The periurban landscape of Piali, West Bengal, India is shaped by intersecting legacies of colonial land policy, climate displacement, and speculative real estate. The British exploited the Zamindari system from the Mughal Empire, reinforcing extractive hierarchies that still echo in today’s informal settlements—fractured, unregulated, and excluded from basic services. The British also built canals for transport, to drain sewage from Kolkata, and to “improve wastelands,” making low-lying areas of the Ganges Delta open for extraction. More recently, climate-vulnerable populations, especially those displaced after Cyclone Aila in 2009, have migrated from the Sundarbans. In my fieldwork, I observed a settlement pattern whereby low-income people live in kutcha homes on state-owned canal edges, while middle-income residents purchase former farmland and build pucca houses. Though living side by side, one group is embedded in the land market, the other outside it.
Settling Unsettling challenges this liminal geography through a regenerative, co-evolving model of inhabitation rooted in decolonial practices: care and commons, continuity and reciprocity (Ji & Zhang 2023; Hilal, Petti & Weizman 2013). Rather than responding to informal growth through eviction, administrative invisibility, or delayed promises of formalisation, the project embraces migration as an iterative and negotiated act that continually reshapes settlement boundaries. It repositions the canal not as a back-edge, but as a generative spine, fostering ecological reciprocity and social dialogue between Piali’s old and new residents.
Drawing from West Bengal’s water-based living traditions, the design fosters inclusivity by integrating customisable housing, communal spaces, and protected canal edges on state land.
This approach enables evolving settlement patterns beyond property. Property is instead grounded in ecological sustainability, where land, human, and non-human entities engage in a dynamic negotiation of mutual coexistence. In this model, settlement is not a fixed outcome, but a continuous process of collective becoming, where the canal network is transformed into a multifaceted, living infrastructure supporting both community and environment.
The first tactic is related to Continuity. The project supports incremental inhabitation through customisable homes and shared verandahs, enabling residents to shape their environments over time. This flexibility recalibrates inequality between new and old residents by fostering belonging through shared presence rather than imposed hierarchy.
The second is related to Care & Commons. The canal’s edges are protected to allow native trees and habitats to regenerate. Communal ponds support biodiversity and become shared spaces for rest and gathering—redefining the canal zone as a shared common, not a boundary.
The third is related to Reciprocity. Fixed-land divisions are replaced by commons-based thresholds—verandahs, walkways, ponds, encouraging informal interaction across people, plants, and animals. Settlement is no longer static but an evolving relationship shaped through mutual care and long-term ecological belonging.
This project redefines inclusivity through a settlement logic shaped by continuity, care, commons, and reciprocity. It offers a decolonial model of periurban expansion—one where different species, generations, and social groups negotiate space together, building long-term rootedness through coexistence rather than separation or displacement.
01_Field Sketches
00_02 Day 2: Canning
00_03 Day 3: Bidyadharpur
00_04 Day 4: Piali
What you thought and what you found?
Initially, I thought of Kolkata as a prosperous city with a rich colonial history, known for its beautiful colonial buildings, settlements, and cultural heritage. However, my visit drastically changed my perspective. The streets were extremely busy, buildings were rundown and poorly maintained, and there was little to no visible influence from the colonial period. Most people don’t even speak English, and the only remnants of colonialism were the tangible boundaries—streets, rail lines, and canals. It felt as though the city was in a loud, chaotic process of decolonisation, with no effort to incorporate colonial influences into the local culture; rather, it seemed like a complete rejection. Comparing Kolkata to other colonial cities like Singapore and Georgetown, Penang, I found significant differences. In Singapore, colonialism is romanticised and celebrated, with efforts to conserve infrastructure and build statues. In Malaysia, colonialism is recognised but not celebrated, and there’s a stronger emphasis on local identity. Kolkata, on the other hand, seems desperate to decolonise, but in my view, it feels as though they are still being shaped by colonial infrastructure—just in a different, more chaotic manner. One particularly interesting observation was at the Indian Museum, which, despite having one of the largest collections in the world, lacked any real effort to maintain or present its archives, missing an opportunity for education and engagement.
During my visit, I was struck by the remarkable tolerance and peaceful coexistence of various communities in Kolkata. People of different religions, including Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, lived side by side without significant conflict. For example, a Muslim bakery selling European-style bread sat in a Parsi enclave, with a Chinese temple nearby. This harmony extended to the transgender community, whose presence was met with acceptance and blessings from the public. Despite the city's chaotic environment, including noise, pollution, and honking, the general attitude in Kolkata was one of mutual respect and tolerance, where everyone coexisted peacefully.
How it advanced your understanding of architecture?
During our trip to rural areas near the Canning Line, I observed how every settlement was unique in its urban development, most of them centred around their local train stations. Interestingly, people often visited the stations but didn’t actually take the trains, and each community appeared highly self-sustaining. This supported my initial impression of Kolkata as a city of fragmented settlements, where the lines between rural and urban are blurred. I had initially thought that these fragmented patterns were the result of colonial boundaries—canals, roads, railway lines, etc. However, after conducting interviews and further observations, I realised that the development of these settlements wasn’t necessarily a result of colonial influence at all. They seemed to evolve naturally, without formal planning. This made me reconsider the idea of “planned” versus “unplanned” settlements. What I had once viewed as a rigid colonial grid layout (Canning) appeared less rigid when experienced on the ground, I would not have noticed the colonial pattern without flying my drone. People had adapted to the existing infrastructure in a way that softened the sense of order that planners had imposed. This made me rethink architecture itself—not as just a solution to problems but as a platform for discussion.
Architecture, to me, became a space for wisdom and knowledge exchange, where local culture, economic, political, and social expressions could come together with professional knowledges to evoke meaningful discussions of diverse perspectives, it is never a mere solution that resolves a problem but as a platform to inspire and allow constant progression over time.
Initially, I was obsessed with dissolving colonial boundaries, believing that the fragmented settlement patterns were the result of colonial influences such as administrative boundaries, canals, and rail lines. However, through fieldwork, I realised there are no clear boundaries at all, and decolonisation is more of a complex phenomenon than I had imagined. The binary approach of colonised versus decolonised must be updated, as there is never a single, clear statement of the problem. Instead, multiple, diverse measures must be taken. This shift led me to focus less on intangible administrative boundaries and more on the physical boundaries created by colonial infrastructure. I became interested in exploring how people adapt to these existing boundaries, and how they live within them through decolonisation and local cultural practices. For instance, in Piali, I observed that while the urban patterns reflect colonial influence, they have evolved organically without explicit planning. The colonial link is still present but less overt and exaggerated than I had thought.
In my architecture project, I aim to create a platform that allows for the interaction between tangible elements (infrastructure) and intangible ones (local cultural practices). I want to explore how I can assist in the decolonisation process through a new typology that incorporates both existing colonial infrastructure and local cultural practices. I’m also interested in how architecture can facilitate dialogue between landlords and tenants, especially in areas like Piali, where these relationships are complex and often shaped by colonial history. Can my typology encourage dialogue between these groups and help ease tensions? These reflections have led me to rethink the role of architecture not just as a solution to problems but as a dynamic space where multiple perspectives and voices can be heard and incorporated.
02_Research
02_04 Periurban Kolkata - Colonisation Map
02_05 Baruipur - Colonial Infrastructure
PRIVATE LAND
ROAD CONDITION
VESTED LAND
MAIN
STREET (TOWARDS KOLKATA)
03_Projections
03_01 Stakeholder Incentives & Approaches
Landowners Not Residing in Piali
Local Residents (Private Land)
Local Residents (Vested Land)
Decolonisation Design Methodology
Initiative to Settle
PoeticTies: Sundarban & Canal
Continual & Incremental Growth
Customisable Elements
Expression of Identity
Resource Sharing Communal Spaces
Edges & Nodes – Spatial anchors
Infrastructure as Connection
Outreach & Visibility
Institutional Partnerships Embedded KnowledgeTransfer Legitimacy & Process
CommunityAdvertisementVolunteer Recruitment
Social Media Campaign
Open Invitations
Primary Stakeholders
Secure Housing
Water-Adapted Living
Low-Cost Self-Build
Community Clustering
Livelihoods by Canal
Community Project Credits
Institutional Backing
Workshops at PialiAshor School
Demonstration Units
Skill-to-Settle Framework
Technical & Instituitional Stakeholders
Ecosystem Restoration
Community Stewardship
Scalable Climate Model
Impact Data for Funding
LandAllocation Guidance
Community Feedback Loops
Transparent Onboarding
Urbanism Research Lab Political &
Drainage Revitalisation
GovernmentAgencies
& Porosity
Make Space for Difference
Negotiated Ownership
Ecological Porosity
Sustainable Urbanism
Redefining Growth
Protected Canal Banks – No dumping, no arbitrary encroachment PotentialAlternative Model for
Locally-Sourced Bamboo
Decentralised Production
Skill-Building as Empowerment
Circular Material Loop
Initial Phase
Canal Caretaker Jobs – Regularise, clean, monitor
Settlements Begin – Migrants build houses and shared spaces
Basic Infrastructure Emerges – Paths, docks
GrowthThrough Living
Common Spaces – Ponds, shared verandas
Fish Farms – Sustenance + micro-economies
Jobs Emerge – Farmers, fishers, gardeners, bamboo builders
Skill Exchange – Co-maintenance culture forms organically
Incremental Development
Self-Built Infrastructure – Built as needed, by residents
Protected Canal Bank – Trees planted, erosion reduced
Living Edge System – Adaptive, evolving, community-managed
Bridging & Inclusion
Land Connectivities – Linking vested/private land to canal edge
