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Priti Parikh - Bringing water and sanitation to slums
My father is a structural engineer. When I was eight, the whole family moved
to India, where he designed water and sanitation for all the slums in Indore city.
That was the start of my interest in engineering: I saw that it was not just about
technology. Once the slum communities received water and sanitation they invested
their own resources into improving the housing and environment, and after a few
years they looked more like middle-income settlements. I got a Bachelor in Engineering at Gujarat University. Then I studied urban planning at the Centre for Environment, Planning and Technology, in Ahmedabad. I joined my father to work in the slums for about seven years.
In 2001 I was about to return to England when the Gujarat earthquake struck. I was one of the volunteer engineers who went in to help. I spent three
months assessing damage to 60 buildings through a rapid visual assessment set
up by CEPT. The key challenge was to manage the expectations of the residents
in relation to compensation and also allay their fears. They were surprised to
see a young woman engineer.
In England I joined Buro Happold for three years and managed to get a Chartership with the Institute for Civil
Engineers. I worked on a Middle Eastern project (to help manage the impact of
long droughts followed by seasonal flooding) and - in complete contrast - on
track realignment at Ascot Race Course. An interesting part was drawing sightlines to ensure that the Queen could see
the races clearly!
In 2003 I went to Cambridge to do a Masters at the Centre for Sustainable Development. I got a scholarship to stay on and do a PhD, looking at the impact of sanitation
in slums. I did 700 house interviews in the slums of India and South Africa. My
research shows that integrated infrastructure (water-sanitation, electricity,
roads etc) has a positive impact on health, education, income and housing. Also,
investment in infrastructure generates a multiplier as the communities start investing
in housing improvements.
I was moved by people’s generosity. There is a perception about slums being
unsafe, dirty and unfriendly. Interventions like infrastructure
provisions can improve lives and communities are willing to contribute and keep
the settlement clean.
provisions can improve lives and communities are willing to contribute and keep
the settlement clean. I’m currently based in the ARUP International Development Team set up by Jo da Silva . The mission of our team is sustainable development in
developing counties. Right now I’m working on a sustainability tool to assesses
poverty reduction and sustainability for large infrastructure projects (a joint
ARUP/EAP venture called ASPIRE).
A lot of engineers believe that engineering can change the world – from my career
so far you can see that I am one of them!
Dr. Priti Parikh is Senior Consultant at Arup in the international development team and she is also an active member of the
Arup Poverty Action Network. She is a Charter Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, a member of Engineers without Borders. and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also a member of the Women’s Engineering Society.
Comments:
Ruth Wilson (UKRC moderator)
Hi Priti,
Thank you for joining us on the UKRC blog. The slum dwellings of India were brought graphically to the attention of the world through the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Was that a fair depiction do you think? The scene where the boy is trapped in the ramshackle toilet that empties into the river below is a real testament to the impact of poor sanitation on the lives of the urban poor. Perhaps we need a new movie, Slumdog Engineer, to show the impact that engineers can have in such environments :-)
Thank you for joining us on the UKRC blog. The slum dwellings of India were brought graphically to the attention of the world through the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Was that a fair depiction do you think? The scene where the boy is trapped in the ramshackle toilet that empties into the river below is a real testament to the impact of poor sanitation on the lives of the urban poor. Perhaps we need a new movie, Slumdog Engineer, to show the impact that engineers can have in such environments :-)
Priti Parikh
Hi Ruth
It has been a pleasure to talk to you and meet everyone in the network.
Films like Slumdog Millionaire have certainly succeeded in highlighting the living conditions in slums and bringing them to a larger audience. It is worth noting that the examples in the film are non typical and should be treated with caution.
The example of the boy being trapped in the ramshackle toilet however does highlight the poor environmental conditions in slums. Imagine a life without toilets and water taps...
Water-sanitation does have a positive impact on health, education, incomes and housing and we certainly need to have more engineers working in this field to improve the environment and living conditions. My Phd research which was partially funded through EPSRC funding and Newnham College, Cambridge discusses how engineering in slums can change lives :-)
It has been a pleasure to talk to you and meet everyone in the network.
Films like Slumdog Millionaire have certainly succeeded in highlighting the living conditions in slums and bringing them to a larger audience. It is worth noting that the examples in the film are non typical and should be treated with caution.
The example of the boy being trapped in the ramshackle toilet however does highlight the poor environmental conditions in slums. Imagine a life without toilets and water taps...
Water-sanitation does have a positive impact on health, education, incomes and housing and we certainly need to have more engineers working in this field to improve the environment and living conditions. My Phd research which was partially funded through EPSRC funding and Newnham College, Cambridge discusses how engineering in slums can change lives :-)
Rachel Tobbell
Hi Priti
Your story is inspirational and demonstrates the real difference that engineers can make in the world. Did you choose engineering as a career because you had a glimpse into the profession through your father or were there other factors that influenced your choice? Why do you think so few women choose to pursue engineering as a career?
Your story is inspirational and demonstrates the real difference that engineers can make in the world. Did you choose engineering as a career because you had a glimpse into the profession through your father or were there other factors that influenced your choice? Why do you think so few women choose to pursue engineering as a career?
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