As the locus of urbanization moves Southward, dynamics of city-making are rapidly shifting. In the context of India which has experienced pronounced urban shifts since the 1990s, this chapter draws upon one specific case of a slum eviction in Bangalore, asking what it can tell us about the way urban development is being carried out in the city. Via qualitative methods of semi-structured interviewing, discourse analysis and spatial mapping, it examines the actors, instruments and structures which control, produce, negotiate and contest urban space. It suggests that the model of development the case reflects is characterized by democratic deficit in governance and endemic informality which is fueling and perpetuating socio-spatial polarization. This creates challenges for sustainable urban development as Bangalore’s vulnerable residents are excluded on fundamental grounds. Apart from the insights acquired on the eviction case, the contribution also reflects on the added value of combining different research methods to elicit the impacts of the eviction on slum dwellers’ quality of life, in particular with regard to their ability to meaningfully engage in governance processes which mediate the production of space.