80,000 people/sq km even in plush towers

Mumbai: That Mumbaikars are forced to live cheek-byjowl was re-emphasized when the Census revealed the city packed more than 20,000 persons per square km. The experience of life in aamchi Mumbai might be worse when actual living or working space are 
factored in, pointed out a project undertaken by travelling urban think tank BMW Guggenheim Lab. 
    Shanghai-based architect Neville Mars of the Lab set out to study congestion and found that even plush highrises in Mumbai could have a stacked population index as high as 80,000 people per sq km. Slum pockets could be twice as congested with as many as two lakh people in the same space. The index was computed as a ratio of population density to FSI index of area clusters.'Decongestion of city is critical' Stacked Population Index: Middle-Class Colonies House 40,000 Persons Per Sq Km And Workplaces 30,000 
    The finding that even plush highrises in Mumbai have a stacked population index as high as 80,000 people per sq km has come at a pertinent time, given that the civic corporation is in the process of drawing up a new development plan for Mumbai. 
    Shanghai-based architect Neville Mars, who carried out the study in Mumbai for travelling urban think tank BMW Guggenheim Lab, said the disparity and spatial split of the city could no longer be ignored. Going by his findings, "people have as little as 0.4 square metre per person in certain slums while those in highrises might enjoy as much as 57.5 square metre per person." Mars hoped the index would inform policymakers about the need to factor in the organic growth of slums in urban planning. 
    The index studied different typologies, including residential buildings and slums, industrial clusters, offices and mixed used areas (see box). They mapped the city through Google Earth and sliced neighbourhoods into a matrix of 500 metre by 500 metre, which were then analyzed for their average occupancy. Even middle-class housing colonies showed up a density of 40,000 persons per square kilometre. Workplaces aren't any better off with offices and warehouses showing an SPI of 30,000 persons per square kilometre. 
    Saying the index was a new way of looking at urban dynamics, demographer D P Singh of the Tata Institute of Social 
Sciences said it once again underscored the need to decongest Mumbai. "Both the Census findings or the new index, which looks at population density in formal and informal settlements indicate that decongesting Mumbai is the need of the hour. That is the only way we can assure the mass of our citizens better living conditions in terms of housing, water and sanitation systems." 
    Urban policy and governance expert Amita Bhide said the issue of congestion could be looked at through several dimensions. It could be seeneither in terms of private spaces, which include homes or offices and public spaces such as roads, parks, parking amenities and even burial and cremation grounds. "Somehow, slum redevelopment or luxury construction have brought a lot of attention to congestion in private spaces," said Bhide, pointing out that the city would pay a tremendous price for ignoring its public spaces. 
    "The city's capacity to absorb or accommodate people is being tested to its limits," she said, hitting at the crux of the issue.