Shifting landscapes: Women's experiences of socio-cultural changes from in-situ redevelopment in Ahmedabad

Abstract

In-situ redevelopment policies, involving the construction of new apartment-style housing at original slum sites, have become a widespread approach to housing improvement in India. While much scholarly attention has focused on potential economic, administrative, and health impacts of such policies, the exploration of socio-cultural consequences has only recently gained prominence. Employing grounded theory methods and qualitative interview data from women residents in three housing settlements – one awaiting redevelopment, another redeveloped 2.5 years ago, and the third redeveloped 8.5 years ago – this study scrutinizes the socio-cultural impacts on women transitioning from slums to apartment-style housing. Socio-cultural impacts unfold in three overarching themes: spatial affordances of slum settlements for social life, experienced erasures in redeveloped settlements, and the social gains resulting from redevelopment. Findings from this study highlight the significance of interstitial semi-private spaces in slum settlements, acting as critical zones for social connection and cultural expression for women. Conversely, redeveloped settlements exhibit spatial erasures and a shift toward increased isolation. The elimination of interstitial spaces, coupled with an inability to modify the fixed housing structures in redeveloped houisng, contributes to social atomization and a fragmented sense of community post-redevelopment. This study underscores the intricate interplay between spatial configurations and the socio-cultural fabric of communities undergoing redevelopment.