Mumbai and the Dharavi slum

Made famous by the box office hit Slumdog Millionaire, Asia's largest slum area Dharavi is to be found within the sprawling Indian city of Mumbai, the country's thriving financial capital (click here for a travel guide to the Mumbai). Home to over a million people, thousands of small businesses are crammed in amongst its cluttered streets and ramshackle dwellings. The Indian state government has plans to redevelop the area and turn it into a modern township. But what effect will the scheme have on Dharavi and its residents?

Find out the answer by taking a look at the following resources.
A good place to start is the interactive video produced by National Geographic. You can also have a look at the You Tube video below which walks you through Dharavi and a news report on the plans to redevelop the area.



There is some interesting information on the Geography Resources Online site and also at Cool Geography. There are a host of good articles about Dharavu on the web too, for example The New York Times, the Economist and this one on urban development in LEDCs. It was the the box office hit Slumdog Millionaire that brought the area to the attention of many, but it wasn't a fairytale ending for all those who featured in the film.


Finally here is a short film about another of India's slums, this time in the Bihar area.

World Population

It is estimated that the world's population exceeded 7 billion in March 2012. Under current projections the global population is expected to be as high as 10 billion by 2050.

How can the earth and its finite resources cope with such the population explosion? What will it mean for each one of us and for our children? How will our lives and environment change? Are we heading for impending disaster? Take a look at some of the following videos and resources to help you ponder these questions?








Have a look at this Population clock too.