2025 Theses Master's

Integrating Informal and Shared Mobility Systems into Mumbai's Climate Resilience Framework: Bridging Policy Gaps for Urban Equity and Sustainability

Kharodawala, Husen Ismailbhai

The climate crisis is no longer a looming threat but an immediate force reshaping cities across the Global South. In cities like Mumbai, São Paulo, and Jakarta, monsoonal floods cripple infrastructure, heatwaves push temperatures beyond livable thresholds, and mobility networks—essential to economic and social stability—become sites of profound vulnerability. While governments invest in floodproofing rail corridors, electrifying bus fleets, and expanding metro systems, informal transport remains absent from adaptation planning, despite moving the majority of urban residents. Auto-rickshaws and shared taxis do not merely supplement formal networks; they sustain them, filling critical transit gaps in areas underserved by public transit. Yet, these systems operate without institutional support, financial protection, or climate-resilient infrastructure, often leaving operators and commuters exposed to extreme weather disruptions.

This research examines shared auto-rickshaws in the Nalasopara-Virar corridor and shared taxis in Mumbai’s downtown region, two essential yet highly vulnerable transport systems that remain excluded from the city's Climate Action Plan (MCAP 2022). Through spatial analysis of climate risk and transport dependency, interviews with operators and policymakers, and commuter surveys assessing adaptation strategies, this study reveals the policy void surrounding informal mobility and the structural barriers preventing its integration into resilience frameworks.

By positioning informal transport not as a peripheral concern but as a vital component of urban infrastructure, this thesis argues that climate adaptation strategies must extend beyond formal transit investments to safeguard the mobility networks that sustain millions. Without urgent policy intervention, these systems—and the people who depend on them—will remain unprotected as climate risks escalate.