Geography Assignment 2 PDF

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Professor Atkinson-Palombo...

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1. In order to understand where the narrator of the documentary is coming from, do some web-based research to answer the following questions: What is Kevin McCloud? What is his background? What other types of documentaries/inquiries has he undertaken? What is different about this assignment? (5 points) Kevin McCloud is a British writer, designer, and television presenter best known for his role as writer and presenter of Grand Designs, a hit television program that covers especially peculiar and elaborate housebuilding projects with particularly intricate architectural features. McCloud studied the history of art and architecture at Corpus Christi College and has previously worked as a theater set designer and the owner of his own business, McCloud Lighting. This practice provided lighting design and manufacturing services, incorporating his passion for home and architectural design. In the past, McCloud has also written multiple decorating books; however, in more recent years, McCloud has taken an interest in journalism and product design beyond the realm of his television series. Don’t Look Down (2000), an educational documentary television series written and presented by McCloud, explored the history of famous tall buildings throughout the United Kingdom. In another four-part series, Kevin McCloud’s Grand Tour (2009), McCloud retraces the footsteps of primarily young upper class British men that have impacted British customs and architecture in European cities and sites of antiquity in the past four centuries. In 2010, McCloud produced Kevin McCloud: Slumming It, the documentary upon which this assignment is based; McCloud journeys through one of the world’s biggest slums in Mumbai, India. This was a departure from his previous work, as it explores an entirely different community and culture outside of the United Kingdom. This is a stark contrast from McCloud’s decades spent celebrating unique and beautiful structures in Britain; instead, he enters a povertystricken area where primitive living conditions are unlike any he’s ever encountered in his previous productions. While some of his programs incorporated the history of homes and famous buildings, McCloud had never before journeyed outside of Europe to uncover current povertystricken conditions; rather than celebrating architectural innovations of the past and present, McCloud exposes what Dharavi is lacking in sophisticated structures, sanitation, etc. Slumming It perhaps marked a change in his interests; in Kevin McCloud’s Man Made Home (2012), McCloud constructs a cabin in the remote woods and emphasizes themes of sustainability and environmental responsibility. In 2015, Escape to the Wild saw Kevin journey into international lands again as he visited four British families who left their homes behind for remote destinations in Chile, Belize, Sweden, and Tonga. 2. At the beginning of the documentary, McCloud says: “When I think of a slum, the thing I think about is misery.” What first comes to mind when you hear the word slum? (5 points) The connotations that I usually associate with the word “slum” are images of rampant disease, lack of hygienic practices and sanitation, and limited medical knowledge and resources all crowded into a densely overpopulated and underdeveloped area. I typically picture large settlements of poverty-stricken families nestled in the heart of urban areas, starkly contrasted from the innovation, sophistication, or wealth of resources that are available in other parts of the city or nation. In the past, I have learned that women in especially poor areas are not offered education on safe sexual practices and therefore usually mother large numbers of children, so I tend to imagine the typical family that lives in a slum as being very large; too large, in fact, to be sustained by their means. Overall, I see these places as being confined to the resources and technology of the past, creating a primitive way of life compared to the privilege of Western nations.

3. Use googlemaps to locate the settlement of Dharavi in Mumbai and hand draw two maps— one that shows the location of the settlement within Mumbai (15 points), and one that shows Mumbai’s location within India (15 points) ATTACHED 4. According to McCloud, how many people are estimated to live in Dharavi? And how many toilets are there per person? (5 points total) According to McCloud, 16 million people inhabit the entire city of Mumbai, with 1 million residents packed into the area of a square mile in Dharavi. There are over 500 people for each toilet; in other words, there is one toilet per 500 people. 5. When did the settlement of Dharavi begin? Who were some of the earliest inhabitants? (5 points total) Dharavi began over 70 years ago in the place that McCloud visits and refers to as the “community center”. The earliest inhabitants were migrants from poor rural areas and residents who had been expelled from the city center by the then-colonial government. Many of these early residents were potters or learned the art of pottery, so this area of Dharavi remains a hub for this craft. This small group of potters that founded the settlement over 70 years ago has now grown to more than 10,000 people in size. 6. What kinds of disease are caused by poor sanitation? And approximately how many people are treated in the settlement each day for illnesses related to poor sanitation? (5 points total) Dharavi lacks even primitive sewage systems in some areas; improvised fresh water pipes run over open sewers or puddles of chemical and waste sludge, contaminating the cleaning and drinking water supply. Many take to the streets to rid themselves of their waste, making the area in which adults work and kids play overrun with disease. Diphtheria, tuberculosis, and typhoid are just some of the common diseases that are caused by poor sanitation. Doctors in Dharavi see up to 4,000 cases of sanitation-related illnesses each day. 7. What percentage of people in Dharavi are employed? (5 points) 85% of people in Dharavi are employed, an impressive number that puts most Western cities to shame. While resources are low in this slum, productivity remains staggeringly high. 8. Describe some of the main economic activities of people in the settlement. (5 points) McCloud meets with a self-made millionaire who grew up in the slums and chooses to live there; the entrepreneur houses a factory here where he makes trolleys for suitcases. He takes McCloud on a tour of the more industrial sector of Dharavi, where workers of all ages can be found working in one of 300 bakeries, working with animals and harvesting their skin for leather products, making shoes, etc. McCloud learns that the extremely impoverished area houses at least 15,000 one room factories with a turnover of $1 billion annually. Considering the living conditions in Dharavi and the general lack of capital, this number is staggering. This “hidden industrial heart”

of Dharavi is responsible for producing many of Mumbai’s goods – it thrives because it is technically illegal and remains untaxed. McCloud notes that these factories often resemble sweatshops and is surprised that the workers, toiling in unsafe and unsanitary conditions packed side-by-side, do not feel exploited. Nonetheless, Dharavi has an extremely well cultivated economic system for such an underdeveloped slum. 9. What do you find the most inspirational aspect of the community? (1 paragraph, 15 points) I found the spirit and adaptable nature of humanity to be the most inspirational aspect of the community. When asked if he thinks the circumstances in Dharavi are “right” McCloud’s guide, Rajesh, responds “yes”; while not ideal, these families have nowhere else to go, and they’ve used their own brand of innovation and determination to create their own self-sustainable lifestyle. While it may look crude to those of us that are accustomed to the luxury and comfort that Western living generally provides us with, Dharavi is a home built from the ground up by people who are determined to create something out of nothing. The adaptable nature of the space and its residents speaks to the potential our land has; McCloud speaks of “disgust followed by delight”, referring to crowded and dirty laundry areas that are right around the corner from joyful city streets lined with any type of shop one could imagine. For 30 seconds the street turns from bustling marketarea to makeshift mosque as scores of men bow in prayer; then quickly they re-assimilate and bounce back into the flow of traffic without a blip. The ease with which these people occupy their space so flexibly is astounding and beautiful in its own right. The function of homes, too, changes to fit everyone’s needs; with upwards of 20 people sometimes sharing a single home, rooms convert into play places, dining rooms, living rooms, and sleeping quarters without complaint from anybody; they eat on the floor and sleep four to a room in order to live more efficiently and do not want for more space or better circumstances. They simply take what they have and work hard to maintain it, while also exhibiting a great amount of pride in how they dress and carry themselves. The amount of joy that is created daily in such impoverished conditions is remarkable; children make kites from scraps and run them down city streets lined with waste and garbage, laughing and finding happiness amongst the rubble. Despite the fact that no advanced architectural training or even planning was applied to building the settlement, McCloud notices how every inch of space is put to use and valued; nothing is frivolous. While primitive in appearance, structures are complex and layered in order to accommodate their multifunctional nature. Every space here has a purpose, with no individual taking up more than his share for the sake of greed. This is contrasted by the luxurious nature of some of Mumbai’s structures that lay just outside of Dharavi’s bounds; in the city, where the cost of living is among the highest in the country, a 27-story skyscraper is being built for one family. Yet only minutes away, in Dharavi, 5 families are able to integrate their entire lifestyle into a modest 12 by 12foot home. The persistence that these people have to make their limited space functional, the innovation that they employ with ease in order to do so, and the joy that they have regardless is inspiring beyond words. 10. What aspect of the documentary surprised you the most? (1 paragraph, 20 points) I was surprised to discover that while Dharavi lacks the essentials of living by Western standards (space, cleanliness, convenience, privacy, luxury), they have an abundance of what I would consider to be one of the most essential aspects of any city: a thriving understanding of community values. When I think about crime in the terms of impoverished areas, I think of innercity gangs, gun violence, rampant thievery and a general unsafe feeling that pervades low-

income, urban areas. While the inhabitants of these communities are helpless to change their realities, often victims to an oppressive and unfair system, engaging in gang mentality, the sale or manufacture of drugs, and other crime is often a means of survival. That being said, I was astounded to learn that crime in Dharavi, the biggest slum that I have any knowledge of, is virtually nonexistent. The fabric of life in Dharavi is centered around shared spaces and combined efforts that contribute to the settlement’s productivity; without these key aspects, the slum could not exist. These necessities have instilled within its inhabitants a great understanding of how to act as a cohesive community; stealing is uncommon because 85% of residents are employed, and each person knows the value that their labor, as well as that of their neighbor, contributes daily life. Girls are unafraid to walk to school together or travel the streets at night because most are bred to live in harmony, knowing that the work that one person puts into his life also fuels the lifestyle of another. Twelve households, for example, share the hose which Rajesh’s family uses for water; because water is only provided to the slum between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m., the families devise a routine, sharing the supply equally amongst each other and living in synchronization. The same mindset is applied to other communal areas, which comprise most of Dharavi: people share places to do their laundry, to pray, to walk, to shop, to work, and to eat. While privacy is lacking, these “daily drudger[ies]” are made social, connecting each individual to his or her peers. Social isolation is nonexistent; people mingle and converse with their neighbors all day, and form a unique bond that the rushed and private Western lifestyle often does not encourage. Even at UConn, for example, one could go an entire day spent in their dorm and on their phone without speaking to or interacting with anybody else, yet all of the necessities of life would be conveniently provided for him or her in the privacy of their own dwelling. Remarkable, too, is the respect for the elderly and their integration into society; Western societies often do not value older people, as they seem less productive and are presented as burdens to society. They are sequestered in nursing homes and generally complained about, yet in Dharavi they have a function and a purpose and are essential parts of daily life. Elderly men and women can be seen working, gathering water, and doing their fair share. McCloud witnesses three generations of men and women mingling and conversing; here, not only are the elderly assimilated into daily life due to responsibility but they are valued for their company. An open dialogue exists where much can be learned about tradition, history, past ways of life, wisdom, or just easy chit chat. Regardless, lines of communication in Dharavi are open and a general respect for others fosters a safe and efficient society even amongst its score of unimaginable disadvantages; this is an ideal that Western civilizations could benefit greatly from.

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