Abstract
This thesis examines the displacement and relocation experiences of individuals from informal urban settlements in Ahmedabad, India, within the context of development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR), with a specific focus on the Sabarmati Riverfront Project. It investigates how the relocation process influences the wellbeing of displaced people at both individual and community levels, with an emphasis on long-term intergenerational outcomes. Fieldwork was conducted between February 2022 and December 2023. The study employs qualitative methods, including life history narratives with fourteen participants and five focus group discussions with residents and their representatives.Existing studies on DIDR have primarily emphasised the negative economic and social outcomes of displacement. These studies have helped inform policy and conceptual frameworks aimed at improving displacement processes and outcomes. However, such frameworks often generalise the experiences of rural populations to urban contexts and tend to overlook the long-term outcomes of resettlement, particularly for those affected in informal settlements. This study seeks to address this gap by focusing on the lived experiences of individuals from urban informal settlements, providing a long-term, intergenerational perspective on relocation and resettlement (R&R). Drawing on the Wellbeing in Developing countries (WeD) framework, the study identifies three key themes: the relationship between material and relational wellbeing for individuals; the long-term implications for community wellbeing post-relocation; and the unmet subjective aspirations for dignity and a better society intertwined with dimensions of material and relational wellbeing. The findings reveal that, while relocation to formal housing offered material improvements—such as better infrastructure—the experience was accompanied by losses in material wellbeing and challenges related to basic services. These aspects of material losses were intertwined with fractured relationships and subjective wellbeing, with individuals and communities struggling to adapt to new governance systems. Despite demonstrating agency in resisting displacement, communities faced new challenges in post-relocation governance, which led to weakened internal relationships and strained external interactions. Reflecting with people on their experiences of DIDR through the lens of wellbeing allows us to argue for the inadequacies in existing DIDR frameworks.
The study concludes by proposing a possible alternative framework derived from people’s past experiences, needs, and aspirations for individual and community wellbeing. It argues that while existing frameworks present various risks and seek ways to mitigate these risks, there are potential gains from an approach that centers affected people’s lived realities, needs, and aspirations for wellbeing and aims to support pursuing these through the opportunity of DIDR
| Date of Award | 8 Oct 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Rachel Tolhurst (Supervisor) |