Sh*tscape: Mumbai’s Landscape In-Between

Abstract

A growing number of the world’s population has little or no access to sanitation. This is particularly prevalent in India, where over 750 million people are without adequate sanitation facilities. With burgeoning urban populations, cities like Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi are incapable of providing even basic municipal services like sanitation and clean water for many of the cities’ recent migrants. As a result, living conditions for these new arrivals are less than ideal.

“Sh*tscape: Mumbai’s Landscape In-Between” proposes the making of an entirely functioning landscape built from human excreta. Its location, Appapada Quarry, is found along the western edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai. The quarry separates an established neighborhood and a hillside of informal settlements. The project takes the view of human feces as an abundant and renewable resource rather than waste. By linking certain biological processes, infrastructural strategies, and local communities, a more harmonious relationship between the needs of the human residents and those of the nearby National Park can be established.

Keywords

Sh*tscape / Mumbai / Biological Process / Infrastructure / Local Community

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press