Dharavi, located in Mumbai, India, has the dubious honor of being one of the most economically productive informal settlements in the world. Playing a pivotal role in the local and national economy while being critically underserviced and politically marginalized paradoxically makes it both central and peripheral at the same time. It is in this milieu that Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava have carved out their urban action-research platform URBZ, which they founded together with Geeta Mehta. Agata Jaworska got in touch with them to discuss Dharavi’s role as a productive force and urban phenomenon.