Urban Regeneration through integration of Heritage Value and Conservation

Framework into City Development Plan.

Introduction:

The Cantonment towns in India dates back to the colonial era, when the British erected military
bases to retain control and protect their territorial interests. These settlements were controlled
independently from civilian regions and were only available to military personnel.

The 62 cantonments were established primarily for administrative and military purposes. These
cantonments were established in the year 1818. Designated as the bridge between the old city
and the colonial city, the area symbolizes traditional values with colonial influences. The
Cantonment was developed to suit the needs of the British colonialists, and consisted of low-
density, low-rise developments divided into three main land use areas – military, bungalow, and
bazaars. ( Diddee & Gupta, 2013).

These places were intentionally placed close to the native areas, contained within predetermined
bounds. The British soldiers, commanders, and their families required a support structure for
comfortable survival, which could only be provided by the 'local' traders and merchants. For this,
market places were set up on the buffers between core areas of the cities and inner cantonments.

The pattern of urban evolution emerged in its earliest form can still be read in the contemporary
bazar. The three areas military, bungalows, and bazaars differed from one another in terms of
their physical characteristics and urban character, particularly their markets.

These market locations also differed from the typical Indian market spaces, which are often one
street with a lot of bustling business activity. The native traders and their families lived in these
markets, which were a collection of streets used for both commercial and residential purposes.
These marketplaces, also referred to as the Sadar Bazaar region, served as the center of the local
economy. For the traders and merchants, it served as a place of both labor and residence.

These areas in different cantonments like Pune, Delhi, Ahmadabad, Lucknow, Hydrabad, Bengal
etc. may have many heritage structures which are derelict due to absence of required governance.
The cantonments used to be a well planned organized area; now have become a congested area.

Though there is increase in congestion of the place Looking at the population the cantonments
the civilians do not benefit from the state governments as they belongs to Cantonment boards
through Defense Estate Departments, this leading to swarming of cantonments with a decrease in
population density, deteriorating conditions of old buildings, inadequate infrastructure, amenities
and neglect of heritage buildings. These issues need to be addressed urgently so that the
proposals for the same are made through the study. Better legibility, good public spaces for the
general population will be provided by city design policies. With these proposals, the rich
heritage of the 18th century can be preserved.
With an approach of urban regeneration these areas will help in safeguarding the heritage,
improvement of public amenities, built environment and architectural character of the
cantonments.

The aim is to understand different cantonments in cities of India, mainly Sadar Bazars. Further
includes highlighting the built heritage within these cantonments and examining the vulnerability
to the heritage due to urban sprawl. The intent is to improve the built Environment and to
Integrate Urban Heritage protection and conservation frameworks within urban planning policies
by assessing the vulnerability status of these areas and the impact of rapid development.

Literature Review:

The urban regeneration exercise plays an important role in the context of India; the present mission
of urban regeneration is more prone providing infrastructure rather than urban renewal. The urban
regeneration is not only a physical renewal of decayed buildings or slums, but also a comprehensive
restructuring of the urban environment, involving: the reorganization of space and activities, the
replacement and enhancement of infrastructure, an approach to managing historic character; it
integrates the goals of urban heritage conservation and those of social and economic development.
The method of urban regeneration perceives the heritage as a social, cultural and economic asset for
the development of cities.

The pattern of urban evolution emerged in its earliest form can still be read in the contemporary
bazar. The fairly heterogeneous and cosmopolitan area bears testimony to the heritage and traditions
where Muslims, Hindus, Parsis, Jews and other ethnic settlers met and co-exist. The main roads are
planned on European planning principles while the inner roads exemplify the traditional Indian
streets. The houses built show a perfect example of mixed use co-existence of live and work
typology. One of the unique typologies of structures which evolved with Colonization was the shop-
cum-houses. The houses are of various shapes, sizes, ornamentation and have a cohesive eclectic mix
of traditional Indian values and classical European elements.

This organic mix of cultures and styles together visible on the streetscape designate it as a historic
area in the cities, a bustling, cosmopolitan area in Sadar bazaars of Cantonment, is home to a rich
array of cultural groups and architectural styles, and is an area of significant historical value.

In a summary the urban pressure on the Bazars of Cantonment has heavily induced the process of
agglomeration, due to the current Cantonment Bye laws the development has been slowed down.
And these colonial cantonments are cases of historic evolution and worthy of safeguarding and need
to be considered as heritage. To look at the future of this heritage the inclusion of these areas in the
city development will allow the solutions to safeguard the areas with proper regulations and
guidelines. Also as many of the structures have relinquished their original purpose, a business model
can be applied to the heritage structures where they can be retrofitted according to the current market
requirements.

This review indicates the findings on planning and establishment of Colonial Cantonments, the
explanation to consider it as a heritage of the city, the present status of theses cantonments and slow
down development due to urban sprawls and absence of governance. It further questions that is there
a need to demerge the civil areas from cantonments and merge it into the municipalities; which will
facilitate the residents of cantonments, improve places of architectural, cultural, historic interest to
consider it as a Heritage.