1. Protecting the
Vulnerable.

2. • The labor sector of the Indian economy consists of
over 487 million workers, the second largest after
China. Of these over 94% work in unincorporated ,
unorganized enterprises ranging from pushcart
vendors to daily wage workers (planning commission of
India (2007)) .
• The unorganized sector has low productivity and
offers low wages . Even though it accounted for over
94% of the working force , it creates just 57 % of
India’s national domestic product (9 fold less per
worker than the organized sector).
• India’s national sample survey office in its 67th
report found that unorganized manufacturing ,
trading , retail and services employed about 10 %
each of all workers nationwide. It also reported 58
million unincorporated non agricultural enterprises
in 2010.
India, the most populous democracy in the world is the 10th largest economy by nominal
GDP (International monitory fund). The country is a growing market of import-export, industry,
agriculture and associated services. Bringing this to life is the dense network of the informal
(labor) sector.
INFORMAL SECTOR – THE BACKBONE OF A DEVELOPING ECONOMY
13 million new
worker every
year
5 million
( works in informal sector)
8 million
( being unemployed)
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5 million youth every year out of the 13 million new
workers join the ranks of poorly paid partial employment,
casual labor pool for temporary infrastructure and real
estate construction jobs , or in many cases , being
unemployed. (tripti lahiri , the wall street journal)
The labour (informal) sector forms a very essential
yet ignored part of the mixed Indian economy

3. The Indian private sector relies on low labor cost top
compete with the influx of foreign industries post-
liberization.
A section of the labor sector which makes the
majority contribution for India’s Financial
development are:
exploited, underpaid, given inadequate facilities,
many a times kept in unhealthy conditions and
excluded from financial benefits.
not equipped enough to avail to the rights that will
appreciate and uplift their dignity of labor
subjected to unreliable and erratic employment
patterns making their way of living undefined.
Our approach therefore, is to identify this
otherwise overlooked, vulnerable section of society
and design policies and programs pertaining
specifically to their upliftment.
By penning down formal policies, as to how this
vulnerable section needs to be dealt with only
practically, dilutes the sensitivity of this entire issue.
Therefore, we choose to set forth guidelines
and provide ways to implement these at a
grassroots-level, to illustrate the well struck balance
between feasibility as well as understanding of our
approach.
We intend to blur the boundary between the
society and this informal working population
BLURRING THE BOUNDARIES – AN APPROACH TO DESIGN
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Psychological mindset of an informal worker

4.  An efficient management system should be set up for informing, implementing and monitoring the policies.
A study should be made of the various informal sectors in the city based on the density, work culture and lifestyle. Dealing with this
nomadic and indefinite section of the people, the challenge arises to unify them.
PROPOSED POLICIES FOR THE VULNERABLE - UNIDENTIFIED
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE
 A social and physical platform must be set up, so that an
individual from this section can associate himself with it so as
to give him the security of belonging to a formalized system
that will make him an eligible citizen of the society.
This cooperative platform will provide the relevant
information about schemes and programs provided to the
informal sector by the government
Union
Government
State Government
Local Bodies
Transition centre /
Formal platform Linkages and exchange
Monitoring system
Right to information
Information on Arrival

5.  Understanding the most pressing need of these individuals in their
respective localities, a physical intervention should be brought about to
create a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship between the society
as well as this vulnerable section of society.
 The physical intervention -
i) Will be given an added function so that it can be utilized as also a skill up
gradation unit for those individuals who have availed for it.
ii) Will be associated with commercial functions so as to self generate
revenue for its working.
 Information technology department (IT) should be
assigned to create a database of individuals belonging
to the informal sector who intend to avail for their
registration to the system.
This record will be used to understand their footfall in the
locality as well as for future planning and commercial
development of the same.
 A formal official website should be designed, which
will pace up and simplify the process of acquiring jobs
for this deprived section of the society.
Making use of the technology, the databases will be
shared on a website designed specifically for employers
to access and hence, provide quality employment to the
labor force.
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 Non-bank financial institutions will be set up at each
of the platforms to monetarily connect these individuals
to government affiliated banking systems.
Collaboration with NGO’s, Social workers and local
association is essential for the formation of these
institutions.
A financial linkage should be set up between the various
financial institute for the parallel development of the
scheme.
USER
REGISTERATION
USER
IDENTIFICATION
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
AMENITIES
ATTRIBUTED
The identification
system for the user
is categorized into
stages depending
on the contribution
to the system and
frequency in
availing the
proposed policies
and facilities.
The stages define the
extent of the access to
the amenities for the
user . These amenities
act as incentive for the
user be a part of the
system.
The Financial contribution
by the user will help fund
the self help group and
will provide the link
between the Non-
Financial institutions and
the system.
Proposed physical
intervention
PROPOSED POLICIES FOR THE VULNERABLE - UNIDENTIFIED

6. CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT
STATE
GOVERNMENT
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT TRANSITION CENTRE
BASIC
FACILITIES
SKILL
UPGRADATION
CENTRE
SITE SPECIFIC
FUNCTION
(Formal platform)
Employment, Economic support, Identity, certified skill
recognition, work experience, social security.
Rozgar naka /
Day and night
shelter /
Hawkers
plaza
Sanitation, Amenities,
Access to technology,
Food and education
security
Workshops,
training centre
Financial depositary,
Labour collateral,
Social security.
toilets
Basic facilities
Non bank
financial
institute
Skill upgradation centre
Rozgar naka/ hawker plaza
Schematic representation of a social and
physical platform consisting transition centre
and the site specific function
NGO, Social Workers and
Local Associations and
Unions ( Finance team)
Executive Officer (moderator)Region Controller
and Ward officer
Sectorial
Representatives
DATABASE
DEPARTMENT
Information
Technology Team
Divisional Officer
Volunteers
Data regarding the
footfall and labour
network
WEBSITE
Quality
Employment
Social security
Commercial
Functions
Revenue
Generation
THE MONITORING SYSTEM
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Real Estate Agents,
Commercial developers
NON BANK
FINANCIAL
INSTITUTE

7. As a majority of the labour force being migrants into urban
areas they are rendered to one of the major survival issues –
housing .
“ Home is a notion that only the nations of homeless fully
appreciate and only the uprooted comprehend.”
•Homelessness is the manifestation of extreme poverty and
vulnerability of this working population. Uncertainty prevails
in their lives with no permanent jobs, identities ,livelihood
and no permanent roof above them.
•They lack adequate amenities that are essential to achieve
the basic standard of living. Striving to survive , they maximize
everything available to them. Therefore, we see them
encroaching public spaces and utilizing public facilities.
•The flourishing urban growth provides job opportunities and
this money making incentives increase migration rates into
the urban centres.
Factors that render them invisible :
1.Lack of formal address and
therefore lack of citizenship.
2.Location of sleeping is irregular
3.Occupying public spaces rather
than prime city land.
HOMELESSNESS – AN URBAN REALITY
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On site documentation of various localities in major urban centres in the
country showing how homeless working population become visible when the
city breaths in the dark.
Apart from being overlooked for their
valuable contribution in the commercial
and service sector of urban India,
homeless are termed invisible even as
citizens.
Therefore, it is crucial to identify the role homeless play in the development of a commercial sector and uplift their present condition
by economy empowering them for a developed economy in the city.

8.  A study should be made of the varied homeless involved in the locality based on density, work culture and lifestyle.
 The programme for occupancy in the night shelter should be based on the studies made and hence are subjected to change with every
changing context.
The night shelter should accommodate 70% of working men,20% of working women and 10% of families (based on survey).
The above mentioned figures should be made flexible, as and when the site demands
 A tender should be released for the development of the night shelter by interested parties including NGOs and the required land should be
made available free of cost by the government.
The tender should also be open to NGO’s and other non governmental organizations.
 A financial linkage should be set up between the various prototypes in an urban context so that long term goals are made through parallel
development.
 Collaborations with NGO's, hospitals and welfare associations should be made for the advocacy of the night shelter.
 A cooperative society and banking system should be set up which provides relevant information about schemes and programs provided to
the urban poor by the government.
 The proposal of night shelter should be considered as a government owned public amenity and should have reservation in the development
plan of the city.
 The shelter should lie within a 2km radius/walking distance from the work culture of the homeless.
 The day and night shelter should be replicated as a prototype in government owned development projects of public utility
wherever the need arises.
PROPOSED POLICIES FOR THE HOMELESS
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Approach for the implementation of proposed policies :
The lack of having a shelter and a sense of belonging makes an individual more lost than if he is deprived of any other basic facility. Not only is
this physically taxing but also puts an individual in social, mental and emotional distress which makes the individual question his identity in
society. After extensive research the state of homelessness is considered the most pressing issue faced by this vulnerable section of the society
tackling which is the need of the hour. Hence, to test the feasibility of the aforementioned guidelines they have been implemented in the form
of policies to uplift the homeless.

9. MUMBAI - THE MAGNET CITY
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FUTURE REPLICATION – A VISION FOR A BETTER LIVING
Mumbai has been a very strong magnet , attracting millions of aspiring
individuals in search of job opportunities and a better living. It serves as an
appropriate example for the situation of unidentified labor force due to its
dynamic informal sector and its influence on the city .
The labor force is rendered homeless on the pavements of the city due to
lack of favorable infrastructure and policies in place for their upliftment.
Hence to cater to the problem one intervention would not suffice and rather
demands a modular network as a future replication system.
Criteria for replication in the city:
- High density of homeless working population .
- Strong work culture.
- Open or a dead space.
• The design intervention is used to facilitate the process of raising
awareness regarding the issues of the unorganized labor force as well as
reducing the social stigma attached to them by incorporation of activities
like naka system and revenue generation programs. A self sustaining
prototype is inserted in commercial areas with high labor densities.
Replication of these prototypes leads to the creation of nodes, which are
financially symbiotic in nature. Hence any loop hole or imbalance in the
network can be detected which helps the system to develop simultaneously.
• Through this modular but site responsive insert we are contributing
back to the locality as well as the city, as we are harnessing the services
provided by the ground labor force and organizing their distribution in
the locality.
The proposed solution will cater to a large
number of individuals in informal sectors
recognised by the necessary surveys done
throughout the different cities.
The intervention should ideally be placed
in the high density pockets of the urban
context where the unorganised sector is
predominant.

10. CHALLENGES AND RISK
 Most individuals who are a part of this vulnerable sector of society embrace any job available to them.
Hence their work profiles cannot be categorized while creating a database for the system.
 Availability of land for a physical intervention is not always achievable in the high density pockets created
by the informal sector.
 There being an existing negative psyche regarding this section, the presence of a physical intervention for
them may be resisted by society.
 The organization/body providing funds to deal with the vulnerability of these individuals may not be able
to reach the grass root level of recognizing their issues.
 The proposed system may not be considered as efficient and working until there is no substantial
response to it (which can be initiated by the influence of a powerful entity in the vicinity). Hence the system
demands for a symbiotic relationship with the society.
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

11. NGO's and Government Offices:
1. DUSIB, Delhi Urban Shelter Board, New Delhi
2. Mother NGO, New Delhi
3. YUVA foundation, Mumbai
4. IGSSS, Indo-Global Social Service Society, New Delhi
5. Alternative Realities, Mumbai
6. MCD, Municipal Corporation Of Delhi, New Delhi
7. DDA, Delhi development Authority, New Delhi
8. HUDCO office, New Delhi
9. NMDC, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, New Delhi
Guidance:
1. Ar. Rohit shinkre, Principal, Academy of Architecture, Mumbai.
2. Ar. Ravindra Punde, Ex Principal, Academy of Architecture,
Mumbai.
3. Ar. Shivani Singh, Town planner, Mumbai.
4. Ar.Harshad Bhatiya, Researcher for humanity, Mumbai.
Reports:
1. Choice less on the Street - BUILD
2. Living Rough, Surviving City Streets by Harsh Mander for
Planning commission of India
3. Unsung City Heroes by Indo-Global Social Service Society
(IGSSS)
4. Strategies to Combat Homelessness by United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
5. Employment Situation in Mumbai: An Analysis by TISS
(Mumbai).
6. Homeless Survey Report 2010 BY Delhi government and
UNDP
7. India: Urban Poverty Report
8. REPORT On Urban Homeless By The National Advisor On
Homeless To The Commissioners Of The Supreme Court
9. National Programs for Urban Homeless
10. Neoliberal City by Mumbai Reader
11. Social security bill 2008
Books:
1. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty
2. Alleviation, Government of India
3. Dimensions of Urban cities, by Sabir Ali
REFERENCES
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE