Recycled Waste Materials and Slum Housing

It’s the Tragedy of Commons theory that works in our settlements, where self interest of multiple individuals harms the ultimate shared interest. We still live in a ‘Pyramid Society’ where the lower level consists of urban poor. There starts the complex situation and still unsolved question of urban housing. Studying the way urban poor builds the shacks with minimal resources to survive in the ‘Machine City’, some lessons can be learnt. To understand the implication three slums have been studied in Ahmedabad, India. The aim of the study is to understand the implication of recycled waste materials in construction of shacks in squatter settlements by an urban poor. Three slums, geographically at a distance, with people of different caste and religion, with different source of income and materials, provides a base for not only the physical or construction aspects but also the cultural, social and economical aspects. Understanding this complex web of aspects can help transforming these lessons in affordable housing to urban poor.