An Informal Urban Generator: Redefining the Human-Trash Relationship
Advisor: Robin Dripps / University of Virginia / 2017 — 2018
New Delhi, India
Overview
A comprehensive thesis investigating the informal waste management systems of New Delhi, India. This project explores the relationship between urban waste infrastructure and informal settlements, proposing new frameworks for integrated waste management that leverage existing informal networks. The research examines how the city's kabadiwala (recycler) network processes materials through a decentralized system that outperforms formal municipal waste collection.
Figure ground map — New Delhi urban fabric showing density gradients and open space networks.
Urban figure ground — detailed site analysis of building footprints and street patterns.
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Urban figure overlay — mapping informal waste collection routes onto the existing urban grid.
Site documentation — informal waste processing along drainage infrastructure.
Site documentation — material sorting and storage within informal settlements.
Site documentation — interface between formal city and informal waste networks.
Site documentation — urban conditions at the edge of waste processing zones.
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Northwest Corridor — comprehensive master plan integrating waste infrastructure with public space.
Physical model — sectional study through proposed intervention.