| abstract | In globalization context and the promotion of world cities as main drivers of economic growth
for 21st century nation-states, the urban issues of historic Indian city-cores are relegated to mere ‘heritage
zones’ in City Development and Master Plans. As a result, sustainable conservation and regeneration
efforts are constrained under blanket bye-laws and regulations which have little relevance to the makeup
and historical urbanism of these ‘zones’. Multiplicity of institutions/ agencies, possibilities opened up by
new building technologies/ engineering services and a break in the architectural/ planning continuity have
all contributed immensely to the physical and perceived economic decline of historic built environments.
The focus of this paper is to acknowledge the dynamics of real world contemporary urbanism in such
environments as opposed to the promotion of an imagined disconnected ideal of urban conservation. Two
project case studies, one representing an archetypal context from Lutyens’ New Delhi and another doing
the same for Shahjahanabad, Delhi; incidentally the two ‘cities’ that form the nomination of Delhi as a
World Heritage City to UNESCO; illustrate these dynamics through their respective histories, processes
and eventual outcomes. Through an analysis of professional engagement in these projects, the paper seeks
to put forth a perspective from the field on how democratic planning processes are negotiated in the
everyday urbanism of built environments under the ‘heritage’ tag. Keeping in perspective Goal 11
(Sustainable Cities and Communities) of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda, a more
relevant approach to ensure a sustainable future for the past may be arrived at through retrospection at
various levels of engagement. |
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