A WALK IN AN URBAN FOREST

Project: Malabar Hill Forest Trail, Mumbai; Architects: IMK Architects, Mumbai The Malabar Hill Forest Trail creates an elevated wooden walkway for people to experience the 12-acre Malabar Hill Forest, one of the last remaining natural ecosystems in Mumbai

- AR. RAHUL KADRI

A roughly 12-acre green pocket of land in the midst of the densely populated urban landscape of Mumbai, the Malabar Hill Forest houses a diverse mix of flora and fauna. The upcoming Malabar Hill Forest Trail will take visitors on an immersive natural journey through the forest, providing a place of recreation and scope for experiencing nature, while exploring the potential of eco-tourism in the middle of one of the world’s densest cities.

The forest houses many indigenous trees like gulmohar, copperpod, mango, coconut, rain tree, jamun and jackfruit. A dozen rare birds including the rose-ringed parakeet, hornbill, coppersmith barbet, magpie-robin, golden oriole and peafowl also call the green space home. The project thus presents a novel way of catalysing the preservation and restoration of often neglected and swiftly degrading urban forests, which are increasingly prone to the effects of unchecked development.

A collective initiative of the Malabar Hill Citizens’ Forum (MHCF), the Nepeansea Road Citizens’ Forum (NRCF) and IMK Architects, the project is supported by the JSW Foundation. It will be funded by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and is slated for completion by the end of 2021.