India must eradicate its ubiquitous shantytowns if it is to become an economic success story. Just such an effort is underway in the Dharavi neighborhood outside Mumbai by Mukesh Mehta, an Indian architect and developer.
"Mehta has created a seven-year, $2.1 billion plan to turn Bombay's Dharavi neighborhood -- Asia's largest slum of 600,000 people -- into a middle-class area that some experts say could become a model for slum redevelopment in other Indian cities."
Mehta hopes to raze Dharavi's existing ramshackle homes and shops and replace them with a new town complete with modern apartment buildings, parks, schools, markets, clinics, industrial parks, and even a cricket museum and an arts center.
" 'What is unique about this plan is its attempt to provide new, on-site housing for such a large number of families,' said Vinit Mukhija, assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA."
"Iqbal Chahal, the state official overseeing the massive project, said Dharavi's 535-acre marshland will be transformed mainly by private developers. In exchange for land, they will be required to build 225-square-foot apartments for families. Profits will come later by selling additional apartments at market rates. Until the new homes are complete, slum dwellers will live in free temporary housing."
"But critics call the plan simplistic and suspect its real aim is to appropriate land that has become extremely valuable given the slum's proximity to Bombay's domestic and international airports and a new, emerging business district. Social activists also cite the lack of involvement of slum dwellers in the project."
FULL STORY: Slums separate Bombay from its future

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service