Slum Redevelopment Through Reimagined PPPs: The Role Of Community In Inclusive Urban Transformation

In the 21st century, slums are not anomalies at the margins of cities – they are the very frontline of urbanisation. Over one billion people globally live in informal settlements, often in the heart of major metropolises. These neighbourhoods – whether the favelas of Rio, the kampungs of Jakarta, or the bastis of Mumbai – are engines of informal economies and repositories of human resilience. Yet they are also spaces of deep exclusion, where infrastructure fails, rights blur, and vulnerability festers.

If we are serious about tackling climate change, urban inequality, and the housing crisis, then slums must be central to the solution. Not through eviction or erasure – but through thoughtful, inclusive transformation. And for that, public-private partnerships (PPPs), if reimagined, offer the most viable path forward.

From infrastructure deals to inclusive development

Traditional PPPs have focused on hard infrastructure – roads, power, transit. But slum redevelopment demands a more nuanced approach: one that blends physical infrastructure with social contracts. It must involve not just the state and the private sector, but also the third pillar— communities themselves.

When designed well, PPPs can deliver speed, scale, and sustainability. Governments provide legitimacy and oversight. The private sector brings capital, technology, and managerial efficiency.

Communities ensure relevance, accountability, and long-term success.

Global precedents reinforce this:

Brazil’s Favela Bairro programme integrated sanitation, public space, and safety in Rio’s favelas through co-designed projects involving NGOs and architects.

Thailand’s Baan Mankong gave funding directly to communities, with private and civil society support, to plan and implement housing upgrades.

South Africa’s N2 Gateway brought public and private housing players together though it highlighted the need for community consent and social safeguards during relocation.

These models underscore a vital truth: PPPs succeed not just through financial engineering but through social architecture – trust, inclusion, and continuity.

India’s urban paradox and opportunity

India, with over 65 million people living in slums, represents both the urgency and the opportunity of this moment. Rapid urbanisation collides with informal growth. Digital systems coexist with broken civic infrastructure. Yet this very complexity makes India a fertile ground for new solutions.

India doesn’t need imported blueprints. It needs scalable, localised models that reflect its highdensity, mixed-use, culturally layered urban reality. If it can demonstrate a successful, inclusive slum transformation model, it can offer a playbook for much of the Global South. Nowhere is this ambition more tested than in Dharavi, Mumbai’s most iconic informal settlement.

The writer is Environment and Development Innovation Expert & Community Engagement Specialist (This is part 1 of the two-part article)

Published on: Friday, May 30, 2025, 01:02 PM IST