Climate justice is social justice: articulating people’s rights to the city in Mumbai

Abstract

Mumbai, India’s most populous city, faces rising temperatures, flooding, and pollution. Climate change is an urgent concern, yet strong disagreements divide the city’s population on the nature of appropriate responses to climate crisis. We find that urban activists in Mumbai make an explicit connection between social justice and climate justice. This paper studies three social movements working in Mumbai to secure access to housing, water and sanitation for marginalized communities. Building on the work of Nancy Fraser, Iris Marion Young and Henri Lefebvre, we argue that climate injustice in Mumbai has roots in structures of inequality based in class, gender, religion and migration status. Climate adaptation strategies run the risk of exacerbating inequalities when disasters strike. We seek design solutions that centre on inclusive justice rather than technocratic market forces. This paper opens up a conversation about global megacities, climate change and “urban climate justice from below”.