SITES AND SERVICES, CHARKOP, INDIA

The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. In the early 1980s, the Bank established a “sites and services” project in Charkop, Mumbai, India, which aimed to provide incremental, affordable housing solutions to low- and middle-income groups in the region. The project did not achieve the intended outcomes in the timeline initially defined; therefore, the Bank abandoned the approach. The Bank revisited the site 20 years later and observed a flourishing mixed-income and mixed-use neighborhood. As the region considered how to house the next “urban billion”-an urban population of one billion-the Bank enlisted a Capstone team to research the factors that led to the neighborhood's success. The team created a survey protocol and administered it to 60 households in Charkop to understand how physical and administrative design elements contributed to the livability of the neighborhood. The project culminated in a report and an interactive presentation of interview data, which provided insight into the factors that played a role in the development of Charkop.