Claiming Space for Informal Work in Master Planning: Reflections from a People’s Campaign in Delhi

Master plans across the Global South tend to reflect Eurocentric, modernist city visions that are disconnected from the lived reality of most people, who live and work informally. In Delhi, previous master plans have been used to legally justify the displacement of poor communities from their homes and workplaces. This policy brief details the creation of a people’s campaign that worked to make the planning process more just and inclusive; and the lessons emerging from their engagement focusing on different themes including informal livelihoods, and articulation of a shared vision of a people’s plan for Delhi, for the next 20 years.