Gender Dimensions of Resettlement in Chennai, India:
A Participatory Documentary and
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     We Too Urban Women, a 40-minute documentary, explores the gender dimensions of urban resettlement projects in Chennai, India. Housing for the urban poor remains a significant challenge, as government-led resettlement initiatives often overlook the perspectives of vulnerable communities, leading to further problems and rights violations. Slum evictions, carried out as part of river restoration, flood rehabilitation programs, and urban development in Chennai, disproportionately affect these communities. The documentary highlights the stories of poor urban women who rely on the city for their livelihoods and advocates for more inclusive urban development initiatives. When resettlement sites are located far from the city, these women face multidimensional challenges, including loss of income, increased transportation costs, and social dislocation.

     Filmed over two years, this participatory documentary emphasizes the need for inclusive urban development, asserting that these women need the city—and the city needs them too. It underscores the interdependence between urban development and the lives of marginalized women, calling for policies that prioritize their inclusion and participation.

     This documentary is the result of an international academic collaboration between the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and the Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai, India. The project was funded by the DAIDA Foundation, The Netherlands. Directed by Sunitha Don Bosco and Velayutham Chandrasekaran, the film serves as a powerful call to action for equitable and inclusive urban planning.

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