CONFERENCE ON HERITAGE BASED SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Background

The uniqueness and diversity of India’s heritage is reflected in the cultural fabric of its cities and towns. Rapid urbanization as witnessed in recent years in India has accelerated the pace of change in all aspects of life, particularly in the urban environment. A majority of the Indian cities and towns are exposed to numerous factors that disturb the delicate balance between the physical, social, cultural and ecological aspects of urban settlements.
The Indian planning tools developed in the 1960s are not well equipped to cater for the protection of the rich urban heritage of India. The steps towards an improved system of sustainable planning and governance are however being developed. For example, the National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM, 2005‐2012) a programme to implement decentralization and support urban infrastructure development has recently acknowledged the importance of urban heritage, not least through the intervention of UNESCO and the community of national and international conservation experts. In another effort, the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India (GoI) are currently collaborating on the development of Model Byelaws for the protection of heritage buildings and heritage areas.

In 2006 the Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN) was founded as a programme of UNESCO New Delhi Office with the endorsement of the Ministry of Urban Development, (GoI) and the active support of various Indian institutions, NGO’s and individual partners. The IHCN supports Indian member cities through policy advice, capacity building, good practice exchange, awareness raising, technical assistance and the facilitation of partnership between Indian and International cities and regions.

Heritage‐based urban development is a rather young field of research and practice. Yet, in Switzerland, a body of experience has accumulated over the years. In addition the Swiss planning system has in the past years been the subject of great debate and advanced research.

The Indian planning system is also in a phase of major change due to the implementation of the decentralized governance enacted in the constitution in 1992. Both India and Switzerland enjoy a decentralized governance system, with all the challenges and chances this may represent for heritage conservation.

On account of the high relevance of heritage‐based urban development and of the specificities of Switzerland and India in this area, as outlined above, the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi and UNESCO- IHCN envisage to organize a joint conference on HERITAGE BASED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN HISTORIC CITIES.

Objectives

- To exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of planning, housing and urban conservation

- To build the capacity of Indian city and state representatives to develop and use planning tools for the protection, use and management of heritage structures and areas

- To present to the Indian audience current practices in Switzerland for the conservation of urban heritage and sustainable planning, socio‐economic & cultural development.

- To present to the Swiss participants the challenging environment and current approaches to urban conservation in India

- To exchange experiences in Swiss and Indian context and build partnership between Indian and Swiss cities and institutions

The conference will bring together policy makers, city managers technical officers, universities and professionals from India and Switzerland. It will facilitate networking of Swiss and Indian participants and resource persons in the field of urban conservation. The conference is also aimed at laying the foundation for future collaborations in this field between Switzerland and India through the Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN).

Conference Sub-themes

- Sustainability and Urban Heritage: Policy dimension

- Mapping and Evaluating urban heritage

- Planning Methods and Tools to Safeguard the Historic urban environment

- Housing and Urban Regeneration

- Environmental Sustainability in Historic Cities

- Document 1 : Agenda.pdf

- Document 2: Participation Form