Dispersed initiatives in changing urban landscapes

There is a growing desire amongst students of architecture to work, either in the UK or in developing countries, in situations where technical and cultural change is rapid and resources are scarce. At the some time self organizing local communities have become recognized as the most effective client and interlocutor for generating meaningful debate on the transformation of their everyday environment. Diploma Studio 6 at the Department of Architecture and Spatial Design of London Metropolitan University has worked with specifically local, low income and marginalized communities in Kosovo (2000 + 2001) and India: Gujarat (2002), Meerut (2003), Delhi (2004 +2005) and Agra (2006) to generate proposals for meaningful change and improvement. This paper seeks to draw out some of the major themes of debate which have emerged.