Conservation guidelines for traditional housing in the historic core of Kanpur U.P.

Abstract

Urban conservation is an important part of modern heritage policies. For at least half a century, historic cities have acquired an incomparable status in modern culture and in modern life; a status defined by the quality of the architectural and physical environment, by the persistence of the sense of place, and by the concentration of the historic and artistic events that form the basis for the identity of a place. But, the economic and social role of the historic cities has been changing with time, as its own uses and functions are less and less decided by its own inhabitants, but rather by global forces such as the tourism, real estate industries, trade and commerce, migration etc. According to UNESCO’s recommendation on Historic urban landscapes, Global processes have a direct impact on the identity and visual integrity of historic cities and their broader setting, as well as on the people who live in them. While some cities are growing exponentially, others are shrinking and being radically restructured as a result of shifting economic processes and new patterns of migration. One such city which has suffered the shifting of economic processes is Kanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh India. The city was once known as the Manchester of East. It flourished first as a colonial town and then as an industrial city. It is still flooded with trade and commerce activities. But the city has been exposed to new pressures such as rapid urbanization, threatening the sense of place and identity of communities. Therefore the thesis aims to develop conservation guidelines to safeguard values adhering to traditional housing typologies of the place which convey not just architectural merits but also would recognise the social, economic and cultural processes in the conservation of the values.