Community-led solutions for informal housing in Rasulabad

Using our skills to help vulnerable communities

At Arup, we believe everyone should have a safe and affordable home. This is a key priority in our community engagement programme, through which our people use their technical and professional expertise to co-create solutions in partnership with underserved communities such as Rasulabad informal settlement. Our team has seen first-hand during previous work with Rohingya camps in Bangladesh how those living in informal housing are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which exacerbates existing social and economic inequalities.

To maximise the impact of our efforts in Rasulabad, we agreed with ROOH that this pilot workshop would focus on roofing materials. Many roofs in Rasulabad are made from galvanized iron sheets, which have a number of drawbacks: homes can become unbearably hot during periods of extreme heat; although the sheeting is waterproof, rainwater can still enter the home where the roof meets the walls; and the sheets allow very little natural lighting or ventilation.

Empowering residents to lead the design process 

Only local people can determine whether a solution is truly viable in practice. So, guided by ROOH’s principles, all the ideas and designs we put forward had to be:

• Affordable
• Adaptable
• Accessible
• Available
• Acceptable

At the two-day workshop, which was conducted in Hindi and Gujarati, our engineers and designers outlined fundamental principles of heat protection, cross ventilation, refraction techniques for lighting, and the use of sealants and tarpaulins to withstand regular rainfall. With substantial numbers of women in attendance, the participants included those who spend the most time in the home as well as local engineers and masons working in construction. Our team worked to build the group’s capacity for self-reliance and resilience, so they can better manage their environment and improve their living conditions.

Using a participatory approach, everyone worked together to understand the properties of low-cost, locally available materials. These included cardboard, fabric, plastic sheets, banners, galvanised iron sheets, tarpaulin, coconut husks, egg cartons, glass wool, and sealant. The group then assembled and tested prototype panels that combined different materials – experimenting with lifting and manipulating the panels. This combination of traditional techniques and engineering principles ensured that the co-designed solutions were technically sound and, crucially, buildable in Rasulabad.

Instilling confidence in practical, relevant solutions

Following the workshop, feedback from community members showed that they had confidence in the approach, saying that it was both practical and relevant to their needs. Many were eager to adopt and adapt ideas from the workshop and apply the knowledge they had gained.

This pilot also demonstrated the importance of sustained support after a workshop, without which initial enthusiasm can fade. Our work highlighted the need for ongoing commitment based around a sixth principle: Adoption. This could pave the way for the approach to be adapted and scaled for similar settlements in India and beyond, contributing to the global effort to create more equitable and resilient cities.

As we continue our work with ROOH, we aim to expand the impact of the Rasulabad pilot, improving and building on what we’ve already achieved. Our goal is to ensure that even more people can access affordable, resilient, and safe shelter.