Miyawaki Urban Dense Forestation in Kalwa, Thane.

Kalwa has almost no spare land, so a Miyawaki forest here is often a hundred square metres or less: a school boundary, the edge of a public compound, a strip along a wall. Small plots still work if the planting is dense and layered. The ground is usually compacted fill or rubble, so it is dug out, mixed with organic matter and drained before planting. Species are chosen to give shade quickly: children in a school playground feel the difference within a few years.

Kalwa lies across the creek from central Thane, joined to it by the Kalwa bridges and the railway. It is one of TMC's ward committees, and it is densely lived in: older buildings near the station, chawls, and large settlements climbing the lower slopes of the Parsik hills, with newer buildings on flatter ground. The creek edge on its western side is lined with mangroves, and nalas from the hill run down through the settlements into it. Thane-Belapur Road begins at its southern end. Open ground is scarce, and much of what exists is unplanned.