This blog post talks about the core philosophy of SPARC and the Campaign for Roof Over Our Heads (ROOH). It focuses on how we turn the "victim" narrative into one of agency through community-led data and design.

Sheela Patel

From Pavements to Power: The SPARC Way of Building Cities

For over 40 years, we at SPARC have heard the same story: that people living in informal settlements are a "problem" to be solved or "victims" to be saved. However, we know that the truth is the exact opposite. These residents are the city’s most resilient architects, its hardest workers, and its first responders to climate change. Based on this knowledge, we developed a methodology that isn’t about charity; it’s about democratizing knowledge and ensuring that those who build the city actually have a say in its future.

When Sheela Patel started this journey in 1974, she asked the women living on Mumbai’s pavements what they wanted. They didn’t ask for a handout; they asked for a future where their grandchildren weren’t born on a sidewalk. Over the years, we learned that women are the best managers of community resources, and by forming Women’s Collectives, we create a space where the women can negotiate with men, with governments, and with international banks. So our secret sauce for the ROOH Campaign was: Start with the Women.

SPARC trained the residents—even those who were illiterate—to map their own neighbourhoods. Standard "top-down" research or data collection often produces rubbish because people tell outside surveyors what they want to hear. SPARC pioneered the Community-Led Census. In fact the women told us, "don't ask more than 10 questions, or we'll give you rubbish." This became the rule of 10 while doing a community census.

Through community census, data becomes a shield that provides legitimacy to the communities. When a community can present a government official with a detailed map and census of 100,000 households, they aren't just "squatters" anymore; they are a voting bloc with evidence.

The "Roof Over Our Heads" (ROOH) Learning Labs

Climate change isn't a future threat for informal settlements; it's a daily reality. The ROOH campaign operates through Learning Labs in 12 countries. Here’s how the labs work:

ROOH doesn’t just talk about change; it builds it. The campaign funds "demo homes" where volunteers test new materials—like heat-reflective paint or improved flooring—to show the rest of the neighbourhood what’s possible.

Local masons are the ones who have been building these houses for decades. ROOH looks at the masons as engineers, and instead of bringing in outside firms, we train local masons by helping them upgrade their skills using better materials and resilient designs. 

The campaign collects real-time data to monitor heat by installing sensors that track temperature and humidity every 15 minutes. This data is then matched with "perceived heat"— by comparing the actual temperature to what it feels like to the residents.

The Value Proposition: Why This Works

Our approach offers a "Triple Win" for the communities, the climate, and the state. SPARC treats the poor as clients and partners, not beneficiaries. The poorest families already spend 11% to 22% of their annual income repairing their homes before every monsoon. ROOH’s methodology repurposes that existing spend into long-term, resilient assets rather than temporary measures and expenditures that recur annually. This creates a pattern of overall economic efficiencythat the communities are beginning to understand.

Climate money often gets stuck in government offices. By focusing on the 5 Verticals—Habitat, Health, Transport, Relocation, and Disaster Preparedness—we build a decentralised infrastructure that can be scaled up. Once a Learning Lab proves that a certain material works for one neighbourhood, it goes "viral" because the neighbours can see the results and the demand for that material increases, creating scalable resilience.

The gap between "illegal" settlements and "formal" planning is bridged by bringing in architects, university students, and material scientists to work inside slums. We force the formal system to acknowledge and integrate informal transport (eg, shared rickshaws) and housing into the city’s master plan, thus legitimising the informal.

The Goal: A Global Resource Network

SPARC and ROOH are on a journey to establish 100 Learning Labs. These aren't just construction sites; they are resource centres. They are places where a woman can learn about her health, a youth can become a data expert, and a community can prepare for the next disaster.

We aren't just building roofs; we are building the power to stay. We are the warriors who are the first responders to disaster, and we refuse to be treated like “victims."

Join us in changing the architecture of development.