They call it 'a dream fulfilled' -- new homes designed for (and by) slum residents
Residents of a slum in Maharashtra, India, have moved into a newly constructed, architecturally innovative housing complex called Swapnapurti. The project focuses on sustainable design, using heat-deflecting materials and improved ventilation to provide dignified, private living spaces for former shack dwellers.
Why it matters
This project demonstrates a scalable, human-centric model for urban redevelopment that addresses both poverty and climate resilience in rapidly growing cities.
Pooja Gawali used to live in a one-room home with no indoor plumbing. The walls were tin sheets. The roof leaked when it rained. The 32-year-old shared the cramped space with her husband, her in-laws and her husband's two brothers.
She never knew what it meant to truly relax, she says. The lack of privacy in her home meant that she always had to always be on alert — conscious of how she sat or behaved.
That's not uncommon in Sanjaynagar, a crowded slum in the western Indian state of Maharashtra where she lives. On mud lanes slick with goat droppings, homes press against each other. Around 900 people are squeezed into 206 metal shacks.
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