busywork.

so this next month will be a slight change of pace, and shift in focus. (although its part of a transition already in place). my host org has some events coming up that will hopefully encourage a public discourse on development issues concerning mumbai's eastern waterfront. the eastern waterfront was a site for a studio class in graduate school, one of my favorites, and in many ways, the reason i am in mumbai today.
the debate on what to do with 1800 acres of under-used land (owned by the bombay port trust, and largest continuous open land area in the island city), has been in and out of the media, interest group propaganda, public events for almost a decade. the key players are developers, port representatives, bureaucrats, preservationists and environmentalists, as well as academic institutions (the site has been the target of student focus over the years).
and i should also add local residents, but unfortunately they are rarely invited, or even notified of these supposedly public fora. and not that many people live there, as the land is honestly sparsely developed.
there are compelling arguments on all sides.
im looking forward to it.