Prathyaksha Krishna Prasad

A constant influx of global influences has ensured that the unique culture has kept morphing into a new form, each encapsulating the new along with the old. Most historic cities have been a premise of traditional settlements which are superimposed by today’s urban way of life. Due to various constraints, historic cores around the country are either developed to suit the growing aspirations and thus losing its historic character or left to decay. These historic cores have, over a period of time become the cores of commerce to the corresponding new city that have grown and expanded around them, and yet there is always a bias for conservation in the development front. Traditional approaches to the conservation of cultural heritage, that do not address the social and economic dimensions of the problem prove to be insufficient to ensure the survival of historic settlements that are irreplaceable witnesses to the development of human civilizations.
In India, a country with strong roots of cultural heritage, the idea of heritage-driven regeneration is different for precinct conditions. Conservation of Historic cores calls for a multi-disciplinary approach with active citizen/ community participation. The process of heritage has to be looked at holistically with the social, cultural, and economic aspects as underpinnings. The idea of multi-disciplinary approach and inter-disciplinary approach has to be realised as a method to arrive at an inclusive development.
Heritage Tourism is a flourishing industry around the world, and it is a great responsibility to promote heritage tourism hand-in-hand with the protection of the site and its surroundings. Any context of heritage, Urban or Rural, demands a great deal of infrastructure to support tourism.  Thus, the need for development does not stop. It is key to understand that the historic environment is the heart of economic development. Realising its potential and working towards combining the material assets with community participation can help achieve an ideal management model. This paper compares historic precincts that are contextually different, yet with similar issues and elaborates on the possibilities of community and stakeholder contribution.