State of Housing -
Aspirations, Imaginaries and Realities in India 

The 'State of Housing – Aspirations, Imaginaries and Realities in India' exhibition brought together the varied interests and perspectives as well as a spectrum of stakeholders and actors including architects, urban designers, planners, local governance bodies, private real-estate developers, financial institutions and
policy-makers that are all critical in understanding Housing in India.  Housing comprises the largest component of any settlement and India currently is experiencing a housing crisis: a shortage of approximately 18 million units in the urban centers and it is believed 40 million in rural India. In the urban areas of the 18 million deficit 56% are for the economically disadvantaged sections and 40% for low-income groups. The exhibition developed a conspectus of the housing crisis; and created an integrated database of case studies and methods enabling a comprehensive understanding of the situation.

The exhibition was developed along three key axes. These were: (1) a set of case studies attesting to the diversity of the housing question in India, spanning policies, projects, predicaments, and cultural expressions; (2) a system of infographic visualisations that vividly communicates the salient data and dimensions of the housing question; and (3) a Film on the subject, which served both as a documentary articulation of the exhibition and as an educational tool.

The research from the exhibition was documented in a two-part publication titled Housing in India

Some of the learnings made from the exhibition and the discussions with stakeholders led to the next phase of research that the Foundation is currently working on -Parameters for Adequate Housing in India in collaboration with ATE Chandra Foundation.