Urban at the Edges: Mumbai’s Coastline Urbanisms

Abstract

Uneven and combined urban development is a hallmark of the changing Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Mumbai’s coastline urbanism is markedly different from the dominant urbanisms in the city centre. The growth that makes the city centre a global destination is experienced as phantom violations of nature at the edges. The effects of CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) rules and their violations in the MMR have reconstituted the urban in the seashores, with huge impacts on the traditional fishing communities. The marginal people at the marginal spaces are in the receiving end of Mumbai’s quest to become a global city. The resultant intensified urbanization leads to the destruction of mangrove forests and coastal ecosystems, which are crucial in sustaining biodiversity; high population density and uneven growth have exacerbated environmental and socio-economic consequences. The Koli (fishing community) in this region face problems of survival and sustenance in small-scale fishing, due to the rampant commercial fishing by big trawlers and large-scale dumping of waste materials by the industries in the vicinity into the sea. This paper focuses on the transformation of spaces and activities related to the lives of fishing community that is worst affected by encroachment on coastal areas and rampant CRZ violations. It discusses the frequent reclassification of CRZ rules in order to facilitate many developmental projects like Special Economic Zone (SEZs). Within the larger context of evolving urbanisms in the coastal areas of Mumbai, the broader issues related to the contradictions and complementarities involved in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plans vis-à-vis management of biodiversity are scrutinized in the study.