Contested Space: The Living Urban Heritage of Hyderabad & Shahjahanabad, Delhi

Abstract

This paper draws from the experiences of redevelopment of historic precincts in the cities of Hyderabad and Shahjahanabad, Delhi. Close interaction with the people, administrators and political leaders of these precincts reveal a great enthusiasm amongst all to improve the residents’ general standard of living. But the notion of ‘public realm’ as perceived by the public oficials and the public itself are radically different. The former see it as a commodity, while the latter lets the socio-cultural forces dictate its usage; and this difference hinders redevelopment. This paper contends that the lack of a common perception is due to the inability of the oficials in understanding the cultural economics and history of urbanism of the city-core, as a result of which most livelihoods become vulnerable. The paper also examines the relevance of regulatory and planning tools to historic Indian city-cores so as to sustain the city’s resources.