Formally trained architects in India participate in building habitation for less than 10 per cent of the population. Most architecture created through the involvement of architects produces segregation and discrimination towards certain classes, castes and genders. This study is concerned with the role of formal architectural education in addressing the habitation question and issues of spatial justice. Towards this, a review of the educational ecosystem for architecture has been undertaken. This ecosystem includes institutions, universities, regulatory bodies, journals, events, awards and offices. The study also briefly looks at cases of habitation making for the remaining 90 per cent who do not get served by trained architects.
From our review, it is apparent that this ecosystem is structurally, institutionally and pedagogically insufficient to produce a relevant spatial culture, spatial justice or cultural sustainability. While it is structurally located within a political economy where education is a money-making enterprise, it is institutionally geared to reduce academia to educational organisations and pedagogically oriented to prepare students for a building industry of a certain kind. Yet, despite the odds, architectural institutions have been innovating and striving to create relevance. Their efforts will remain key for the overhaul of the ecosystem and they will have to steer the process of change.