Fishing villages. An attempt to save the urban villages from urban explosion

Urban Infrastructure and Basic Amenities are the key dynamics of Urbanization and thereby make the backbone of a thriving City. Mumbai lies on the West coast (known as Konkan) in India. Mumbai was reshaped by reclamation of the area between the seven islands primarily fishing villages from the sea. Along with construction of major roads and railways, the reclamation project, completed in 1845, transformed Mumbai into a major seaport in the Arabian Sea. The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies of the Koli people. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese Empire and subsequently to the East India Company. Mumbai has natural deep waters towards the Bay area on the eastern edge while the western Edge being Coastal most of the ports and docks have been planned towards the South Eastern side of Mumbai. Mumbai is the financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India. Due to immense development in all aspects the city has faced tremendous growth in immigrants from the nearby villages as well as an uncontrolled and unplanned urban development. The city has grown from a mere 10km stretch (City Centre) to a 50km stretch (Suburban) in the last Century with haphazard urbanization leading to inclusion of all fishing villages in its extent. Due to immense pressure on the city by the city developers the urban villages are getting compromised and are forced to abandon their homes. The fishing Villages are primarily resided by the Koli fisherman and due to unavailability of basic infrastructure for the fishing industry there has been a major decline and loss of interest in their profession. The Project aims at providing basic urban infrastructure for such urban villages and its communities thereby safeguarding there interests and profession and promoting cultural and traditional growth in the development of a city. The proposal includes strategically identifying a space in the urban context for viable fishing industry along with mixed use functions and flexible spaces. The fish market with its close proximity to the village can help the Koli people flourish and revive its traditional occupation. Modular design was integrated to the proposed structure which can be either realized in steel or wood basing on the size of installation and scale of the project. The flexibility of the module enhances its diversity of use and is based on various principles and disciplines of the Indian architecture legacy as well as planning and design principles. The proposal also includes enhancing quality of the contextual existing space by inserting these modules within the fabric. The project primarily aims at improvising the quality of life for the existing urban villages and providing urban infrastructure for a diminishing community and a long lost occupational tradition.