We're teaching this online course! We'll go over the best practices, critically read many charts, and do plenty of hands-on practice with Tableau. Example data comes from official stats and administrative sources in India.

RT @iihsin: Meet the speaker for the upcoming Publics@IIHS lecture on June 11 2024. Andaleeb will discuss his co-authored book, ‘The Future….

RT @iihsin: In the upcoming Publics@IIHS talk, Sam Asher will discuss new collaborative work on residential segregation and access to publi….

RT @iihsin: Three courses offered in the IIHS Research Methods Suite are booked out and closed for registrations. Seats are filling fast fo….

RT @iihsin: Data Visualisation in Research and Practice, is a short course from the IIHS Urban Practitioners' Programme, and one of the fiv….

Short course in July on quant methods; examples broadly related to India's urban transition. We'll cover key data sources, identifying & communicating patterns, multivariable decision making and basic concepts of inference. Limited seats! Details here:

RT @iihsin: If you are considering the IIHS Urban Fellows Programme to pursue careers as urban practitioners, academics or researchers, don….

The treeheatr R package ( turned out to be a very useful tool to visualise our patterns. The data and source code for the analysis are available here: (11).

We argue that a singular policy focus on profits to be extracted from slum lands may not bring about the intended outcomes. Upgrading slums through house improvement grants, enhancement of social amenities, etc. are alternative types of intervention the state could consider. (10).

We place this empirical analysis against the backdrop of rent gap theory and its implications, drawing from examples from other geographies as well. Read the full paper here: (9).

In summary, we find that many projects are infeasible due to density and FAR constraints. In big cities, the shapes and sizes of many slum lands make those unsuitable for ISSR. In small cities, modest real-estate markets would make most ISSR projects unprofitable. (8)

To highlight the main patterns in the 1000s of simulated projects, we created and visualised decision trees using recursive partitioning (. These tell us what combination of factors lead to what kind of project outcomes. (7).

Using the distributions of variables, we simulated a large number of different scenarios of ISSR projects, each one with a different combination of values for the variables. For each scenario, we calculated feasibility (all residents accommodated?) and profitability (IRR). (6)

An important metric that characterised the slum land is Land Shape Index (LSI), which indicates how well the size and shape of the land is suited for redevelopment projects. (5)

From a variety of data sources, we constructed approximate empirical distributions of slum characteristics (covering 6000+ slums), real estate market variables and regulatory constraints and incentives, covering many cities across India. (4).

Direct subsidies and relaxed planning regulations are expected to make ISSR projects viable. However, from many years of on-the-ground experience, my co-author Swastik Harish knew the scheme hasn't been doing well. We set out to quantify the profitability of these projects. (3).

ISSR, part of the PMAY—Urban scheme (, aims to commercially exploit the "market potential" of slum lands by allowing private redevelopment on them, while accommodating all existing residents in new buildings in a portion of the land. (2)

How can the state intervene to develop and improve low-income housing? In India, In Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) is currently the only channel of central govt. support at the scale of slum settlements. Does one scheme fit all, though? At @iihsresearch, we did an analysis. (1).

RT @iihsin: Admissions to the IIHS Urban Fellows Programme 2023-24 are now open! Gain interdisciplinary perspectives on issues of urbanisat….

RT @BlrLitFest: The Bangalore Literature Festival is fast approaching. Register today and be part of one of the most special gatherings of….