Of slime moulds and smart slums – Kolkata informal settlements and the tale of a failed canal reclamation project

Abstract

This paper begins with the description of a theory that draws a parallel between slime mould behaviour and the functioning of informal settlements – part of a scholarly trend that recognizes and glorifies a kind of futuristic intelligence in these deprived zones. The paper goes on to demystify the slime mould theory using a case that, at first glance, seems to validate it. When faced with the threat of forced eviction due to a canal reclamation project, the informal residents living along the banks resort to a range of survival tactics that protect them from eviction, and, in an ironic twist, also make it impossible for the project to succeed. Seen in isolation, the informal residents seem to act as the theory predicted – without being guided by a “single brain” or a “power elite”. However, seen within the historical and political context, this moment of triumph is itself found to be bounded on all sides by defeat and deprivation.