Category: India

Articles Galleries Historic Cities India Indonesia Japan Netherlands Networked Cities Physical Geography Short Films Singapore / Malaysia

Multi-cultural communities and global trade from 1500-1900

ARTICLE

Honeycombers Editorial, 3 Feb 2017

Centuries before the proliferation of social media, networks of people, cultures, and information flowed freely between port cities such as Batavia (Jakarta) in Indonesia, Goa in India, Canton (now Guangzhou) in China, and, of course, Singapore. Spawned by advances in ship technology and knowledge of sea routes, these cities were thriving, cosmopolitan hubs of trade. They’re great examples of early globalisation and the hodgepodge – or “rojak” – of ethnicities, language, culture, lifestyles, and fashion.

For short films about the Port Cities exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore click here for a presentation on the life of Cornelia van Nijenroode, and here for another on the Indian Chettiars of Saigon.

Academics Community India Informal Cities Mega Cities Short Films

Mumbai: Maximum City under Pressure

SHORT FILM

Urban Think Tank / LafargeHolcim Foundation

Old slums actually function as villages, they’re medium rise, high density urban areas in cities. And actually you have an infinite number of diverse productive businesses going on all along in Dharavi. And what you see in the background here, in the distance, is the alternative, the modern housing block. Now what’s better? To upgrade this village or to house people in those vertical, kind segmented ghettos. I believe the village culture is much more interesting and the village must remain in the city.

For more about ETH Zurich’s Urban – Think Tank’s work on social architecture and informal development, click here.

For more about The Holcim Foundation’s support for sustainable construction, click here.