Title of paper: Transformation of Historic Urban Centers: Finding the urban origins of Bombay and planning its future

Ref.: 75
Key theme: 01 Physical integrity of historic urban landscapes
Date of reception: 24/10/2008

AUTHORS (*Main author)

UPLEKAR, Krupali * (United States of America) - University of Notre Dame

ABSTRACT

The Venice Charter has set specific guidelines worldwide that help preserve the authenticity of historic monuments but limit their adaptation in the urban context of the cityscape. Historic Preservation has been seen for a long time as a field completely separated from the architecture, urban planning and economic development of a city. It has even been seen as a community of people who actually obstruct clear economic growth of an area due to dogmatic rules stated for redevelopment. This concept of historic preservation is changing and there is an approach to an integrated view of preservation and urban design. The paper deals with the question of how physical integrity of historic urban landscapes can be achieved by integrated approach towards Preservation, Architecture and Urban Design. Historic buildings and monuments need to have an equal and well interwoven place in the present planning system; thus inviting a well knitted urban fabric. To innumerate this theory the paper elucidates the character of the historic city center landscape of Mumbai (formally known as Bombay), India and the new development happening around it. Through research on Mumbai the paper examines the need to integrate sustainable Architecture, Preservation and Urbanism to form good cities that have well integrated historic city centers.

Primarily based on the evolution of the city center of Mumbai, this research beginning with the initial settlement patterns in the city, its functionality in today's metropolitan agglomerations, and the nature of development the city would follow in the future years. The study examines major urban problems Mumbai has encountered as it has transformed over centuries and has reached a metropolitan scale in less than a century's time. This unplanned rapid transformation has a negative impact on the city center and its quality of urban life. Globalisation has caused rapid development causing high amounts of population traffic where approximately half the rural population is moving to cities with hope for higher income. Mumbai gets approximately 5,000 new immigrating population every day causing enormous pressure as seen in similar cases of ever expanding Asian cities. Also in such cities, while old architecture is reused, new, fast and cheap construction finds a quick way into the city's planning system. The compact dense and designed urban form of historic urban landscapes is lost. Most buildings are planned to be foreground buildings with less importance to urban contribution and street continuation. Integrating new with old, commercial with residential, is necessary to create spaces of pedestrian interest. The need to assimilate historic buildings as a part of the city's historic fabric while still continuing the historic character to create a successful urban scheme can be seen through the example of reconstruction of Neumarkt and Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden, Germany. It is one of the biggest reconstruction projects presently happening in Europe. The recently reconstructed church of Frauenkirche was finally finished after 13 years of hard work from various specialists in October 2005. The reconstruction of the Church and the new construction of Neumarkt with integrated architectural character is a successful model of urban revitalization and gives a renewed identity to the center of the city. It is also an achievement both in the field of Architecture and Engineering.

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