Remember Hong Kong's Sprawling Metropolis? Here's India, Mumbai's version
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Photo essay: Polish photographer Alicja Dobrucka has produced a series of images documenting the rapid growth of skyscraper construction in Mumbai, India (+ slideshow).
According to Dobrucka, there are currently more skyscrapers under construction in Mumbai than anywhere else in the world, many of them unregulated, adding to over 2500 high-rise buildings that already exist in the city. These luxury apartment blocks are in stark contrast to the surrounding "desolate slums", which the photographer says account for 62 percent of the population.
The Life on a New High series depicts a selection of these new buildings and their surroundings, and couples each one with a quote from a property advert, highlighting the disparity between the new high-end consumer and the slum residents.
Mumbai is currently home to the largest number of supertalls and skyscrapers under construction in the world. This project, entitled Life on a New High, aims to address the issue of the changing landscape and unregulated construction in this financial capital of India.
The city is undergoing a massive construction boom, with more than 15 supertalls (buildings taller than 300 metres), hundreds of skyscrapers and thousands of high-rise buildings under construction.
More than 2500 high-rise buildings are already constructed, in addition to more than a thousand mid-rises existing already. Most of the skyscrapers are residential. Even the richest man in the city lives in a skyscraper. Antilia is one of the taller towers in which 27 floors accommodate a family of four and 200 servants.
The population density is estimated to be about 20,482 persons per square-kilometre. The living space is 4.5 square metres per person. The number of slum-dwellers is estimated to be nine million, that is, 62 percent of all Mumbaikers live in desolate slums.
There is no centralised urban planning and towers keep popping up in all areas of central Mumbai, particularly on the huge pieces of land that accommodated textile factories now closed, as well as in the suburbs. The building companies are supported by the government and are given tax exemption.
All the skyscrapers are constructed by international companies, in many instances from Denmark. The architecture of the new risers has no relation to the Indian cityscape - European architecture is being transplanted to India, transforming this country in the process.
This building boom creates a great deal of problems and makes the city difficult to negotiate on foot. It is also damaging to the environment as the large glass windows require air conditioning, which in turn increases the consumption of electricity.[/quote]
[url]http://www.dezeen.com/2014/01/15/mumbai-skyscapers-photo-essay-alicja-dobrucka/[/url]
They look like a stiff breeze could topple them.
I love how a skyscraper is next to the slums made out of wood.
What the fuck is up with the second skyscraper?
It looks like a square version of the magic beanstalk.
[editline]20th January 2014[/editline]
With a bunch of nasty diseased holes in it.
[QUOTE=Valiantttt;43602581]I love how a skyscraper is next to the slums made out of wood.[/QUOTE]
To be fair, they look as structurally sound as just stacking said slums on top of eachother
Science fiction dystopia [I]and [/I]utopia slowly being realized globally. This leaning substantially closer to dystopia.
[QUOTE=mac338;43602642]Science fiction dystopia [I]and[/I], slowly being realized globally. This leaning substantially closer to dystopia.[/QUOTE]
The quality of life is improving, as is wealth disparity unfortunately.
World's largest cactus
snip
Mumbai is the most confusing city of all time.
[QUOTE=U.S.S.R;43602630]What the fuck is up with the second skyscraper?
It looks like a square version of the magic beanstalk.
[editline]20th January 2014[/editline]
With a bunch of nasty diseased holes in it.[/QUOTE]
I thought it was a giant rock climbing wall...
[QUOTE=U.S.S.R;43602630]What the fuck is up with the second skyscraper?
It looks like a square version of the magic beanstalk.
[editline]20th January 2014[/editline]
With a bunch of nasty diseased holes in it.[/QUOTE]
Dust cover during construction
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Quite literally looks like it's make of cardboard.
Still, that styling looks hilariously hideous.
This makes me excited about how the worlds cities look in lets say 2030 and 2040 when i'll be 40 and 50 years old
Fun fact, Mumbai suffers some of the worst casualty lists in fires and structural collapses due to the ridiculously high density population. Some of these buildings are accidents waiting to happen.
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Yay I always wanted to live inside gumby
Eeewww, those buildings.
Even soviet commieblocks look better than those
[QUOTE=ReligiousNutjob;43602571]They look like a stiff breeze could topple them.[/QUOTE]
Maybe that feeling is there due to the massive disparity between the skyscraper sizes and the height of the slums?
Thing is, modern skyscrapers should be wider further down as they grow "thinner" further up, like the Shard in London or the Pyramids of ancient cultures.
Peach Trees?
Everything about this article, is unfortunately 100% true.
The paper pushers and politicians cbf to do anything other than push their own interests, and legalize all illegal constructions for fat bribes. There was a case in the papers last year that would have resulted in the demolition of a large apartment complex that was built illegally without following guidelines, but they swept it under the rug as they always do.
Mumbai is also pretty much out of room for expansion. They've had to reclaim land from the sea of late to try finding more space to live in. Skyscrapers are de rigueur as a result, most poorly built and containing zero precautions for safety (some of them have no fire exits, or even properly maintained elevators or staircases. God forbid you ask about fire-fighting/detecting equipment in any but the highest of high end structures and buildings owned by the rich.)
[QUOTE=Valiantttt;43602581]I love how a skyscraper is next to the slums made out of wood.[/QUOTE]
I stay in Mumbai - there's a big reason for that.
These buildings, after construction, are also looked after by a veritable army of cheap labour once the tenants all move in and the building is occupied. In those slums you see inevitably surrounding these buildings you can find the following:
* Plumber
* Domestic Help + their families(Depending on the number of flats these buildings hold, we're taking almost on a 1:10 ratio, where 1 maid does work in about 10 households)
* Gardeners
* Drivers (because the people that tend to live in buildings like this also like to hire chauffeurs and avoid driving themselves)
* Janitorial Staff + their families
....and this isn't even including things like butchers, small general store owners for the daily necessities and a bunch of other small jobs.
The big culprit in this case is a strong lack of cheap, low-cost housing in developed parts of the city. It's either live in those slums or prepare yourself to travel for a few hours to and from work which isn't economically feasible for them, because they're not paid enough. Real estate prices here have skyrocketed to ridiculous levels, forcing land owners to build upwards to get the most money from limited square footage footprints. Slums crop up on lands for two reasons:
1. The lands are currently being disputed and neither side has the authority to tell the slum dwellers to gtfo their (disputed) properties.
2. The land is part of a shady deal by some politician who needs the slum there to prevent people sniffing around and finding out who the owner is. It's better for someone to think the land is disputed than to discover it's a part of a bribe paid to some corrupt as hell politician who can just as quickly kill you to keep you quiet.
[QUOTE=snookypookums;43605400]I stay in Mumbai - there's a big reason for that.
These buildings, after construction, are also looked after by a veritable army of cheap labour once the tenants all move in and the building is occupied. In those slums you see inevitably surrounding these buildings you can find the following:
* Plumber
* Domestic Help + their families(Depending on the number of flats these buildings hold, we're taking almost on a 1:10 ratio, where 1 maid does work in about 10 households)
* Gardeners
* Drivers (because the people that tend to live in buildings like this also like to hire chauffeurs and avoid driving themselves)
* Janitorial Staff + their families
....and this isn't even including things like butchers, small general store owners for the daily necessities and a bunch of other small jobs.
The big culprit in this case is a strong lack of cheap, low-cost housing in developed parts of the city. It's either live in those slums or prepare yourself to travel for a few hours to and from work which isn't economically feasible for them, because they're not paid enough. Real estate prices here have skyrocketed to ridiculous levels, forcing land owners to build upwards to get the most money from limited square footage footprints. Slums crop up on lands for two reasons:
1. The lands are currently being disputed and neither side has the authority to tell the slum dwellers to gtfo their (disputed) properties.
2. The land is part of a shady deal by some politician who needs the slum there to prevent people sniffing around and finding out who the owner is. It's better for someone to think the land is disputed than to discover it's a part of a bribe paid to some corrupt as hell politician who can just as quickly kill you to keep you quiet.[/QUOTE]
have you read this:
[img]http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/sites/default/files/Maximum%20City%20jacket.jpg[/img]
it's a good read
[editline]20th January 2014[/editline]
then again you've lived there soooo it may not be as insightful for you :v:
[QUOTE=AK'z;43605557]have you read this:
[IMG]http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/sites/default/files/Maximum City jacket.jpg[/IMG]
it's a good read
[editline]20th January 2014[/editline]
then again you've lived there soooo it may not be as insightful for you :v:[/QUOTE]
I live in Versova, which is by the sea. Of course now, the place is posh as hell with filmstars and all but back then it was a fisherman's settlement. On Sundays you needed to keep the windows shut because they'd be drying fish on the sand and the smell would be.....pretty fuckin' ripe. :v:
[t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Versova_beach.JPG[/t]
My building can actually be seen in that picture. :smile:
I've actually been on the metro at rush hour - it is [B]not[/B] for the faint of heart. A few people die everyday taking it to and from work because they fall off.
[QUOTE=snookypookums;43605731]I live in Versova, which is by the sea. Of course now, the place is posh as hell with filmstars and all but back then it was a fisherman's settlement. On Sundays you needed to keep the windows shut because they'd be drying fish on the sand and the smell would be.....pretty fuckin' ripe. :v:
[/QUOTE]
wtf did you write that book or what?
all the things you're saying is exactly what the book told me..
[QUOTE=AK'z;43605921]wtf did you write that book or what?
all the things you're saying is exactly what the book told me..[/QUOTE]
He lives in Mumbai, it stands to reason that he'd know the place very well. I know a fair bit about it myself, and have visited it also, but nobody will know more about a place than the locals.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;43605938]He lives in Mumbai, it stands to reason that he'd know the place very well. I know a fair bit about it myself, and have visited it also, but nobody will know more about a place than the locals.[/QUOTE]
either one of you guys been to Sri Nagar or Goa, they're other worldly compared with the innerds of India.
[QUOTE=AK'z;43605972]either one of you guys been to Sri Nagar or Goa, they're other worldly compared with the innerds of India.[/QUOTE]
Goa is pretty much a very liberal hangout spot compared to the rest of this country - at any rate it's a hell of a lot less strait-laced.
Srinagar is off limits because terrorism, though. My dad, when he was in his younger days, went on a road trip there when it wasn't quite so bad. Said it was one of the best experiences he'd ever had.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;43605994]
Srinagar is off limits because terrorism, though.[/QUOTE]
I visited around 8 years before the war shit.. it was amazing. Forgot it was still going on :/
[editline]20th January 2014[/editline]
That would have been one of [I]the[/I] places to visit in the world, if the assholes didn't fuck it up..
[QUOTE=AK'z;43602932]Mumbai is the most confusing city of all time.[/QUOTE]
It's basically like most major cities in the developing world.
hope those buildings aren't put up as cheaply as they look, when a 5 story building collapses its a tragedy, when a 40 story building collapses its a disaster
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