The Deborah J. Norden Fund 2001

“Rethinking Dharavi: An analysis of redevelopment programs for slums in Mumbai, India”

In 2001 the Architectural League awarded one grant to Abigail Ransmeier. She traveled to Mumbai to study the redevelopment programs of the city’s largest slum. Once at the outskirts of Mumbai, Dharavi now finds itself situated between the two commuter lines and adjacent to a new corporate hub. The new desirability of the land has led to a heightened interest in its rehabilitation. Ransmeier analyzed how the existing social and economic fabric of the communities within Dharavi rely on its spatial configuration, identifying the challenge of redevelopment plans as being taking “a rehabilitative approach that reinvigorates Dharavi’s buildings and infrastructure, while respecting its industrious nature and communal social patterns.”

Abigail Ransmeier continues to combine interests in international development and architecture. She recently received a fellowship from the Yale Center for International and Area Studies to complete a schematic design for mixed-use, low-cost housing in Mumbai. In August 2006, she will begin work at Behnisch Architekten in Stuttgart, Germany.