Since 1990, a series of state-led policies in Chennai aimed at relocating slum dwellers to the city’s periphery has transformed the shape of the city.  This case critically examines the impacts of two large-scale peripheral resettlement initiatives: the Rajiv Yojana and the Integrated Cooum River Ecorestoration Project.  Through in-depth archival analysis and a community co-research audio-video documentation process, this case will trace the socio-spatial shifts underway in Chennai and their impacts.  A final case paper that contextualizes resettlement pathways will be supplemented with a rich collection of audio-video content and publications to support the learner in understanding how urban housing and resettlement policies impact the lives of the urban poor in Chennai today.

About the Case Author
Dr. Karen Coelho is an urban anthropologist working as Assistant Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Chennai, focusing on reforms in municipal governance, informal labour, urban ecologies, and urban civil society.  She teaches modules on History of Development Thought and Ethnographic and Qualitative Methods at MIDS.