Incentivizing Urban Conservation In Kolkata: The Role Of Participation, Economics And Regulation In Planning For Historic Neighborhoods In Indian Cities

Abstract

Historic inner city areas in India are characterized by a rich array of building typologies associated with traditional communities, socio-cultural practices and local commerce. Yet conservation in urban India has only marginally gone beyond protecting its monumental built heritage and restoring individual landmark buildings. This thesis studies the complex overlay of issues that impede urban conservation of historic neighborhoods within Indian cities today and in Kolkata, in particular. The work argues for effective heritage economics, bolstered by robust regulations and dynamic participatory frameworks to shield historic urban cores from demolition and irreversible change while being rehabilitated for contemporary use. It further identifies the Fort precinct in Mumbai, the Walled City in Ahmedabad, and the French and Tamil towns in Pondicherry as locations with effective urban conservation paradigms. Through these, a range of innovative financial instruments, policy measures and heritage legislation at local and state levels are illustrated, that act as a fundamental toolkit for effective regeneration. The case of north Kolkata's historic neighborhoods is finally analyzed to distill the lessons and lacunas that serve as opportunities and constraints on its path to urban revitalization.