Rohan Shivkumar states that the 2008 crisis has rescued the Mumbai slum

 

The moment the crisis occured, all urban planning ideas concerning the Dharavi slum were dropped for a lack of financial resources. It seems that this was the time for thinkers who were listening to the actual inhabitants of these areas. Read on here:

 http://www.design.nl/item/rohan_shivkumar_on_what_design_can_do

Art project: Artefacting Mumbai

“At its core, this project is about using art to tell the story of a settlement, people, culture and economy, in danger of being displaced by contemporary urbanization.“

In 2010 and 2011 Artefacting exhibited art, painted walls of the slum dwellers and gave art workshops for kids in Dharavi. Among others, they also collaborated with Anish Kapoor. As a result, local initiatives and a Dharavi Art Center have been found. 

For more information: Artefacting Mumbai

A dragon for downtown Shanghai

 

This unorthodox spiraling structure is an entry in the current Re-Thinking Shanghai 2012 competition, designed to be constructed in the city's center. While inspired by the ancient Chinese Dragon symbol, it's striking contemporariness isn't limited to sheer aesthetics. Aside from merging commercial and residential buildings, a park, waterways, roads and subway lines, "Sity", as the structure is named, could be able to generate power through solar panels and wind/water turbines, as well as collect rain water and function as a sort of natural air conditioner.

http://www.detail.de/daily/sity-glanzender-drache-fur-shanghai-13902/
http://www.10design.co/think/competitions/re-think-shanghai/