fish. Many such instances were marked in her memory of her village that has ‘rapidly changed since, almost unrecognisable as their village now’. Today, however, very few of those verandas open out onto the street. They have made way for several shops, and resto-bars to line the edge of the streets changing the overall experience of traversing through the village.

The street now resembles a generic urban street with shop fronts lining the street edges, narrow alley ways leading to the internal smaller streets and the non-porous boundaries of the houses. The transformations have led to people developing a strong sense of ownership which was absent earlier.

The backyards and verandas that were once occupied by the community and other residents as a common resource are now only used, although sparingly, by the owners. This has restricted the kinds of activities that happen in these former social spaces and led to fragmentation of spaces and hence the common activities. These activities now happen in designated spaces like open grounds of the community and the temple and gardens. The events can be organised in these spaces after taking approvals from the cooperative. There is a strong hierarchy in place that dominates the ways in which a space can be used, a hierarchy that determines the kinds of events and activities that can happen in the common spaces.

This changes the idea of common spaces among the community from an offered space used to perform common activities of everyday life to a space that can be used for purposeful events alone, contributing to the strong sense of ownership developing in the minds of the people.

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Hypothesis: Transformations due to changing

economies in fishing villages of Mumbai changes the configuration of the house form and its public spaces, hence altering the sociability of space.

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Transformation and economy Transformations in the built form are a result of a change in the economies of the village. Through this thesis, I aim to understand how the configuration of a space is a response to the economic activities that happen. This thesis also aims to explore if economic activities in a space give rise to a logic of spatial organisations, patterns and their structuring. It then becomes important to study the fabric of the place and analyse the ways in which it informs the practice of everyday life of the people, the way spaces are used and how spaces are generated or carved out for allowing new practices to evolve. These changes hamper the sociability of the of the settlement by essentially converting the sociable spaces into commercial centres of the village.

Practices of people shape the way a space is used. A user’s influence on space shapes the usability of the space. In his book ‘Deleuze and Space’, Deleuze mentions the ways in which the presence of humans in a place is responsible for the activities and affect the space generated. The existence of the user defines the articulation of the elements that constitute the space and its appropriation. The human act of creating a way of manoeuvring the activities of the place by instilling the ability in the place to hold, hinder or regulate the movement of the people around it can be called the ‘articulation of space’.

2.1 Shops in the new house form of the village

For instance, at a tea stall, the shade under a tree is appropriated by the person who starts the activity 35

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of selling tea, thereby creating a space that attracts people and calls out to them, offering the place a use.

On the other hand, a street that does not have any activities happening on it, no pause points or places articulated to make for a space of usability, whether programmed or non- programmed, may be regarded as a common space. A space that facilitates the people to use it in a way they deem appropriate.

takes the physical form that the users provide it.

Taking further Deleuze’s argument and the idea of space production it will be useful to discuss Henri Lefebvre’s ‘Production of Space’ which talks about similar ideas of ‘producing’ space through the mind. In any place, through the knowledge of its history, the mind is capable of rationalising a way to articulate and create a space that can be used for the purpose of production of labour and a spatial condition in which the activity can be carried out.

The rationality organizes a sequence of actions to facilitate the process of change in the space. This change is brought about by mobilizing changes in the spatial elements and its configuration with respect to the physical space that inhabits it. These changes can be perceived in micro and macro scales, that is, in the grain- the smallest unit of the space, and the fabricthe overall organization of the space. The mobility of this change creates a synchronization of the spatial order with the physical space and its activities. A space that allows the functioning of the activity is generated within the existing spatial order and it

‘A space’, says Lefebvre, ‘cannot be treated as an a priori condition of the authorities that rule over them.

The space is closely bound to the forces of production.

This force then organizes the space according to its specific requirements’.

In an urban village undergoing this change, the aspiration of the new space shapes its actualisation.

The shift from the rural to urban is often the aspiration for a settlement on the fringe of the urban realm. This change is realised through a shift in the socio-economic and socio-political relationships of the space and the inhabitants.

This could be further articulated, and it can be said that the space is capable of transforming to accommodate a change in the production. The owners of the space have little say in the matter of this change if the society as a whole strives for this modification. A new space can be produced by altering the production and labour cycle. The produced space is a generation of a spatial order that is required for the labour to produce work and the production, in turn, is facilitated by the production of a space that holds the activities. The existing social structure is transformed. The resultant space produced is not an urban space, but a new imagination of a relationship between the imagined new and the old.

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‘In a place undergoing transformation’, says architect Qingqing Yang (in ‘Transformations of Living Spaces in Hutongs’), ‘the spaces get re-appropriated to give way to new activities. The transformation is of the idea of the space, its use and a change in the people inhabiting it, the users’.

In the Hutongs of China, the residential neighbourhoods were re-appropriated to become a tourist site of historic importance. The Hutongs were old, dilapidated structures in the main cities of China. These structures had to be redesigned and the space had to be reimagined to make profits.

The tourism industry would flourish if the ancient, traditional house forms were reused to accommodate modern activities, changing the nature of interaction and use of the space. The traditional, residential households of the Hutongs were transformed into a space that supported the tourism industry, changing the economy of the place.

Could this phenomenon be called ‘gentrification’?

As a response to gentrification in China, Architect Meng Yan in an interview in 2016 said, “Gentrification is unavoidable… It brings about a change that helps the inhabitants sustain. If this does not happen, they face the possibility of being removed...”

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It is often a concern that the urban villages are undergoing gentrification and hence there is a crisis in the way space is used and appropriated.

Traditional urban villages have the ability to hold a migrant population while also retaining their own practices of everyday life. Over time, however, these practices alone make it difficult for the locals to sustain in the changing economy and keep up with the urban lifestyle that they are constantly exposed to. To cope with this, they undergo transformations.

These are usually termed as ‘gentrification’.

According to Ruth Glass, gentrification is the change in the social character of a space due to the removal of the old inhabitants and the advent of a new set of people, using the space in a new way. It includes the physical renovation of the old, dilapidated structures, making them modern and relevant for the new era. This is a resultant of the new inhabitants of the space. The place gets re-appropriated as per the new patterns of use, idea of social space and aspirations. Gentrification leads to a change in the spatial configuration of a space thereby changing the way of living. This change in the spatial dimension also results in changes in the social interactions of the people and their idea of common space. In most cases, an economic change follows or precedes these changes. Gentrification could be a result of a floundering economy resulting in another economic idea taking over.

Gentrification is relevant in cases where a new class of people move to a place previously occupied by another strata of people, usually of a lower ‘class’ who have moved out due to unfavourable factors. It is not gentrification when original inhabitants continue to live on by changing spatial use, structure and order.

This change is a result of the opportunities that the new generation of inhabitants bring in, thereby instilling changes in the spatial configuration, a way of surviving in the space in light of a shifting economy. However, there may be other forms wherein original inhabitants rent out to others to supplement their incomes.

2.2 Section diagram of a street showing degrees of publicness in old houses form

Can the case of Versova, considering the changes in the spatial use, transitioning economy and changes in the users, also be categorised as gentrification?

2.3 Section diagram of a street showing degrees of publicness in post transformation house forms 39

A gentrification based on changes in the ideas, a shifting perspective of organising the built form and use of infrastructure for a different purpose. From what has been established already, the changes in the ideologies of socio-spatial interaction and the change in the interdependence of the inhabitants could also be attributed to gentrification. Examples of several parts of urban villages transforming and ‘gentrifying’ suggest similar changes in the patterns of living and interaction of the old and new inhabitants.

2.4 Diagram depicting the change in the sociability of the house fronts in the new house forms (below) as compared to the old house forms (top)

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The spatial effects of gentrification, transformation and the changes in the production are a change in the overall lifestyle of the people. Changes in the way open spaces are used- as a space for the community to collect and interact to being used as a means of income generation-suggests altering of ideas and preferences of the users. The importance, in the latter, shifts from a sense of community living by one mode of economic opportunity. As for the common spaces in the community, the usability of which was once decided by the commons for purposeful and leisure activities benefiting them, they are being traded for a commercial activity to be set up, effectively shifting the economic and social ideologies of the place.

In his essay ‘Social space and Structuralism’, Herman Hertzberger asserts the importance of common social spaces. He talks about the use of a circulation space as a community space which is facilitated by appropriately designing it to allow for interaction and chance encounters between the users.

These spaces, he says, become places of communal interest and become platforms for the community to interact and perform activities collectively. This instils in them a sense of community development by giving them opportunities to bond and contribute to a larger interest structured by the community.

He goes on to say that social spaces are formed by a series of individual spaces that offer any space a character that is rooted to the space it belongs to.

The elements within these spaces form identities and associations in the minds of people which leads to certain kinds of uses of the elements. Elements play a certain role in the space and serve a specific function. These elements, Hertzberger says, make the spaces that offer social contact. The social contact in these spaces allow to make communication possible through physical presence, thereby reinforcing the community.

2.5 Diagrams depicting the different ways in which house fronts are organized in the old houses

Hillier and Hanson wrote that the use of space is influenced by several factors at different scales of analysis. The household level, building level, neighbourhood level is important to study for the purpose of this thesis. Each level has its own set of cultural forces that affect the way people inhabit the space. This social conditioning and the culture-based needs that are generated by them are often difficult to provide for while designing because cultural patterns are more complex than the possibilities offered by space and it may be difficult to give spatial forms to all social rules that are operative in a given situation.

On a neighbourhood scale, cultural factors intersect with social conditioning and other factors like the economic and interpersonal relationships. These factors determine the level of cultural screening that a space shall be designed for. Personal spaces like the house or building may have lesser socio-cultural forces acting and hence, are designed to suit the daily requirements of the inhabitants. The neighbourhood, on the other hand, is subjected to larger forces of socio-cultural and economic influences and this may reduce the level of interaction between the users and the amount of public space around them that they can occupy or control as per their requirements.

This behaviour determines the use of space in a context. The users may make decisions of the house structuring as per their needs based on economic factors. These needs give rise to spatial orders that provide opportunities for bettering the economic 41

advantages, leading to a transforming economy within the neighbourhood- like in the case of Versova.

Hillier and Hanson (1984) wrote about the relationship between spatial morphology and social life of the people occupying it. They say that the configuration of space carries implications on the cultural, physical and social patterns that develop in the society. A space organizes and creates boundaries within itself. These boundaries are mere thresholds created as a result of cultural practices of the people and the society the live in.

Versova has emerged as an urban settlement wherein the local inhabitants are engaged in new economic activities like retail stores and small service shops like garages and barber shops and other entrepreneurial ventures. These activities resulted in a demand for a new kind of space that wasn’t available in the previous context. Transformations in the built form made it possible for them to maximise the usability of the area available while also ‘redeveloping’ their houses to resemble the urban form of apartmenttype houses, compromising on the sociability that the space offers. These ideas of housing emerge from what they perceive as ‘ideal way of living’. The city becomes their precedent. The result of this is that a semi-urban space becomes more urban while losing its character in the process of replicating what the city portrays to them. The additional space that 42

is generated by vertical expansion allows for a sale component which brings in people of other cultural backgrounds into the space. Their neighbours aren’t their relatives anymore, but city dwellers looking for affordable houses. These changes give rise to a changing social environment that is brought about by changes in the traditional household and living patterns, different from their traditional way of life.

All these factors eventually change the sociability, leaving people to feel its absence. This leads them to re-appropriate the new spaces to get some of the sociable spaces back.

2.6 Diagrammatic representation of ‘individual spaces contributing to the common spaces’ (Structuralism and Social Space,Herman Hertzberger)

Limitations Problems associated with response sets posed as a limitation. Due to the fact that the community is extremely self-driven and does not cope well with individuals conducting surveys, and particularly not on issues related to the attitude held towards residential settings, some respondents were initially hesitant to participate on two grounds. Some questioned why personal details should be disclosed to strangers while others wanted to know if the government was in any way involved in the survey.

2.7 Diagram for the sociability mobilized by the verandas in old houses

Also, there were instances where I felt that individuals agree and give answers that do not really reflect their opinions but things that they feel the researcher wants to hear. In addition, since the scope of the study was limited to include only households living in a specific residential area in both the fishing villages the applicability of the findings will be limited in interpretation to these neighbourhood areas alone.

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Research question: How is the change in the built form affecting the sociability of the space?

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Research aim: 路 To study 2 fishing villages in Mumbai and compare patterns of transformations in them 路 To understand the reasons for the transformations 路 To map the existing and erstwhile fabric of the space to analyse the changes in space use 路 To speculate a way in which these transformations can happen while also allowing the spaces to be used for community practices.

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The mapping For the purpose of this research, mapping the past and the present scenario is imperative. The study, through a series of plans and sections of selected swatches in each neighbourhood, will help to understand the ways in which new spaces are being produced in the space and the ways in which they affect the existing (or past) patterns of movement and interaction. This study will help to study how the transformation of builtform has affected the sociability of the space.

The mapping study includes 路techniques for generation of space 路a study of the patterns in which the new commercial activities have come up 路their relationship with the pathways and access networks 路the kind of amenities these shops provide

Left: 3.1 Mending of fishing nets in a small shack in Versova

For a holistic understanding of the scenario, studying similar economies will be helpful. Restricting this study to an economy of fishing villages will help achieve common grounds for the purpose of the study. The activities of particular economy of village rarely change from one village to another. Their primary economies being fishing, the activities and spaces required for them will be similar in configuration, elements used and frequency of use.

Hence, the comparison becomes more accurate.

Furthermore, the effects of the changes in policies have a similar impact on economies of the same 47

kind. For example, changes in the number of fishing days allowed will have a quantifiable impact on two settlements with their primary activity as fishing.

If the comparison was of a fishing economy with an agrarian economy, the impacts would not be as much on the agro-based economy. Thus, this research is limited to the study of an urban village with a primary fishing economy.

In both the settlements, I would like to study the idea and use of the open spaces and the common spaces. This study gives an insight into the activities that the people of each settlement engage in during their times of leisure, the work done together as a community and the way they appropriate use of public and common open space and how the builtform contributes to the sociability of space.

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Reason for site selection In order to understand the transformations in the fishing villages of Mumbai, it is imperative that a study be done in two or more samples.

This comparison will help to establish a pattern of activities and speculate the trend of change of economic activities influencing the changes in infrastructure and built form. The basis for sample selection would be to identify sites with different typologies of built forms and activities of varying scales and kinds. The difference in the built form will help to make associations with the economic changes and whether they influence the transformation patterns at all. A comparative analysis of this data will bring out patterns of social interaction and use of available space through their way the appropriating of these spaces.

storeyed buildings with a commercial shop along all main streets within the settlement. These shops are of various kinds. General stores, stationery stores and technical repair shops, a few barber shops and other utility provisions along with several restaurants and bars now line the streets of Versova Koliwada.

Bhati Koliwada, on the other hand, has many houses of the traditional typology. These houses have a series of open spaces used for the activities of the people who live around. With most of the houses still working as fisherfolk, not many parallel economic activities are seen. Although, some new buildings have come up in the past ten years, bringing with them a few shops for the daily requirements and a restaurant now in the making.

The sites selected are similar in their primary economy, that is fishing. They, however, differ in the stages of the transformation that new economic activities have brought in. they are at different stages of exploring new ways of spatial articulation and space generation.

Versova Koliwada is a fishing village that is surrounded by high density, high ‘class’ housing apartments and bungalows. The village itself has seen various kinds of transformations in its built form and infrastructure over the past two decades. Low lying independent houses have been replaced by 4-5

Next page: 3.2 Bhati Koliwada as seen from one of the large courtyards towards the Jetty Road 49

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Analytical framework We discussed that the effect of a changing space and economy is experienced through the changes in the social behavior of its inhabitants and the physical changes in the spatial order of the space. For the purpose of this study and to be able to answer the larger question of how changing economies inform the built form and affect the social relationships, the following questions emerge. ·The typology of the built form- a study of the current and the old typology of the built form ·The activities- how have they changed, if at all and how they shape the sociability of a space (a study of transformations within the village and the factors, internal and external, that have influenced these changes. Looking through the lens of ‘Transformation of Living Spaces’ by Qingqing Yang) ·The common spaces- where are they located? What are the spaces used for? (a study of the Commons and their spaces. Through the lens of ‘Common spaces: The City as Commons’ by Stavros Stavrides) ·How have ‘new’ spaces been generated? What is the nature of the space? (to understand methods taken up by the people to enable them to transform spaces around them and their ability to do so. Through the lens of ‘Production of Space’ by Henri Lefebvre) ·Who are the owners of the ‘new’ spaces? ·How has the sociability transformed? ·What are the activities that the space now provides?

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4.1 Plan of Bhati Koliwada showing the road networks

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Madh- Marve Road

Jet t da wa Ko li

Koliwada Road

Bhati koliwada

Location: Off Madh-Marve road, next to Erangal village Bhati Koliwada is a small fishing village on the west coast of the Madh Islands. The village comprises 60 houses in all, arranged in a radial manner such that a connection is maintained with the road as well as the sea for vehicular movement. A jetty road turns around the village enveloping the extents, connecting the Madh-Marve road to the bunder forming a large network of open spaces. These open spaces facilitate the fishing activity that 85% of the village engages in.

A series of pathways within the village forms the network of pedestrian movement. With narrow lanes and stone paved pathways, vehicular access is limited within the settlement, except on jetty road.

The house forms are of the vernacular typology and consist of sloping roof and verandas with large front courtyards. These courtyards are spaces where most activities of everyday life occur. Mending of fish nets, drying fish and stocking of the baskets used to carry the fish to the auction market for selling is all done in these courtyards. Small boats brought in for repairing, old nets and floats are commonly seen. The boats often become a space for people to sit in, meet and interact. The courtyards also ensure community involvement and learning for all the people. Fishing activities are taught to the children from a very young age. Koli women train the children on how to identify and use the fish while the fishermen train them in mending nets and techniques of fish drying.

The village consists of several courtyards shared between houses where these activities take place. The hierarchy of spaces is maintained by the courtyards and open spaces around the settlement followed by the verandas that act like bleed-out spaces for the houses, where daily chores are done. The roof shade over the verandas provide adequate light and make the space suitable for using to cut and chop vegetables, prepare to cook and other intricate work.

The village is structured such that smaller spaces contribute to the formation and functioning of larger spaces such as courtyards and open spaces.

This hierarchy of spatial organisation creates a certain sociability within the space that allows informal encounters among people during several times of the day.

My journey around the village was guided by a young boy, Piyush. While we went around the village, with him constantly making small talk with everyone we passed on our way updating them about the events of the day in the village. Most of these interactions occurred at nodes, the junctions formed at the intersection of several gallis, forming internal landmarks like the Cross of Jesus, the Boat House, etc.

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Cluster 1 The meandering narrow lanes of the village open out into a large courtyard that lies in front of a traditional house. The space brings a pause in the movement as it opens out the various activities that the courtyard caters to, for all the surrounding houses and all groups of gatherings. The women sit on the veranda while they prepare for the evening meals, talking animatedly about the catch of the day and discussing their experience at the fish market auction. Older women sit at the edge of the narrow street, on the benches, talking. A few men are seen returning from work, carrying nets that are beyond their capacity to repair, to be stored in the houses. A boy waits beside his grandmother while she talks to her friends, only to run off at the far end of the street on seeing his friends finally arrive with a cricket bat in hand, ready to play in the empty street in front of the house.

4.2 Cluster plan of study site 1 mapping initial site observations

Smaller lanes branch out from the main street leading to more houses. The houses are G+1 storey with front porches and/or veranda, forming an extension to the street, offering a part of the house front to the street, allowing for the activities on the street to bleed into these extensions. Some parts of the houses in the narrower lanes are carved out to contain small shops that sell groceries and candy. Children frequent these shops, visiting multiple times with their friends during their vacation.

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The street opens up into a large courtyard shared between several houses. Most of the houses are of the old typology with sloping roof and a series of transition spaces- the courtyard being the first of them.

4.3 Cluster plan of study site 1

Large spaces are recognised as semi- public spaces.

These spaces offer a wide range of activities to be conducted in them by multiple users. The courtyards form the first of the many sociable spaces where work is done collectively by the users.

The darker greys are verandas of the houses that host the daily routine of the people living in them, and the neighbours who take turns on occasion to sit and work together.

4.4 Cluster plan of study site 1 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch

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Courtyards create conditions that allow people of all age groups to find spaces of interaction and meeting, the courtyards are the most versatile spaces in providing adequate sociable spaces within each cluster of the settlement.

Certain elements in the village form landmark by becoming a part of the collective memory of the people. These landmarks become meeting points for the people.

Children playing

Local landmarks

Meeting spaces

Degree of publicness

Commercial spaces 4.5 Cluster plan of study site 1 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces

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4.7 Cluster drawing mapping various activities in the swatch mobilised by the degree of sociability of the space 59

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Cluster 2 Within the bylanes of the settlement, house veranda are along the length of the roads. Walking through these lanes is much like walking across the living room of a house. The house doors on either side of the street remain open with constant movement of the women doing their house chores while chatting loudly. Chairs on either side of the street outside the house remain there permanently.

The ground floor houses in this lane have terraces that overlook the street, allowing for visual connection between the veranda and the terraces.

This promotes more conversations between the women while drying clothes on the terraces as well.

The terraces shade the street during the days of harsh sunlight, providing just enough light for daily chores and for small groups of children to find a corner somewhere and play video games.

4.8 Cluster plan of study site 2 mapping initial site observations 61

The by-lanes are active spaces with people from houses on both sides using the street as an extension to their homes.

4.9 Cluster plan of study site 2

The street remains a public space offering a wide range of activities to be conducted in them by multiple users.

The darker greys are verandas of the houses that host the daily routine of the people living in them, and the neighbours who take turns on occasion to sit and work together.

4.10 Cluster plan of study site 2 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch

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The street creates conditions that allow people of all age groups to find spaces of interaction and meeting, providing adequate sociable spaces within the cluster.

With some stools permanently kept on the verandas, children sit and play during afternoon under the well shaded area.

Children playing

Local landmarks

Meeting spaces

Degree of publicness

Commercial spaces 4.11 Cluster plan of study site 2 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces

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4.13 Cluster plan of study site 2 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces 65

6m

6.5 m

3.5 m

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Walking into the bylanes of the settlement is much like walking through the living room of a large family. Verandas are used for relaxing with a cup of tea shared with the neighbour or for finishing meal preparations while animatedly chatting. Sometimes, it acts as a resting space during the day for the older members of the family, narrating stories to their grandchildren.

4.14 Drawing showing the formation of shops in the by-lanes and their connectivity with the street

Blurry boundaries between home and street 67

6.6 m

7m 2m

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Found in the narrow lanes between two houses, these spaces are volumes carved out of the houses and used as grocery and provisional stores. Layers of food packets are seen hanging on the walls of both houses.

While the shop with the raised plinth is an old one, the other shop is fairly new, incorporated in the house when it was reconstructed some few years ago.

Through blurring of the boundaries between the street and the house, the sociability increases. The scale of the space achieves a human relation through visual connectivity.

4.15 Drawing showing the formation of shops in the by-lanes and their connectivity with the street

Creating niches for commercial activities 69

4.16 Plan of Versova Koliwada showing the road networks

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Versova koliwada Location: Versova, Andheri West

Versova village is one of the most well-known fishing villages in the city, best known for the Fish Festival it hosts every year. The festival celebrates the Koli way of life and culture and showcases the traditions for the people to witness. Contradictory to this, the village itself is a modernised space consisting of old houses converted into low rise G+3 or G+4 buildings due to shifts in the economy. The narrow lanes that used to have house verandas on either sides, are now lined by walls of the buildings or shops opening onto them. The built form of the space is drastically different from a traditional fishing village.

The architectonics of the village have changed over time. The village is unrecognisable as a fishing village as most of the activities related to fishing are practised in designated spaces rather than using the house fronts. It is because of this that most houses do not have a front courtyard anymore, and the ones that do have been repurposed for other activities to take place. These activities are often income generating ventures like a small candy shop, a tailor’s workshop, a restaurant, etc.

Shop units are carved out of the buildings considering they are profitable additions to the redeveloped buildings, adding monetary value in a high density and demand area. This large-scale redevelopment has given rise to several narrow and long alleys between two buildings, compromising on the light quality that reaches the houses on

the lower floors, window grills of neighbouring buildings almost touching. The effect of this is that several small open spaces that used to add value to a house have been completely wiped out from the new building form, affecting the everyday life of the people who have lived in the village for a long time, especially the older people. The new built forms do not have the sociability offered in the traditional house forms.

During my visits to the village in the course of the study period, several people of different age groups shared their experiences of daily life in both forms, the traditional and the transformed. While the younger generation related the transformations to the progress of the community and being a part of the outside world, the older people reminisced about the simplicity of communication and interaction that the older house forms allowed. The younger generation found the older houses to be too small to accommodate the growing family’s needs and aspirations that the outside world created for them.

The older people described the new house forms to be restricting movement and the need for constant supervision when a child needed to go to play, and mothers would prefer to accompany them since the place of play was not visible from the house windows.

Adjustments in the house forms bring adjustments in the lifestyle.

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Cluster 1 Along bunder road, the road leading to the docks, several new economic activities are identified. These have come up in the past couple decades along the main street fronts. The road is laden with multiple shops and service stores like the barber’s shop, taylor’s workspace, restaurants, bars and other provisional stores. The building heights scale the volume of the street, making it seem like a roofless tunnel. The stark division of the public and private spaces can be perceived clearly while walking towards the house entrances- plinths raised upto 1m, indicating subtly for the visitors of the village to stay away by limiting chances of a conversation.

With the roads becoming vehicular and the street front of the houses being converted into commercial spaces, the sociable spaces are absent on the street, limiting interactions.

Amidst the clear boundaries, unplanned meeting spaces are created in front of the salon and the niches formed by the staggering of neighbouring houses.

Children appropriate spaces in the alleys to play close to home, especially in the early mornings when the shop shutters are still rolled down. Spaces of interactions get created in the voids of those holding activities.

4.17 Cluster plan of study site 3 mapping initial site observations 73

The transformed buildings have taken over all of the sociable spaces of the settlement. A lack of hierarchy of spaces is observed in the settlement thus creating stark thresholds between the private and the public.

4.18 Cluster plan of study site 3

Thin strips of platforms created in front of the houses are used by the people to sit during morning and evenings, doing daily chores. The scale of these spaces is much smaller than those seen in the older context and hence offers a lot less possibility of use, compromising on the sociability of the street.

The darker greys in this case are the shops that, though used by several people, remains largely disconnected from the street and the lives of the people.

4.19 Cluster plan of study site 3 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch 74

Versova koliwada being largely commercial, the spaces are used by a certain set of people for short spans of time.

Children playing

Local landmarks

Meeting spaces

Degree of publicness

Commercial spaces 4.20 Cluster plan of study site 3 showing space use of the swatch being largely commercial

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4.22 Cluster drawing of study site 3 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces being reduced to roads becoming largely vehicular 77

4.23 Cluster plan of study site 4 mapping initial site observations 78

Cluster 2 In the bylanes of versova village, spaces are organised a little differently from the main roads of the settlement, the spine. Buildings are structured keeping provisions for larger open spaces that can allow for events of everyday life and play to exist.

These spaces open among a group of houses, much like the older patterns seen in the village. Instances of redevelopments exist around these, though the scale and presence of the open space is predominant.

These spaces provide essential open relief spaces in the large-ness of the builtform volumes, albeit seldom used.

The politics of the use of space comes from the redeveloped households that cling to the idea of private space of individuals. Thresholds are purposefully designed to discourage the use of space.

Such thresholds are only blurred by acts of children finding spots to gather and play, considering they do not conform to the limits that the people set on the usability of the space.

Most of the houses in the bylanes have their own set of open spaces where excess water is stored in large drums, clothes are dried, and people are seen sitting and reading. Children dominate the open spaces by moving from time to time and sitting at different house fronts. They negotiate the space by discovering new niches for themselves regularly, spaces where full grown humans cannot fit!

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The transformed buildings have taken over all of the sociable spaces of the settlement. A lack of hierarchy of spaces is observed in the settlement thus creating stark thresholds between the private and the public.

4.24 Cluster plan of study site 4

Thin strips of platforms created in front of the houses are used by the people to sit during morning and evenings, doing daily chores. The scale of these spaces is much smaller than those seen in the older context and hence offers a lot less possibility of use, compromising on the sociability of the street.

4.25 Cluster plan of study site 4 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch

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Smaller spaces created in front of houses are used during certain times of the day, in winters when the sunlight is less harsh.

Children playing

Local landmarks

Meeting spaces

Degree of publicness

Commercial spaces 4.26 Cluster plan of study site 4 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces

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4.27 Cluster drawing of study site 5 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces being reduced to roads becoming largely vehicular 83

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Cluster 3 The co-operative was formed about seventy years ago and is responsible for stocking supplies of fuel, food, equipment, etc required in the daily smooth functioning of the fishing. It has set up an ice factory and a cold storage within the village for supporting their everyday needs. The cold storage makes it easier to store fish for a longer time, reducing the amount of wastage due to spoiling. The ice factory produces enough ice in one day to store, transport and carry the fish from the dock to the storage and until the day’s demand is met. The ice is also sent on the boats in large quantities. This enables the fishermen to stay in the deep sea for a period of 1-2 weeks, depending on the availability of catch.

The ice factory works on an industrial logic, making the spaces outside defunct. However, people appropriate the spaces to make them sociable.

Market spaces are set up in the area outside the cooperative office and warehouses. The market space is most active during early morning and evening when a crowd of Koli women are seen displaying the fresh catch of the day. The market attracts people from the nearby vicinity in large numbers, including the people of the settlement staying on rent. Some smaller vendors buy the fish from these markets to sell them at other places in the city.

4.28 Cluster plan of study site 5 mapping initial site observations 85

The transformed buildings have taken over all of the sociable spaces of the settlement. A lack of hierarchy of spaces is observed in the settlement thus creating stark thresholds between the private and the public.

4.29 Cluster plan of study site 5

The lighter grey is the market area active only during auction and selling hours. The space is otherwise used for hosting events of outsiders by giving it on rent to generate income for the community.

4.30 Cluster plan of study site 5 Nolli mapping to show the private and public spaces in the swatch 86

Space use is largely that of commercial activities of different kinds, including fish selling, holding events by renting the large open space, making idols during festivals,etc.

Children playing

Local landmarks

Meeting spaces

Degree of publicness

Commercial spaces 4.31 Cluster plan of study site 5 showing space use based on the degree of publicness

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4.33 Cluster plan of study site 5 showing sociability based on the degree of publicness of spaces 89

15.9 m

7.6 m

4.2 m

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Niches are appropriated to form small shops that encapsulate into the building during closing timemuch like one foot shops. These shops majorly are tobacco or paan shops where a lot of people, mostly men, gather during all times of the day. Children are often seen during their holidays, buying little sweets or chocolates.

4.34 Drawing showing the formation of shops along the main road of Versova and their relationship with the street

Paan shops in niches of buildings 91

17.7 m

10.2 m 3.5 m

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Large scoops in the redeveloped buildings, these shops have a high plinth and deep volumes, making them disconnected from the streets and giving it the identity of a distinctive commercial space, unlike those found in niches on a street side. These spaces are designed to be commercial spaces, making them a formal space for monetary exchange.

4.35 Drawing showing the spatiality of the new shops and their disconnection from the street

New commercial spaces- the ‘shop’, as we know it 93

The transformations have led to large, tall buildings replacing the old G+1 structures, taking up all the available open space, in most cases. As a result, the 1.5m distance between two G+3 storey buildings effectively creates a light well situation on the ground where adequate light and quality ventilation are compromised, reducing the possibility of acting as relief spaces in the settlement.

Where large monster like buildings dominate the space, leaving very little space for children to play, children find a place in the alleys of the buildings to continue their acts of play. This points towards their need for sociable spaces in close proximity to their houses.

Right: 4.36 Mapping the nature of the transformations and their effects on light, ventilation and habitability of the streets below, reducing sociable spaces of the village

Compromising on the quality of space 94

6.6 m

10.2 m

1m

2.5 m

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15.9 m

7.6 m

0.75 m

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4.2 m

1.2 m

In the context of the new house typologies where the transition spaces of the house are absent (since their entrances are from narrow lanes that branch from the main road), raised platforms are added onto the road-side of the houses. These platforms allow the people to sit and interact. Additionally, new houses with raised plinths create a porch-like condition where spaces are used in a similar manner.

4.38 Re-imagination of old spaces- extensions built in the new houses are a derivation of the old verandas

Re-configuring old spaces 97

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Pressures of shifting economy and the dwindling fishing scenario is reason enough for old ‘redundant’ spaces to be converted into spaces of income generation.

4.39 Re-appropriations of verandas in the context of economic changes

Old verandas being converted into shops.

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Comparison of available sociable spaces Open spaces Fishing settlement Road networks Private open space Other settlements

Fishing villages have a strong open space-built space ratio, forming the public and the private spaces respectively. The in- betweens, the transition spaces, are what we become the sociable spaces. As is seen in the drawings, Versova has much smaller ratio of open spaces post transformations, severely hampering the sociability of the settlement.

Open spaces Fishing settlement Road networks Fractured open space Other settlements

Bhati koliwada- the street opens up into a large courtyard shared between several houses.

Versova koliwada- the transformed buildings have taken over all of the sociable spaces of the settlement. A lack of hierarchy of spaces is observed in the settlement thus creating stark thresholds between the private and the public.

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Difference in the degrees of sociability

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Emerging conclusions from the study

Over the past few years, it has been observed by the people that the courtyard is becoming more and more privatised, restricting the accessibility for the people slowly.

4.12 Cluster plan of study site 2 identifying the transformation in house forms observed in the swatch

The co-operative asserts its presence around the space in a strong manner by restricting its use and limiting it to aspects of income generation.

4.32 Changes seen in the functioning of the fishing activities post the establishment of the ice factory and the cold storage 102

Among these large networks of spaces that offer the village its sociability, some instances are seen where the house forms are transforming, much like the developments in the case of versova. These buildings are disconnected from the street, breaking the flow of the space with its large volume.

4.6 Cluster plan of study site 1 identifying the transformation in house forms observed in the swatch

House fronts built for commercial uses like restaurants, shops, services, etc.

4.21 Mapping changes in house fronts observed in house fronts- conversion of verandas to shops 103

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A comparison of the house typologies With successive increase in the height of the building, its sociability is observed to be decreasing.

The disconnection from the ground and the loss of the open space network essentially takes away the available sociable spaces of the settlement.

4.37 A comparison of the various house forms of both the settlements- Bhati Koliwada and Versova Koliwada

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Conclusions Versova has been undergoing transformations over the past 20 years. Old house forms are being converted into G+4 structures to accommodate the changing economic needs and aspirations of the people. This change in the builtform typology has brought about a change in the way characteristic elements of the space are configured and designed.

The verandas and backyards are two of the most important spaces in a Koli household. Shortage of space and lack of imagination has led to the crunching or disappearance of these elements from the reconstructed house forms. The ground floor verandas have been replaced by shops and galas given on rent to people who wish to start enterprises and other small businesses. The common courtyards between houses seen in Bhati Koliwada are completely absent or non-functional in Versova village. Instead, a large open ground, the main market space of the community, is one of the two open spaces within the community. The street continues to play an important role in the everyday lives of the people. It remains the spine of transportation and movement with nodes shifting to the new restaurants and shops that are seen now, as opposed to the junctions of various intersections in the past.

Right: 5.1 Inside the Ice Factory at Versova Koliwada

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The case of Versova Koliwada Versova koliwada is one of the largest fishing villages in the city. It caters to exports of fishing across the country along with organising daily auction markets for small scale and large scale buyers. This daily activity is managed by several groups who contribute in the smooth functioning of the system, making sure resources are available at all times for the vendors and fisherfolk, including for the safe storage and transportation of the fish to various locations.

The activities are coordinated by the co-operative named Vesava Machchimar Vividhkaryakari Sahakari Society Ltd. Versova Koliwada’s fishing practices are much more advanced in terms of use of techniques and resources and brings about a change in the traditional methods and daily activities. These changes render the allied spaces of the community houses useless, since they aren’t used for the intended purposes anymore.

Changes in the lifestyle and aspirations of the people contributes to this and is responsible for the transformations and the changes in living patterns of the people.

The changes of space use is reflected in the redundancy of the veranda where most of the allied activities occurred. In the past few decades, the growing family has been accomodated in a larger house, built in the same plot size. In order for everyone to have enough space, several houses have been constructed in the apartment typology using 108

up all the edges of the plot and with an increase in the number of floors in the building. G+3 structures have become predominant in the settlement. This change directly affects the activities of the elders and the children of the family, since neither of them can step out at will. The children have to be accompanied by adults, since the built form has no direct connection to the ground. The walls built around it to secure the house creates a boundary for the people within to use it.

Fences and high walls built around the redeveloped houses have been responsible for creating a metaphysical boundary around the people who live in them as well. The stacking up of buildings has created insecurities in the minds of the residents, wherein the house ‘owners’ dictate if the space around the house can be used by the other people in the settlement, and if so, at what time during the day.

Such limitations have resulted in the alienation of the house owners from the other community members.

The seeking for an individualistic house form has, over time, resulted in disintegration of the social life as it has historically happened in the settlement and will eventually result in the disintegration of the community.

The architecture of these houses disconnects the internal spaces from the street and the outside, internalising the spaces. Living in aloof houses reflects in the way interactions occur in public where

the people become increasingly self-centered and the idea of the community diminishes. People visiting the houses are seen as intruders in their space, rather than as guests. The raising of the building disconnects the internal spaces from public spaces, marking them restricted for use by members of the building alone. The number and scale of these new typology of buildings are increasing every year.

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The case of Bhati Koliwada Bhati koliwada is situated far from areas of high urbanisation, among other urban villages like Erangal and Aksa. Most of their fish is auctioned at the Malad market, a few kilometers away from the settlement. As a result, the influence of the city development is a lot less apparent, though not completely absent, in this settlement. As discussed earlier, the predominant house typology is the traditional houses and the renovated G+1 structures.

Although, among all of these low rise houses, are seen a few G+4 buildings. They used to be of the vernacular typology as well until the owners decided to redevelop for the purpose of renting out.

They have far too little open space, and chance of communication with the people on the ground floor gets reduced due to its height, considering that it is also raised by 1 metre from the ground. This severely hampers the continuity and flow of the space and the street.

Subliminal differences are seen in the way people of both house typologies interact among themselves and with the people living in the different house typology. Considering that the spillover spaces are different in scale and nature, the kind of interaction and activities the space allows are different too.

People living in the building usually meet for some time during the evening when the water is supplied in the municipal taps. They sit on the steps for a few minutes, while the children play outside. This is in complete contrast to the daily routine of the village.

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During my fieldwork, I came across some renovation work along the main Koliwada road of the settlement. On further enquiry, I discovered that it was a space for a new restaurant opening within the settlement. Additionally, several small shops have been set up in the past few years.

Right: 5.2 Street of Bhati Koliwada that is seeing similar transformations of houses as in Versova Next page: 5.3 Ice produced in the ice factory being transferred into boats at the dock

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Shifts in everyday practices The co-operative of Versova fisherfolk has been successful in setting up a large cold storage and ice factory. These have made it much easier for the storage and transportation of the catch, reducing spoilage of the fish. Ice plays an important role in keeping the fish fresh and delay the rotting which, in turn, allows them to export to longer distances. The cold storage is much like a warehouse that can be used by the community as and when needed. The ice factory produces ice for all the requirements, storing, selling, transportation, for the fisherfolks to carry with them on the boats to prevent spoilage on the sea, to store in the cold storage, etc.

With the provision of the fuel for the boats and trawlers, food for the labourers and employing a network of other people to aid the allied processes, the co-operative makes the act of fishing much easier for the boat owners. Once the fishermen come back from the sea and dock the boats at the bunder, the owners of the boats ensure a smooth transfer of the fish from the boat to the markets. The stock is loaded into carts that transport it to the fishing market outside the co-operative office. The boat owners hire migrant labour to work on their boats, thus having more time to work. Some of them own shops while some others have taken up jobs with government organisations and enterprises or work in private firms. Some women provide tiffin and home meals services for events.

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Architectural application of the thesis In the past 25-30 years, new types of economic activities are emerging. People have begun to explore new activities. Shops and office spaces have come up in large numbers within the village of Versova. New activities bring in new demands for space, altering the existing fabric. It alters the spaces to make way for new kinds of spaces. These spaces are carved out of the existing builtform, and when that does not suffice, when the demand for new space increases, the space undergoes a transformation. The spaces and their organisation as seen in Versova today are drastically different from those in a traditional fishing village. The G+1 houses have been replaced by the G+4 apartment building typology we are familiar with in the city of Mumbai. The aspirations of the people to live in tall buildings is very apparent from the interactions I had with them on site. These aspirations rise from the city. It is a reflection of the way in which housing has been approached for centuries now. The kind of housing typology that does not take into account the existing way of life or social structure of a place.

In the context of high density areas like this, where urban lifestyle is affecting the traditional way of living, the emerging built form must look at a possible integration of the traditional patterns of life and the emerging opportunities that need to be considered, and the architecture of the space must be a resultant of the two.

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As architects we must sensitise ourselves in bringing ideas for a built environment that is suitable to the age-old lifestyle of a community while nurturing their aspirations for a space that allows them the change they need to do their activities and sustain. It is my belief that taking the first step in designing for these communities must be done in a more humane way. These contexts need to be dealt with sensitively.

Their idea of space and the engagement happens in a much more nuanced way. The transforming built environment should retain the relationship that they have to their land and activities.

The large scale activity of fishing that happened as a community is now facilitated by a few people working in the co-operative by providing essential resources for the smooth functioning of the established system. This renders the vernacular spaces of the village redundant, since all of the activities that happened in them were shifted elsewhere. This change has facilitated the large scale transformations that we see in Versova village, the beginnings of which are seen in Bhati gaon today.

Architectural intent The aim of the thesis is to argue for a change in the way these transformations occur, and to rethink the typology of the builtform to incorporate spaces of sociability at different scales in the neighbourhood, as was seen in the older contexts. It identifies the demand for a house form that recognises the needs and aspirations of the people for the transformations considering the shifting economies, while laying importance to the series and hierarchy of open spaces and their relationship to the builtform.

The next stage of the design thesis will be focused on speculating the shifts in built form for Bhati Koliwada as similar instances of economic changes and transformations seen in Versova Koliwada are observed here at their nascent stages.

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References Deleuze, Gilles. 2005. Deleuze and Space.

Edinburgh Press.

Hertzberger, Herman. n.d. ‘Structuralism and Social Space’. Accessed 30 July 2019.

Hillier and Hanson. n.d. Spatial Morphology and Space Syntax.

Lefebvre, Henri. 2007. Production of Space.

Blackwell Publishing.

Stavrides, Stavros. 2016. The City as Commons. Zed Books.

Yang, Qingqing. n.d. ‘Transformation of Living Spaces’. School of Ethnology and Sociology, Minzu University of China. Accessed 25 June 2019.

Wajiro, Kon. n.d. Archaeology of Persent Times.

Accessed 8 August 2019.

Glass, Ruth. 1951. ‘Coined the Term “Gentrification”’.

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Undergraduate thesis by Ami Joshi Contact: Ami K. Joshi, amikjoshi@gmail.com 120