At the invitation of Prof. Ritu Desmukh, Vice Principal of Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai, University of Mumbai, Kingston University colleagues Assoc. Prof. Christoph Lueder, urban designers and researchers Alexandru Malaescu and Iulia Fratila recently led a collaborative workshop on eight urban villages and four planned developments in Navi Mumbai, India.  This workshop follows recent mapping collaborations in Amman, Jordan + Bangkok, Thailand – click to read full details

They collaborated with BVCA faculty members Akshada Thakur, Mildred Tinto, Ritika Kothari, Shaikh Mohammed Ashique, Taher Rangwala and 120 students of architecture on field research in the settlements, engaging inhabitants in interviews and documenting the intriguing spatial and social configurations of the urban villages, which have largely come into being outside formal planning processes and regulations.

The documentation took the form of a continuous ground floor map (Rossi Plan) of each of the villages and developments, street sections, as well as analysis of urban patterns and…