Gender, domestic energy and design of inclusive low-income habitats: A case of slum rehabilitation housing in Mumbai, India

Minna Sunikka-Blank, Ronita Bardhan, Anika Nasra Haque

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Women's involvement in decision-making in domestic energy remains an under-researched area, especially in
the urban context. This research adopts a gendered perspective in exploring slum rehabilitation housing in India.
Based on a household survey and a focus group discussion (FGD), women’s household and working practices are
explored in interview narratives and systems analysis. The findings show that the relocation to slum rehabilitation
housing (SRH) has radically changed women’s household routines (cooking, comfort, childrearing,
working and entertainment practices) and that women are more affected by the relocation than men. Changed
practices, poor design of SRH and lack of outdoor space have radically increased electricity use and living costs
in all the surveyed households. The economic pressure forces women into lowly paid jobs or informal economy,
creating a vicious circle where women’s time poverty further reduces their social capital and opportunities for
self-development in terms of education or formal employment. A comparison of SRH typologies shows that
building design has great influence both on gendered use of space and electricity use, advocating a courtyard
typology. Further, interviews with policy-makers reveal a dis-juncture between the occupant realities and the
policy objectives. The paper argues that gender equality can and should be influenced through energy and
housing policies and offers a conceptual framework for inclusive SRH to address this dis-juncture.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)53-67
Number of pages15
JournalEnergy Research and Social Science
Volume49
Early online date13 Nov 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2019

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