Paper short abstract:

By examining the gendered livelihood strategies of households resettled to the Lallubhai Compound in the eastern suburb of Mumbai, as part of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), I show how it is it is necessary to consider women's social reproduction work in urban redevelopment plans.

Paper long abstract:

The ambitious urban redevelopment projects in Mumbai incorporate a Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) Policy, endorsed by the World Bank, to address the needs of displaced populations. However, this policy neglects the significant role women play in urban development and the disproportionate impact they face during resettlement.

I argue that the R&R policy overlooks the livelihoods of women, who contribute through both informal paid work and unpaid social reproductive labor. By focusing on the Lallubhai Compound, I analyze the intersection of urbanization, informal work, and women’s labor strategies using a social reproduction lens. Women’s everyday unpaid labor—cooking, cleaning, caregiving, and provisioning—is vital to sustaining households and communities, but often goes unrecognized.

Women in resettled households, such as those in Lallubhai Compound, bear the brunt of unpaid labor, including tasks like waiting in line for water, which are often overlooked due to gendered assumptions. In resettlement areas where essential services like creches, hospitals, security, and transportation are lacking, women are left to compensate for the state’s failure to provide these resources, further intensifying their burden. Ignoring the contribution of social reproductive labor can lead to a depletion of women’s energy and capacities, affecting the health and well-being of individuals, households, and communities.

By focusing on women’s labor in both social reproduction and informal work, this study offers insights for the World Bank and the state to better incorporate women’s roles and promote equity in urban redevelopment policies.