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Conceptualising heritage-based city development in India

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Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
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 Conceptualising heritage-based
city development in India
Received (in revised form): 14th August, 2023

Shipra Goswami
Research Scholar, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, India

Shipra Goswami PhD is a Research Scholar in the Department of Architecture and Planning at Malaviya National Institute of
Technology in Jaipur, India. She received a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from Rajasthan Technical University and a Master’s
degree in urban planning from MNIT Jaipur. Her current research attempts to combine the heritage aspects and disaster risk
reduction in urban areas. Her interests include urban conservation, heritage management, disaster risk reduction in historic urban
core areas and urban resilience.

Department of Architecture and Planning, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India
E-mail: 2021rar9006@mnit.ac.in

Shradha Chandan
Scholar, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, India

Shradha Chandan completed her PhD in the Department of Architecture and Planning at Malaviya National Institute of
Technology in Jaipur, India. Her work revolves around the conservation of pilgrim cities in India and her research interests align
along urban heritage management, urban conservation of urban cores and community-based research.

Department of Architecture and Planning, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India
E-mail: 2019rar9007@mnit.ac.in

Ashwani Kumar
Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, India

Ashwani Kumar currently serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the National Institute of Technology
in Hamirpur, India. He has a diverse research experience in urban conservation, heritage management, disaster risk reduction
and resilience. His research also focuses on energy efficiency in buildings, vernacular architecture, hill architecture, sustainable
urban development, building regulations and controls, green buildings and disaster-resistant buildings.

Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, India

E-mail: akumar.arch@gmail.com

Satish Pipralia
Associate Professor, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, India

Satish Pipralia currently serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture and Planning at Malaviya National
Institute of Technology in Jaipur, India. His research interests include urban financial management, urban sustainability, urban
issues and the informal sector, urban development planning and management and urban dynamics.

Department of Architecture and Planning, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India
E-mail: spipralia.arch@mnit.ac.in

Abstract Heritage is the bedrock of our culture, with a significant impact on politics,
society, trade and many other facets of life. It directly and indirectly informs, influences
and inspires public debate and policy. With 40 properties inscribed on the UNESCO World
Heritage list, of which two are World Heritage Cities, India still has many aspects of its legacy
that have yet to be studied and appreciated. Heritage cities have superior employment
opportunities and a higher population density than non-heritage cities. This paper describes
the aspects and approaches of India’s heritage-based city development. The study
principally focuses on heritage in the context of India using global principles. It suggests
future directions that could be taken to promulgate heritage-based city development in India.

Keywords: urban heritage, sustainable development, World Heritage sites, heritage

cities, India

© Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024) Vol. 17, 3, 337–349  Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal   337
Goswami et al.
INTRODUCTION
Urban growth is occurring rapidly
worldwide, while the role of heritage
has significantly shifted towards aligning
with urban planning and management.1
The presence of heritage in urban areas
has created a variety of socioeconomic
benefits for these areas; for instance,
tourism-oriented development and the
subsequent livelihood generation for local
residents.2 Heritage and its associated
cultural value have originated from the
cumulative expression of human activity
over a long period within a particular
geographical region, manifesting in
tangible and intangible assets.3 Heritage
also imparts a sense of identity to the
individuals and the region, creating a sense
of belonging within the community.4
Urban heritage is quoted as a
socioeconomic cultural asset5 and
defined as the ‘historical layering of
values spanning over successive cultures
and an accumulation of traditions and
experiences’.6,7 On the other hand,
heritage in urban areas is exposed to
critical challenges such as development
pressures and commercialisation, wherein
the newer commerce-oriented growth in
historic zones is incompatible with the
character of existing heritage. Unmanaged
mass tourism and lifestyle changes of
residents, along with gentrification, have
further intensified the challenges.8
India is bestowed with matchless
heritage assets, with more than 5,000
years of history and many monuments and
historic areas spread across the country.
Currently, India has 40 World Heritage
sites, of which two are designated as
World Heritage cities, while many other
unlisted historical areas exhibit similar
characteristics (see Figure 1). Indian cities,
especially heritage cities, host historical
structures and traditions, architecture
and cultural landscapes, but also provide
essential services such as housing and
water supply, making them traditional
338   Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal  Vol. 17, 3, 337–349 © Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024)
economic hotspots.9 In modern times,
issues such as overcrowding, decaying
infrastructure, encroachment and
unhygienic conditions have increased the
risk of loss of heritage value of historic
areas in the Indian heritage cities.10,11
The single focus on urban development
based on imported ‘modern’ ideas has
largely isolated heritage areas from such
development.12,13 With a rapidly growing
urban population, India has reached a
critical point in unifying heritage with
urban development that is sensitive to the
local context instead of imported ideas and
plans. Therefore, a distinct approach must
be devised for heritage cities to manage
the essential benefits and increasing
challenges.
Heritage-based city development
offers a unique proposition to assimilate
heritage as a vital and intrinsic asset of city
development.14 In order to fully utilise the
rich legacy of heritage in Indian cities, the
inclusive heritage-based city development
programme (IHCDP) was launched in
2011 with the aim of integrating urban
development with heritage management.15
In India, cities are being revisited using
heritage development plans,16 cultural
and historical urban landscapes17 and
best practices.18 The heritage-based city
development system reinforces the identity
of the city via integrating heritage and
historical urban areas conservation and
managing and planning the strategies
along with utilising the interconnection
of social and cultural values and financial
practices. The aim of the IHCDP is to
integrate historical ideas for structuring
the cities while emphasising the
development of individually oriented
living designed to conserve their heritage.
Heritage-based city development has
an effective potential to overcome poverty
cycles, improve the living conditions of
the urban poor and vulnerable sections
of society through empowerment of
women.19 Heritage also offers a wide
 Conceptualising heritage-based city development in India
range of economic benefits, while urban
areas provide the necessary platform to
showcase and utilise heritage for the vital
economic sustenance of the city.
In India, the economic contribution
of urban heritage can be enhanced by
promoting endogenous sources such
as local skills and traditional goods.20
Livelihood generation, increased
investment through efficient heritage
management, and tourist receipts
are capable of improving economic
vitality through the heritage-based
city development approach.21 Indian
heritage cities are bestowed with
traditional infrastructures like water
ponds (kunds) and stepwells, which can
offer solutions to water scarcity and
flooding, thereby offering environment
benefits.22 Consequently, heritage-based
city development can deliver on all three
pillars of sustainability.
Unlike the monumental and
architectural heritage, urban heritage
has remained deprived of a universal
international system of principles.23 The
Washington Charter for Conservation
of Historic Towns and Urban Areas has
identified that industrialisation-based
urban development has had a negative
impact on historic urban areas and in
some case damaged and destroyed them
beyond repair.24 But UNESCO reports
that, despite establishing the Washington
Charter, existing situations in heritage
cities are contrary to the identified
principles.25 In countries such as India, the
mere adoption of international policies
of heritage management have yielded
unsatisfactory results26 and therefore urban
heritage, especially heritage cities, needs
to be considered within the local purview
and conditions to achieve a balance of
heritage-based development of cities.
This calls for attention in identifying and
understanding the context of heritage
within the general urban development
and, in response, conceptualising
© Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024) Vol. 17, 3, 337–349  Journal
heritage-based development within the
Indian heritage cities. This constitutes the
major aim of this study.
METHODOLOGY
The study follows the explorative form
of research methodology wherein the
consensus of heritage, its importance and
various aspects are discussed based on the
available relevant literature. The heritage
cities of India and their characteristics are
briefly described to give a picture of India
and its position within global heritage.
The next step explores the principles
of heritage-based city development
and the current legislation governing
the management of heritage in India.
Based on this comprehensive study, the
challenges and issues are identified for
managing, preserving and developing
heritage-based cities in India. Finally, the
study focuses on the strategies that can
be used for promulgating heritage-based
city development. Figure 2 explains the
methodology of the study.
HERITAGE CITIES OF INDIA
India hosts the second-highest urban
population in the world, estimated at
461m as of 2018.27 This urban population
is concentrated in the 7,933 towns of the
country, of which 53 are million-plus
metro-cities.28 India has a vibrant history
of urban civilisations from ancient times
through to the modern period. Many
of these cities have remained functional
throughout their history and have evolved
into modern metropolises today. For
instance, Varanasi29 since the ancient
period and Jaipur30 since the medieval
period have both grown into sprawling
urban metropolitans with rapidly
expanding populations.31,32 The uniqueness
of Indian heritage cities lies not only in
the monuments and architecture but also
in the evolution of the settlements within
of Urban Regeneration and Renewal   339
Goswami et al.

Figure 1: Famous heritage cities of India

Source: Author

340   Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal  Vol. 17, 3, 337–349 © Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024)
 Conceptualising heritage-based city development in India
Figure 2: Research methodology
Source: Author
their surroundings33 according to the
different needs and demands of different
time periods.
India has a rich history of conserving
heritage through different practices
documented in ancient texts such
as Mansara.34 In India, heritage is
represented by dharohara, which signifies
the roots and glories of the country’s past;
the word derives from dhara meaning
mother earth and ihara meaning identity
through time.35 In independent India,
the protection and preservation of the
country’s rich heritage is inscribed as a
fundamental duty of the citizens as well
as a directive principle of the state. The
preservation of heritage has become an
important priority in India and therefore
urban heritage also needs to become
aligned with these principles. The
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological
Sites and Remains Act (AMASRA) 1958
is the pivotal statute in India for heritage,
but the statue was marred by a significant
flaw which focused only on the historical
monuments and neglected the heritage
zones,36 thus influencing the aggravation
of heritage cities in the country.
Compared to individual monuments,
historical settlements often get excluded
© Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024) Vol. 17, 3, 337–349  Journal
from being considered as a component of
urban heritage.37
Despite such shortcomings in policies,
India’s heritage is well recognised all over
the world. UNESCO has designated 40
properties in India as World Heritage
sites, while 52 more sites are listed in the
Tentative List of UNESCO. India has one
of the highest numbers of World Heritage
sites owing to its rich and diverse history.
The World Heritage List contains three
historic cities: Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur city
and the Historic City of Ahmadabad.38
The Tentative List contains five more
heritage cities: the Heritage City of Delhi,
the Temple City of Bhubaneshwar, the
Historic Ensemble of Orchha, the Historic
City of Varanasi and the Historic Town of
Vadnagar.39 The country has many more
historic cities of varying population sizes
and scales scattered all over its geography
with significant heritage value, including
Dwarka, Mathura, Ajmer, Badami,
Warangal and many more.
APPROACHES OF HERITAGE-BASED
CITY DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
In India, the inherent focus on urban
infrastructure development has largely
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Goswami et al.
sidelined the historic inner areas or
historic districts40 and hence the problems
of heritage cities have grown profound.
UNESCO advocates that historic districts
direct the modern development of urban
areas by forging their identity and quality
of life.41 Instead of viewing heritage in
urban areas as an asset, Indian urban
development plans and schemes see urban
heritage more as a liability.42,43 In order
to tackle this issue, initiatives such as the
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM) and Heritage City
Development and Augmentation Yojana
(HRIDAY) have been implemented in
2005 and 2014 respectively.
JNNURM, despite being named as
an urban renewal mission, was more
oriented towards planned development,
mainly through infrastructure and urban
service provision throughout the identified
cities.44 JNNURM identified 65 cities
to implement the mission, of which ten
were heritage cities with heritage-based
economies, but their development plans
under the mission were not inclusive
of their heritage status.45 One of the
seven objectives of the mission was the
urban renewal of old city areas to reduce
congestion,46 but this was overshadowed
by other objectives, as heritage
preservation was a low priority in the
overall tenure of the mission.47
Urban renewal under JNNURM
advocated for the redevelopment of old
city areas which included the following
aspects: widening of streets, shifting
commercial and industrial land uses to
outer city areas, enhancing the capacity of
sewer, drainage and solid waste systems.48
The urban renewal projects proposed
only 2.3 per cent of the total proposed
investment in the prescribed City
Development Plans under JNNURM as
compared to urban transport (56 per cent)
and infrastructure (39 per cent), which
reflects the neglect shown towards heritage
in urban centres.49
342   Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal  Vol. 17, 3, 337–349 © Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024)
In an attempt to overcome the
limitations of JNNURM in terms of
urban renewal of historic city centres, the
Indian government launched the Heritage
City Development and Augmentation
Yojana (HRIDAY) in 2014. The
HRIDAY initiative was the first in the
country to identify that development
of heritage cities and towns cannot be
achieved in silos and hence heritage
conservation, heritage management, and
urban development should be done in an
integrated manner,50 thereby paving the
way for initialising heritage-based city
development in India. The scheme aimed
at undertaking planned development of
heritage cities in order to enhance their
quality of life. The scheme covered 12
heritage cities of India with a focus on
development of their physical, social,
economic and institutional infrastructure.
The heritage cities under HRIDAY
comprise a network of settlements whose
particular urban fabric, traditions and
local skilled artisans lend them a unique
identity.51
In India, the focus of the HRIDAY
scheme is the development of core
heritage infrastructure as per the
guidelines specified by the Ministry of
Culture. Development of roads, drainage
and footpaths are the major areas of
concern covered by the guidelines. The
scheme also states that the authenticity of
the historic cities should be maintained
to encourage visitors attracted by their
unique nature. UNESCO has framed
a programme for the conservation of
historic cities in a new approach whereby
the cities can be developed in accordance
with their aesthetic value.
In India, the Taj Mahal, Ajanta Caves,
Red Fort and Elora Caves are considered
significant World Heritage sites, but
their precincts, especially the old historic
centres within the sprawling cities, get
sidelined. Intergovernmental agencies in
addition to the Indian government play a
 Conceptualising heritage-based city development in India
key role in shaping the heritage cities by
fostering talents in the cultural industries
that can be linked with the heritage sites
and heritage cities. The Indian Heritage
Passport Programme (IHPP) is involved in
the promotion of heritage-based regional
development via sustainable tourism
emphasising the historical programme.
It is aimed at India’s wealth of lesser-
known destinations and focuses on the
encouragement of holistic protection and
developing local culture as well as natural
heritage. The focus has also been applied
to the cultural values of heritage sites and
expanding the network with government
and non-government institutions. It
covers the components of jewellery, arts
and paintings where these can be placed
in the temples. Technology systems can
be adapted for improving the quality of
life, including traditional practices such as
folk dances, music, cuisine, costumes, fairs
and festivals. It also focuses on sustainable
development in which policy advice can
be formulated, capacity building and
providing awareness to promote technical
assistance. It comprises heritage resources
and strengthening traditions, cultural
identities and fostering social networks.
Therefore, Indian heritage cities have
been subjected to a range of initiatives
with either a partial focus on heritage
conservation in the form of JNNURM
or a fully-fledged focus on heritage-based
development in the form of HRIDAY.
Both the initiatives had identified
the significance of conservation and
regeneration of the heritage cities in
India. This calls for understanding the
aspects and principles around which
heritage-based city development can be
conceptualised in the Indian context.
PRINCIPLES OF HERITAGE-BASED
CITY DEVELOPMENT
Heritage cities along with their cultural
values, tangible assets, arts and culture
© Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024) Vol. 17, 3, 337–349  Journal
have influenced tourism in India.52 The
Indian government through its urban
development and planning guidelines has
clearly identified that Indian heritage cities
were not planned and designed for the
ever-increasing population influx53 and
hence this puts immense pressure on their
existing resources. The significant issues
that Indian heritage cities face today are at
the forefront of the creation of inclusive
cities.
It is estimated that India’s urban
population will grow by an additional
416m by 2050 as a result of a massive
increase in the number of people living
in cities.54 Because of this, issues such as
increasing informality, housing shortages
and greater migration from rural to urban
areas have begun to damage the urban
fabric.55 Tourism in India has become
more popular due to the country’s
diversified history and rich cultural
traditions, which make it an ideal place for
cultural tourism; however, urban pressures,
negligence, vandalism and destruction
in metropolitan areas and buildings of
national, state or municipal significance
are threatening this rich legacy.
In order to perform heritage-based
city development it is very important
to understand the principles involved in
conducting this whole process, which
play a vital role for implementation of
heritage-based city development (see
Table 1).
WHY HERITAGE IS IMPORTANT FOR
FUTURE GENERATIONS
Heritage is nothing but inheritance; it
gives us a sense of self-identity, and it
frequently influences our politics, society
and other elements of life.56 In the
context of cultural heritage, it refers to
the physical and intangible features of a
society or culture, which are handed down
through the generations, maintained in the
present and given to the next generation.
of Urban Regeneration and Renewal   343
Goswami et al.
Table 1: Principles of heritage-based city development57
Sr Principle
1 Develop evidence-based heritage
development strategy
2 Analysis of current cultural
heritage and urban situation
3 Prioritising heritage-led
interventions in urban areas
4 Heritage-compatible rehabilitation
and regeneration through
assigning new uses to land and
buildings
5 Community-based set-up of a
vertical and horizontal governance
system
6 Thorough preparation of the
development process
7 Capacity building
A nation’s cultural and natural past
are immensely significant and unique.
To protect our national identity, we
must safeguard our cultural legacy.
Globalisation has had a rapid impact
on our cities; because of the threats
posed by globalisation, keeping our rich
cultural diversity will be difficult without
safeguarding this irreplaceable asset.58
Therefore, the preservation of conservation
culture and cultural heritages is essential.
People and places have intertwined for
millennia, creating a unique combination
of cultures and environments.
Benefits of conserving the heritage
As a long-term investment, preserving our
cultural heritage helps us today and will
344   Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal  Vol. 17, 3, 337–349 © Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024)
Description
• Identification of the heritage assets and their significance in the
urban and regional context
• Developing vision and objectives advocating heritage-based
urban development
• Using local heritage assets for sustainable urban development
• Identifying the relation between heritage, urban development,
community and associated challenges
• Preliminary technical assessment of identified interventions to
maximise sustainable benefits
• Scenario-based planning and management of interventions for
enhanced efficiency
• Basing the most feasible interventions on the compatibility
of existing heritage and emerging demands of the urban
community
• Ensuring the existing heritage is supported with compatible
infrastructure and urban utilities according to need and
demand
• Generating awareness of heritage-based city development
towards sustainability
• Establishing synergy between various urban local bodies,
experts, local community and other stakeholders
• Including heritage as a parameter of development in sectoral
and regional policies
• Ensuring feasible and implementable strategies and avoiding
over-ambitious branding of heritage cities
• Developing practical guidelines and relevant templates for
interventions in heritage cities
• Ensuring importance and sensitivity towards heritage through
training of concerned public authorities
• Taking learning experiences from similar heritage cities with
similar challenges
• Identifying suitable training experts
be a priceless treasure for our descendants.
Our constructed legacy provides several
benefits, including the following:
• Retain our identity: Community activities
and gatherings often take place in
historic precinct meeting locations. We
feel a sense of belonging when we are
surrounded by their unique personality,
which is why it is so important
that they be preserved for future
generations. In addition, these antique
architectural features add to the charm
of current urban areas.
• Encourage cultural tourism: Heritage
tourism is generally centred on
historic structures. Those interesting
and tangible ties to our history attract
tourists, who then spend money to
 Conceptualising heritage-based city development in India
take advantage of the area’s distinctive
ambience. Visitors who come to see the
heritage sites spend more money and
stay longer, which results in a greater
overall economic benefit.
• Increase property value: When compared
to communities lacking historical
landmarks, heritage preservation
frequently results in higher appreciation
rates for both the restored buildings and
their neighbouring properties.
• Economic sustainability: Improving
existing neighbourhoods and
infrastructure is much less expensive
than constructing new ones.
Additionally, restoration projects help
to retain money in the local economy
by creating more local employment
and lowering the need for imported
materials. A wide range of businesses,
including construction companies
and product manufacturers, gain from
preserving historic structures, buildings
and sites.
CHALLENGES FACED IN
IMPLEMENTING HERITAGE-BASED
CITY DEVELOPMENT
For a process to come into existence, there
are many challenges for heritage-based
city development and these differ for each
individual city. Table 2 shows specific
challenges which present a major hurdle
for implementation of heritage-based city
development in the Indian context.
Strategies for adopting heritage-based
city development in India
Indian cities’ rich heritage past is grossly
underappreciated and underutilised in
terms of economic growth, contemporary
social and ecological development. Indian
cities have a unique potential to modify
this paradigm since they are still in the
early phases of urbanisation. As well as
supplying shelter and water, Indian cities
© Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024) Vol. 17, 3, 337–349  Journal
are rich in historic architecture, cultural
landscapes and traditions, as well as acting
as living economic centres that have been
built over centuries. The World Bank –
Cities Alliance began implementing the
phased IHCDP in India at the request
of the Indian government in 2011.
As a result, cultural asset management
and municipal development will be
better integrated. Providing essential
infrastructure and services in historic
cores and integrating these areas and
their history into the city’s greater
socioeconomic and physical expansion
are the primary goals of this initiative.
Because historic regions in many cities
feature substantial concentrations of urban
poor, the strategy also aims to contribute
to the alleviation of urban poverty.59
When it comes to heritage protection
and city growth (‘inclusive urban
regeneration’), the IHCDP advocates for
a ‘people-centred, area-based’ strategy.
The goal is to use local community
assets to improve living standards and
socioeconomic possibilities for low-income
citizens while also fostering a culturally
dynamic growth pattern and preserving
the city’s unique heritage. The IHCDP
aims to provide national policymakers,
state governments, urban local bodies and
sector professionals in India with good
practices, institutional arrangements,
financial and management incentives so
that they can revisit their development
strategies and manage their unique
heritage as a crucial element of inclusive
city development and investments.
The following are expected outcomes of
the IHCDP approach: (a) by recognising
and using their existing heritage asset,
cities can more effectively spread the
economic advantages of urbanisation;
(b) cities will be able to improve their
character, living standards and the efficacy
of development; and (c) cities can unlock
billions in cash intended for ‘urban
renewal’ investments that are not being
of Urban Regeneration and Renewal   345
Goswami et al.

Table 2: Challenges for heritage-based city development

Sr. Challenge Description

no
1 Lack of awareness • In most situations, built heritage is seen as a financial burden rather than
regarding heritage a source of income
management within • All stakeholders in an area’s development must include heritage
different actors60 management into their plans
2 Need for multiple • An understanding has been reached that numerous actors are required to
actors to collaborate61 obtain the desired results
• Various government agencies, public and private investors,
multidisciplinary technical knowledge and civil society organisations are
all part of this
3 Heritage management • Most development plans and systems of cities do not include proposals
is not part of the for integrating heritage planning into other development strategies
development systems • This creates a disconnect between needs and objectives, so often
and plans62 heritage management is overlooked
• Master plans and development plans need to recognise heritage
resources and have strategies that discourage development detrimental
to the heritage character63
4 Lack of dedicated • Beyond the current method, heritage management needs more
investment in heritage knowledge, competence and procedures with stronger capacity
planning64 • An obvious challenge that must be addressed is the requirement for
capacity building among local governments for careful development
around cultural treasures
• These current industries must be strengthened, and investments must be
attracted for them to survive and thrive
5 Weak existing • Heritage assets are being managed in isolation by certain bodies, but it
legislative framework is often difficult for one body to manage everything
and lack of dedicated • Also, apart from just the heritage structure, the artist clusters,
structure for heritage- communities and surrounding areas also need to be included in the
based planning65 management

Source: Compiled by Author

used to their full potential due to limited
city capacity and a lack of appropriate
methodologies and instruments. The
IHCDP has been implemented in a
stepwise manner. During Phase 1 (2012–
14), an inclusive heritage-based approach
to city development planning across India’s
different urban contexts was tested and
refined in order to learn from the cities.
Ajmer-Pushkar, Varanasi and Hyderabad
were the three pilot cities that participated
in the pilot phase in partnership with
national line ministries, state governments
and pilot cities throughout the urban
hierarchy.66
What is the existing scenario of
heritage in India?
The Indian subcontinent has one of the
richest and most diversified cultural and
architectural heritages in the world, with
a substantial amount of it being living
monuments. The Archaeological Survey
of India (ASI) has custody of 3,650
structures that have been designated as
monuments of national significance.
Only 40 of India’s historic sites have been
designated as World Heritage sites by
UNESCO, which is a small fraction of the
country’s overall heritage.
Hundreds of thousands of sites are
cared for by religious foundations or
government archaeological departments,
but tens of thousands more are not
covered by any official system because
of a lack of infrastructure and funds.67
Monuments and historical sites that have
been left unprotected by the government
are preserved by non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), such as the Indian
National Trust for Art and Cultural

346   Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal  Vol. 17, 3, 337–349 © Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024)
 Conceptualising heritage-based city development in India
Heritage (INTACH). Renovations of
historic structures involve traditional
craftspeople and masons, who use
traditional building materials and methods.
Although a global character for heritage
conservation is inescapable when new
heritage conservation ideas are discussed
and implemented worldwide after
centuries of disagreement among major
stakeholders in Europe and beyond, India
needs to upgrade its efforts for heritage
conservation. Within these efforts,
the historic urban areas are left to the
municipalities which often are statutorily
accountable for protecting the cultural and
aesthetic aspects but are burdened more
with management of the surrounding
urban area.
On the other hand, the current
scenario has neglected many heritage
cities. Recent initiatives such as
HRIDAY, although based on heritage-led
development, have only focused on a
dozen heritage cities scattered around
the country. The guidelines developed
under the scheme could be beneficial for
all the heritage cities and towns, but the
necessary economic incentives remain
limited to only the few selected cities.
As heritage has already been a neglected
aspect in urban development, this skewed
focus only on selected heritage cities needs
to be realigned to a comprehensive and
inclusive approach. This has the potential
to generate socioeconomic benefits of
heritage and tourism even in the smaller
urban settlements which are already being
neglected in the quest for metropolitan
development.
CONCLUSION
The concept of heritage-based city
development differs from development
of ordinary urban areas, especially the
sprawling urban regions. In the context of
India, a single focus on urban development
has long neglected the heritage factors.
© Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024) Vol. 17, 3, 337–349  Journal
Indian cities are characterised by their
original cores dating back to the ancient
or medieval periods; but these old cores
have shrunk to become historic city
centres with high relevance in the urban
and regional context. The increasing
pressures of contemporary development
and degrading quality of essential urban
infrastructure have further increased the
neglect of heritage assets in such urban
areas. The potential for socioeconomic
development through tourism and the
cultural legacies of these areas therefore
needs to be integrated with the urban
challenges for an inclusive heritage-
based city development, especially in a
developing country like India.
Indian policies have been evolving to
address this issue, but most of the historic
cities have already suffered irreversible
damage and hence heritage-based
city development in India needs to be
accelerated. The future research within
the domain should focus on the following
aspects:
1. Shifting attention from individual
monument conservation efforts towards
historic urban landscape conservation
and development according to the
needs of modern times.
2. Establishing systematic relationships
between existing heritage assets and the
modern urban challenges in individual
cases of heritage cities in India.
3. Identifying the elements of heritage
cities which are crucial in maintaining
the identity of the historic urban
fabric.
4. Devising strategies and interventions
that are compatible with the heritage
character and historic urban fabric of
the heritage cities.
5. Formulating efficient mechanisms for
enhancing governance in heritage cities
that foster the relationship between
the public authorities and other
stakeholders.
of Urban Regeneration and Renewal   347
Goswami et al.
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© Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 (2024) Vol. 17, 3, 337–349  Journal
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of Urban Regeneration and Renewal   349