Masters Thesis: Beyond the title of 'India's First World Heritage City'

BEYOND THE TITLE OF ‘INDIA’S FIRST WORLD HERITAGE CITY’ Continuing Ahmedabad Walled City’s Conservation

Masters Thesis, 2019 Author: Monjima Sen Tutor: Lee Kwan Ok

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DEP 5109 INTEGRATED PLANNING PROJECT MASTER OF URBAN PLANNING

By Monjima Sen Student ID: A0166467R Academic Year: 2018-19 Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment National University of Singapore

Coordinator Adjunct Associate Professor Jeffrey Ho Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment National University of Singapore Tutor Associate Professor Lee Kwan Ok Department of Real Estate, School of Design and Environment National University of Singapore

April 2019 Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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Abstract Heritage is valuable for humankind the world over. It encapsulates all that the previous generations passed down to the next, everything that was meant to be cherished and preserved with utmost pride and respect. Heritage also ties one to the past, making it more valuable today than ever before – at a time when the world is rapidly evolving and coming closer together in the wake of tech-age. But as people from different corners of the world are increasingly exchanging ideas, thoughts, likes, dislikes; a sense of individuality, authenticity and deep-rootedness is fading away. As most world cities today are rapidly becoming replicas of one another – vertical, tall, glass-façadebuilding skylines depicting money, power and global dominance; certain precincts of the cities, i.e. the heritage precincts, are taking up the role of reminding people of their glorious bygone eras. This thesis talks about one such quaint neighbourhood, the Heritage city of Ahmedabad (alternatively known as Historic city of Ahmedabad, old Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad walled city, old city), that recently won the prestigious title of India’s first world heritage city. But with great title, comes great responsibilities – ones that have to do with discouraging the original heritage home owners from moving out (established by the author’s previous thesis completed in 2017); making the precinct resilient enough to curb problems pertaining to urban heritage management, gentrification and commodification, and largely fulfilling the role of being the city’s unique essence. Through extensive case studies of similar precincts nestled in the Asian countries of Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, this study concludes with a intervention handbook for Ahmedabad which, if followed, will allow it to attain all the aforementioned desired results, retain the hard-earned title much longer, and also look beyond the title to continue its conservation efforts.

Key words: World heritage, cultural precincts, conservation policies, adaptive re-use, gentrification, commodification

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Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis tutor Prof. Lee Kwan Ok, for her assistance and guidance throughout the course of this study, and to my thesis coordinator Prof. Jeffrey Ho, for his valuable inputs every step of the way.

I also extend my thanks to my Master of Urban Planning classmates for their support and useful comments and discussions.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the strong support and convey affection to my parents and younger sister.

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Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... vii List of Tables and Figures ..........................................................................................xi List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xiii 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Significance of Research .................................................................................. 2 1.2 Heritage City of Ahmedabad ............................................................................. 4 1.2.1 Current Issues ............................................................................................ 6 1.2.2 Existing Programs Related Issues ........................................................... 11 1.3 Research Question, Aim and Objectives of Study .......................................... 17 1.4 Methodology ................................................................................................... 18 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 21 2.1 Implications of being a World Heritage Site (City) ........................................... 21 2.2 Urban Governance Conservation Tools .......................................................... 23 2.3 Gentrification and Commodification ................................................................ 25 2.4 Adaptive Re-Use of Heritage Buildings ........................................................... 27 3. CASE STUDIES ................................................................................................... 31 3.1 George Town .................................................................................................. 31 3.2 Malacca City ................................................................................................... 36 3.3 Hoi An Ancient Town ...................................................................................... 39 3.4 Singapore ....................................................................................................... 44 4. EVALUATION ...................................................................................................... 53 4.1 The Learnings Matrix ...................................................................................... 53 4.2 People’s Perception ........................................................................................ 54 5. INTERVENTION................................................................................................... 61 5.1 Options ........................................................................................................... 61 5.1.1 Option I..................................................................................................... 61 5.1.2 Option II.................................................................................................... 64 5.1.3 Option III................................................................................................... 66 5.1.4 Option IV .................................................................................................. 68 5.1.5 Option V ................................................................................................... 70 5.2 Direct Monetary Value Addition ...................................................................... 72 5.3 Possible Challenges to Feasibility .................................................................. 74 Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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6. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 75 6.1 Outcome of Implementation ............................................................................ 75 6.2 Scope and Limitations of Study ...................................................................... 77 6.3 Way Forward .................................................................................................. 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 79 ANNEXURE ............................................................................................................. 83

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List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Census population of 6 wards that make up the Heritage city of Ahmedabad, Source: Census of India 1991,2001,2011 ............................................. 2 Table 2: No. of vehicles in Ahmedabad, Source: www.statista.com/statistics/665754/total-number-of-vehicles-in-ahmedabad-india/ ... 7 Table 3: Possible attribute table of mapped heritage buildings, Source: Primary ..... 65

Figure 1: Paper clippings dated 2018 announcing regained popularity of shophouses in Singapore, Source: businesstimes.com, iproperty.com, sbr.com.sg ...................... 3 Figure 2: Geographical context of Heritage city of Ahmedabad, Source: Primary ...... 4 Figure 3: Contrasting footprint of new & old Ahmedabad and fabric of heritage neighbourhoods, Source: The Ahmedabad Chronicle, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) ........................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 4: Heritage walk map of Ahmedabad, Source: ahmedabadcity.gov.in ............ 5 Figure 5: Map showing changed bridge alignments as a result of lobbying, Source: Primary ....................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 6: Issues at a glance, Source: Primary.......................................................... 10 Figure 7: Master Plan of Ahmedabad 2021, Source: www.hcp.co.in/project/audadevelopment-plan-2021............................................................................................ 12 Figure 8: Pamphlet of a heritage conservation course offered by a local university, Source: CEPT University .......................................................................................... 16 Figure 9: Commodification of heritage, Source: Commodification and Politicization of Heritage by Bui & Lee .............................................................................................. 25 Figure 10: Geographical context of George Town, Source: Mapbox ........................ 31 Figure 11: Geographical context of Malacca City, Source: Mapbox ......................... 36 Figure 12: Malacca under Portuguese rule (left) and Map of Malacca dated 1916, Source: Kohl (1984) and Jabatan Muzium dan Antikuiti (1998) ............................... 37 Figure 13: Geographical context of Hoi An Ancient Town, Source: Mapbox ............ 39 Figure 14: Geographical context of a few heritage neighbourhoods in Singapore, Source: Mapbox ....................................................................................................... 44 Figure 15: Mutual Works building (left) and Working Capitol building, Source: Primary and InDesign Live Singapore ...................................................................... 47 Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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Figure 16: Singapore's conservation master plan, Source: URA Space .................. 49 Figure 17: Fabric of the five sites studied, Source: Google Earth ............................ 54 Figure 18: Reorganization of institutional framework, Source: Primary .................... 63 Figure 19: WeWork website displaying office space options in Bengaluru, India ..... 67 Figure 20: Conservation masterplan of Singapore mentioning prohibited built uses, Source: URA Space ................................................................................................. 67 Figure 21: 1. Colourful Hoi An house, 2 & 3. Street art and furniture in George Town, 4. Food market in George Town; Source: 1. Littlewanderbook.com 2.

Sotheadventurebegins.com 3. Beaqon.com.sg 4. Tripadvisor.com.sg ..................... 71

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List of Abbreviations AMC – Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation AMTS – Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service ASI – Archaeological Survey of India BRTS – Bus Rapid Transit System CBD – Central Business District CHC – City Heritage Centre ERP – Electronic Road Pricing FSI – Floor Space Index GDCR – General Development Control Regulations GDCR – General Development Control Regulations GITCO - Gujarat Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation Limited GPR – Gross Plot Ratio HDB – Housing Development Board ICCROM - International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property ICOMOS - International Council on Monuments and Sites IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature MHT – Mahila Housing (SEWA) Trust MNC – Multi National Company MoU- Memorandum of Understanding NGO – Non-Governmental Organization PAP – People’s Action Party PPP – Public Private Partnership Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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SME – Small and Medium Enterprises TDR – Transferrable/Tradeable Development Rights TOD – Transit Oriented Development UNESCO - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization URA – Urban Redevelopment Authority USP – Unique Selling Point

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1. INTRODUCTION On July 8th, 2017; Ruchira Kamboj, India’s permanent representative to the United Nation’s cultural agency, UNESCO, tweeted “Thrilled to announce! Ahmedabad has just been declared India’s first world heritage city by UNESCO”. After more than half a decade of waiting, as Ahmedabad was included in India’s tentative list of heritage sites in 2011, in March 2016 it was chosen for nomination over Delhi and Mumbai (Raja, 2011). What followed was support by over 20 countries at the 41st session of World Heritage Committee meeting in Poland and Ahmedabad joined cities like Paris, Cairo, Rome and more, as a world heritage city in 2017 – India’s first.

But with great stature the onus is on the city’s urban and heritage governance, and even though the title brings recognition, funds and the likes, there are past problems and future challenges galore. In the process of interacting with the member nations, UNESCO crowns sites all over the world in the endeavours of preserving what is valuable for future generations, and this is where the role of urban planners interjects.

The journey doesn’t end with the tag, rather the responsibilities become voluminous – the primary one being retaining the tag and continuing conservation efforts. With increased residential mobility churning families out of the Heritage city of Ahmedabad (Sen, 2017), stagnating usage of buildings (instead of creative and adaptive re-use), deepening disparity between well off heritage home owners and the not so fortunate, failing infrastructure, and inefficient governance in the conservation initiatives (leaving the markets at play); Ahmedabad walled city’s resilience becomes the topic of prime concern. If timely intervention does not follow suit, the city might transform into collective boutique houses devoid of local flavour and largely gentrified and commodified.

While urban planners and managers in India often look for solutions in the west, this study encourages looking, holistically, closer to home. Asian countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, among others, are home to some of the most beautiful heritage cities and precincts which sometimes share the tag of ‘world heritage’ with Ahmedabad and always strive to hold on to their roots and not lose identity and character with the recognition garnered. This study critically looks at a few case cities in depth in order to come up with a set of options that can be remoulded and emulated

by Ahmedabad – before the two-year-old title slips away post review this year.

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1.1 Significance of Research It is unfortunate, how, even though the Heritage city of Ahmedabad now proudly owns a tag that other Indian cities like Varanasi, Vadodara etc. are aspiring for; it suffers from problems that are unique to it because of its key features. To mention the tip of the iceberg, narrow urban streets which were built for a fabric where shading was of utmost importance due to harsh summers; houses that suffer from lack of space for retrofitting modern bathrooms but have beautiful open-to-air courtyards for ventilation and sunlight; intricate wooden architecture keeping houses cool but not allowing airconditioners to fit in – all of these and more problems ultimately pressurise the residents to move to better parts of the city in endeavours of living a modern urban life depicted by declining or slow growth in population over decades (Tab. 1).

80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0

Khadia

Kalupur

Population (1991)

Dariyapur

Shahpur

Population (2001)

Raikhad

Jamalpur

Population (2011)

Table 1: Census population of 6 wards that make up the Heritage city of Ahmedabad, Source: Census of India 1991,2001,2011

This phenomena of churning out original home owners, established through research (Sen, 2017) and by experts such as Prof. Rabindra Vasavada (Vasavada, 2017) and Prof. Rutul Joshi (Joshi, 2017) from CEPT University Ahmedabad, has brought threat to the character of the old city. Original home owners, in an attempt to adopt the easy way out, are renting their homes, for cheap, to migrant workers whose priority lies in living in the heart of the city at the lowest cost possible to fulfil Alonso’s bid rent model.

Consequently, valuable heritage buildings are crumbling.

Add to this the pressure of sudden global recognition – flocks of tourists arriving to add pressure on the available infrastructure such as traffic circulation, garbage collection, sewer and water lines etc., which are already inefficient in the old city for quite some Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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time now. All these (largely physical) problems need to be addressed at a time where the old city’s stature holds deep meaning and importance. If status quo prevails, then sooner or later the tag will not be a sense of pride but will prove to be the reason for the city’s doom – or even worse, Ahmedabad might lose the tag altogether.

This study attempts to formulate ways in which the Heritage city of Ahmedabad can continue its conservation efforts, instead of becoming complacent, and learn from examples around Asia – their success and failures. Cities like George Town, Malacca city and Hoi An (all world heritage cities) were chosen to learn from peers who were also under British Raj and a key trading hub at one point. George Town, Malacca and Singapore together formed the Straits Settlement, back in 1826, which later became a British Crown Colony.

The concluding justification is for choosing Singapore – it was because being an alpha+ city, Singapore has been able to move forward as an extremely modern age city while holding on to some authentic cultural roots, sometimes through exemplary means and sometimes taking desperate, and not necessarily successful, routes. The city is also within physical reach of the author proving beneficial to study the heritage enclaves up close and personally. Finally, the most heartening point about Singapore’s case is that it has been able to re-invent the adaptive use of heritage buildings and managed to generate buzz around these valuable properties, recently reflected in the Q1 2018 real estate transaction numbers (Fig. 1). These key factors make for an interesting concoction to study heritage precincts from all over Asia and mould them in a manner that suits best to the Indian context.

Figure 1: Paper clippings dated 2018 announcing regained popularity of shophouses in Singapore, Source: businesstimes.com, iproperty.com, sbr.com.sg

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1.2 Heritage City of Ahmedabad

Figure 2: Geographical context of Heritage city of Ahmedabad, Source: Primary

Profile: Over 600 years old, the Historic City of Ahmedabad (23.03°N 72.58°E) is located at the core of Ahmedabad city, in the western most state of India. While the entire city today measures close to 460 sq. km. with a population of 5.6 million (India, 2011); the heritage precinct in question is 5.3 sq. km. in area made up of six wards (similar to subzones in Singapore) namely Khadia, Kalupur, Dariyapur, Shahpur, Raikhad and Jamalpur. It was founded in the 15th Century by Mughal Sultan Ahmed Shah, and to this day is known for its beautiful timber and stone carved architecture, colourful festivals like Navratri (local dance festival) and Uttarayan (local kite flying festival); and its eclectic mix of population from various religions of India, most of them being Gujaratis (geographical identity).

River Sabarmati runs across the city, on the right of which is the ‘old’ city and on the left lies the ‘new’ or modern Ahmedabad (Fig. 3). Known at one point as the ‘Manchester of East’ due to its flourishing textile industries during the industrial revolution in India, Ahmedabad served as the economic capital of the state of Gujarat for a very long time before Gandhinagar took over, and to this day, is famous for housing the ‘Gandhi Ashram’ founded by Mahatma Gandhi – Father of the Nation (India).

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Figure 3: Contrasting footprint of new & old Ahmedabad and fabric of heritage neighbourhoods, Source: The Ahmedabad Chronicle, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

Demographically, as of Census 2011, the sex ratio of Ahmedabad stands at 898 females for every 1000 males; and the literacy rate at 77.67%. The famous heritagewalk of Ahmedabad (Fig. 4) begins with the Swaminarayan temple, the first among 20 different stops that comprise of this popular walk. With traditional sub-neighbourhoods, locally called ‘pols’, ‘vaads’ or ‘khanchas’ like Bhoiwada ni Pol, Zalira ni Pol, Chokhavatiya ni Pol, Ghanasuthar ni Pol, Moti Makerivaad etc. marked by signages or gates at the entrance, the Heirtage city of Ahmedabad comprises of several temples, derasars1 and mosques surrounded by religious pols of Hindu, Muslim and Jain families (Ahmedabad’s religious population break up stands at 81.56% Hindus, 13.51% Muslims, 3.62% Jains and 1.31% others). This social structure has caused ghetto formation over the centuries and communal tensions have followed from time to time in the form of fatal riots (the most recent one being in 2002).

However,

concentrating

on

the

physical elements and the urban fabric, the pols in old Ahmedabad are arranged such that houses are positioned in rows with their front façades open to streets allowing store-frontage

for

practicing

business, earlier run by the same families living upstairs, but now, often leased out to other business owners who may or may not be living in the Figure 4: Heritage walk map of Ahmedabad, Source: ahmedabadcity.gov.in 1

Jain temple, different from Hindu temple

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heritage city. This arrangement is very similar to the shophouses found in other parts of Asia and even the world. Most of these small businesses are run by a single person and can be anything from a laundry shop to a stationery or a general provision store etc. However, of late, leasing out has started causing problems as the shops are being leased as go-downs or warehouses instead, where goods are being stored for logistical purposes. This creates new problems which will be discussed in the following section along with several other concerns.

1.2.1 Current Issues The issues gripping the Heritage city of Ahmedabad can be classified into two broad categories – physical and social, with physical issues outnumbering the social ones.

Owing to the scope of the study, only the physical problems will be attended to in this thesis. (i) Vehicular traffic: One of the most grievous threat to heritage architecture and life in old Ahmedabad is the choking traffic and the consequent air and noise pollution.

With almost all families owning multiple private vehicles2 like cars, and especially two wheelers which are cheap and available in abundance – thanks to inefficient and expensive public transport system, the streets of the heritage district are choking, primarily because it was not designed for cars in the first place (NDTV, 2017). The streets of old Ahmedabad are organic in pattern resulting in multiple cul-de-sacs opening to community meeting areas – a design that historically promoted pedestrian movement with ample shortcuts; relief from extreme weather, especially heat; and inter-mingling nature of society. Now, with internal labyrinthine alleys being just as wide as 6 meters accompanied by on-street3 parking on both sides and thousands of autorickshaws on the roads, movement whether by vehicles or on foot becomes extremely difficult normally, and close to impossible during peak hours. Add to this the plight of lack of traffic management and control by the Ahmedabad Traffic Police, most drivers tend to ignore traffic rules and drive as they please, sometimes in the wrong

2

In India, increasing vehicle sale is seen as an economic growth indicator for the country and most families own cars as much for prestige purposes as they do for transportation 3 Illegal parking on both sides of the roads, often unmonitored and unpenalized by traffic management

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directions where movement is legally one way. One visit to the old city makes it clear that the number of vehicles on the roads is far exceeding their physical capacity.

Number of vehicles in Ahmedabad in millions 4.3

1.68

1.8

2012

2013

3.2

3.42

3.66

2014

2015

2016

2017

Table 2: No. of vehicles in Ahmedabad, Source: www.statista.com/statistics/665754/total-number-of-vehicles-in-ahmedabad-india/

Another traffic related issue that can be brought to the fore is how red tape hampers transport planning. Bridge alignment discussed by Mr. Yatin Pandya, a renowned Indian urban planner, in DNA newspaper (Pandya, 2012) mentions how political influence brought logical road planning under fire leading to chaos, congestion and bottle neck formation in old Ahmedabad. Since the city on the west and east of the river Sabarmati is connected by multiple bridges, he refers to two cases, one back in 1962, when the Nehru bridge, fourth bridge to be built across the river, was planned sensibly with an alignment starting at Kalupur railway station extending from the crucial main road – Relief road straight through Sardar Park leading to Nehru bridge which would end up

at

Ashram

road,

somewhere

near

Gandhigram railway station – a perfect thoroughfare connection from station to station.

However, the logical path had properties of influential

families

like

Shri

Chinubhai

Baronet’s on the way. Some lobbying ultimately resulted in the revision of the bridge’s path and it

ended

up

beginning

and

ending

at

‘nowheres’. This is the reason for the chaotic bottle neck formation and traffic island at the mouth of Relief road near the famous Siddi

Figure 5: Map showing changed bridge alignments as a result of lobbying, Source: Primary

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Sayyed ni Jaali – also the entrance to this study’s site, Kalupur. What is even more frustrating is that eventually the properties were gifted away but the damage was already done – someone’s temporary gain became old Ahmedabad’s permanent loss.

The other case is more recent when the Vadaj-Dudheshwar bridge was built with a smooth alignment planned from Ring Road to Sardar Patel underpass to Usmanpura and finally to Dudheshwar on the other side. Again, similar reasons as before lead to realignment resulting in the new bridge being too close to the already existing Subhash bridge making the new bridge redundant. This bridge, just like the Nehru bridge, ends at a ‘nowhere’ causing misaligned junctions and serving no beneficial purpose. (ii) Pollution: The ever-increasing number of vehicles on the roads of Ahmedabad discussed in the previous point also leads to the problem of a kind of pollution – air pollution. In a report by Times of India printed in October 2018 (Shastri, Times of India, 2018), it is mentioned how Ahmedabad ranks lowest among eight tier II cities in India when it comes to air quality. With an average annual growth rate of vehicles at 11%, Ahmedabad’s particulate emission load from urban commuting is about 350 kilograms per day. Ambient air pollution means heritage buildings in old city being coated in greasy layers of soot causing decay of the fragile icons. Vehicular fumes are streaking the stone carved monuments with black exhaust stains causing growing concerns to the durability of the world heritage title, as UNESCO’s own experts had given fair warnings during the inscription process due to the lack of convincing enough plans to protect the ancient citadels, mosques, heritage houses etc. in the precinct (NDTV, 2017). If the pollution threat continues, the city will not just be stripped of the title but will suffer irreparable damages of its priced heritage possessions. (iii) Solid waste management: Technically, the responsibility of collecting solid waste from each neighbourhood falls on AMC – the local governing body of the city. Since the Heritage city of Ahmedabad also falls within the AMC boundary, it is upon this body to tackle the solid waste collection and management issues. However, due to the urban settlement pattern of old Ahmedabad, solid waste collectors cannot go from door-to-door to collect garbage. Every pol has a common bigger bin outside the gates where everyone can throw their daily wastes and the same is collected by the authority and dumped in a monstrous pile, along with the rest of the city’s garbage, at Pirana in the outskirts of the city.

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However, the streets of old Ahmedabad are not taken care of by AMC and since the authorities do not visit inside these neighbourhoods, most of them have nooks and corners filled with old garbage, often lying there for days or weeks, neglected. Even though, now, AMC is finally honing its solid waste management skills and very recently (December 2018) launched the waste segregation drive – into dry and wet waste; has enough funds from the central government; and the 2015 launched ‘2030 Zero Waste Ahmedabad’ (John, 2019) drive in place, AMC’s overall inability to spend budget pragmatically (during 2016-17 and 2017-18 periods AMC was able to spend only 56% and 66% budget allocation respectively) and a poor waste management system plagues old Ahmedabad the most where dirtying the streets by the dwellers is a regular practice (NDTV, 2017). There were hopes, when the world heritage title came in, that the citizens will become more conscious about their way of living, but in the end, if humans are not watched over and if strict rules with heavy penalties are not in place, waste management goals cannot be achieved and maintained in the long run. (iv) Heritage building maintenance and adaptive reuse policies: Even after being a precinct of high cultural importance, the Heritage city of Ahmedabad has very limited policy options that facilitate heritage house maintenance and adaptive reuse aids for the homeowners. Being a living heritage (though decreasingly so), the policies must include the people in the process who occupy and/or own these building artefacts in order to make the conservation process ‘click’ and also to instil a sense of pride in them and confidence in the authorities (Vasavada, 2017). However, lack of political will (Ajay, 2017) is dampening the essential process. The one primary policy that exists right now for monetary aid in revitalising the deteriorating buildings is the TDR system (introduced in 2013); and the most “imaginative” adaptive re-use that the policy makers have been able to come up with is the homestay policy (2014), both of which will be discussed in depth in section 3.2.4. However, the TDR process is strewn with challenges of its own and there is a dire need for new ideas translated into concrete policies to encourage utmost care, respect and creative re-use of the heritage buildings. (v) Crumbling shophouses: The heritage houses in question are extremely old, all belonging to various centuries, but even then, they are often dealt with disrespect and neglect or even abandoned, resulting in the iconic wooden homes to collapse. The set

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template for these houses are that they usually are grand havelis4 beautifully wood carved and multi-level with a courtyard in the centre that is open to air and a shop unit on the ground floor out front. But of late, the units are being rented out to poor migrants desperate to live in the heart of the city and businesses looking for warehouse spaces (NDTV, 2017). The latter option is much more viable for the original home owners because that way they collect higher monthly rentals – but this is causing several additional issues in the old city including security risks, road blocks due to large logistical vehicles, and the most sensitive problem of adding dead load to the heritage structures due to heavy goods which ultimately lead to the buildings collapsing and the beautiful architectural pieces being lost. According to the NDTV report, a young boy was injured in October 2017 when a balcony caved in, while at least two people died in July 2017 when seasonal rains brought entire houses crashing down.

If all the above issues are not tended to sooner, then the world heritage city title review due this year (Shastri, Times of India, 2018) will end on a bitter note. Ahmedabad's heritage conservation committee (under AMC), which will be talked about in the following section, has three years to document about 3,000 buildings of heritage value to strict UNESCO standards – quite a considerable amount of task for P.K. Ghosh's5 small team. UNESCO could revoke or downgrade Ahmedabad's listing to "heritage in danger" should the deadline be missed, and the committee fail to show it has slowed the decline and destruction of the old city (NDTV, 2017).

Figure 6: Issues at a glance, Source: Primary

4 5

‘Mansion’ in local language Chairman of AMC’s heritage conservation committee

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1.2.2 Existing Programs Related Issues Even through the struggles Ahmedabad faces, it was able to attain the prestigious title in the first place because of certain existing policies and programs. However, there are inadequacies within these systems: (i) Existing authorities and their roles: There are several national and local level government agencies6 in charge of responsibilities related to the Heritage city of Ahmedabad. First in line is ASI, a national organization whose role is to identify national monuments all over India, and not just to protect the immediate precincts but also to regulate areas around it – very similar to URA’s role in the conservation masterplan of Singapore. There are 28 such monuments within old Ahmedabad, built

by Mughal sultans, which are protected by ASI and hence cover close to 70% of the heritage city area. Next in line comes AMC, the local government of Ahmedabad established in early 19th century by the British. This agency, as mentioned in previous sections, is in charge for all the basic urban facilities provision and maintenance. It has a cell under it called the Heritage Conservation Committee, lead currently by Chairman P. K. Ghosh, looking after the old city’s heritage specifically. However, the issue of urban growth control and development does not come under the purview of any of these bodies because the Master Plan of Ahmedabad (Fig. 7) is drawn by a larger authority, AUDA. Hence, the responsibility of drawing out development guidelines, called GDCRs, for each of the land uses, including ‘core walled city’, falls upon AUDA. Issue: As is clear, there are multiple overlapping organizations at different levels responsible for various components that make up the heritage city. However, most responsibilities are inter-connected and inter-dependent. This makes the management chaotic, especially in terms of accountability and budget allocation. Urban planning problems are multifaceted and if there are so many governing bodies, it is easy to pass on the problems on each other’s shoulders. Also, due to lack of smooth communication and cooperation, different bodies have different plans for the same area, which might result in conflicting ideas. For e.g. AUDA does general master planning and sets development guidelines and restrictions “excluding any serious development plans on the basis of conservation plan worked out for the old city” (Vasavada, 2017).

6

India has a three-tier legislative government – central/national, state and local

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Figure 7: Master Plan of Ahmedabad 2021, Source: www.hcp.co.in/project/auda-development-plan-2021

(ii) TDR policy: Proposed by AUDA, TDR policy was passed in order to help private property owners to fund physical conservation of their heritage houses. The way TDR works is that it allows the owner to trade a pre-assigned Floor Space Index (FSI) and generate revenue in exchange. For facilitating the procedure, AMC has made an inventory of heritage buildings owned by individuals and the houses listed on this inventory can go ahead with the TDR procedure. FSIs are very similar to GPRs in the Singapore Master Plan. Each heritage house of old Ahmedabad mentioned in the inventory has been classified into certain categories called ‘grades’ based on heritage value which in turn determines how much FSI can be traded. The properties with the highest heritage value can trade an FSI of 0.5, others can trade about 0.3 and so on.

Since the overall FSI of Ahmedabad is increasing as per the new master plan of the city – thanks to the vision of the urban planners of a compact city with TODs along BRTS and metro rail networks, the heritage house owners can trade their FSI with private builders who want to construct higher within the city. The owners get money in return from these private builders which then can be invested in maintaining the heritage properties (Routh & Shah, 2013).

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Issue: Although the policy seems straight forward and ideal to a large extent, there are problems. The first one is that the procedure can be lengthy and tedious and most of the heritage home owners often do not have the know how to go about it or do not have the necessary documents as the houses are so old. There can be times when the need to renovate these houses is an emergency, but the TDR process is slow, thus defeating the purpose altogether. Another problem is the inventory update. As years go by, the buildings keep ageing and might fall into different categories based on heritage value from time-to-time. There needs to be a system which constantly and dedicatedly updates the inventory to attend to this problem. Lastly, the price availed in exchange for the TDR is fixed at a certain percentage of ready reckoner rate 7, locally known as jantri rate, of the house. This rate is lesser than the market value of the real estate commodity and since heritage conservation needs expert help of architects, civil engineers, interior designers, painters, carpenters etc; it is an expensive task. This makes TDR system unfair to the owners and many do not go ahead with the process in fears of bearing more costs than recoverable by the policy. (iii) Homestay policy: In the year 2014, the Department of Tourism under the Government of Gujarat announced that there was a growth in the number of visitors to the state by about 13% over the previous year, and it was time to supplement the hotel industry with the availability of standardized homestay options with local families who have “necessary aptitude and a home of suitable size and standard of comfort”.

The government also saw this as an additional income option for the home owners as well as an opportunity to attract tourists – both local and foreigners, to experience the traditional way of life. A detailed resolution was passed laying down the procedure for applying and registering, and the general conditions that the owner must adhere to, to be listed. According to the policy, a committee exists that classifies properties into Silver and Gold categories based on amenities available. Upon getting registered, a certificate is given to the property owner and the Tourism Corporation has the authority to inspect the premises as and when it deems fit. Over and above the payment by tourists, the added advantages to the owners include exemption from various chosen taxes; charge of various rates like electricity, property tax etc at domestic rate instead

7

Prices of the residential property, land or commercial property for a given area and is published and regulated by the respective state government. These rates are regularly revised on a yearly basis depending on the perception about the government for such price revisions (Mehta, 2017)

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of commercial rate; and the Tourism Corporation providing short training and marketing guidance and support to the homeowners (Tourism D. o., 2014).

Issue: The policy seems beneficial for the improvement of heritage buildings and provides motivation to the owners in the form of various incentives. However, it is unidimensional in the long run, for it is insensitive to the phenomena of gentrification and commodification. There is a concrete reason why Singapore, for example, lays down strict rules for home stay options in its HDB blocks and private condominiums.

Airbnb is indirectly banned because of laws like - HDB flat owners cannot rent out their units for less than 6 months and private home owners are barred from leasing out for less than 3 months (Tan, 2018). This eliminates tourists because they usually look for accommodations within a time frame ranging a couple days to a couple weeks. The primary reasons for this are safety issues for the neighbourhood, accompanying nuisances (drinking, loud music etc.) and the fear of unfamiliar faces. Extreme influx of tourists in a neighbourhood, usually, drives away the original residents and commodifies the heritage buildings into empty shells of ‘boutique hotels and cafes’ for temporary faces – eliminating the feel of a ‘society’ or ‘community’ having a sense of belongingness. (iv) Advantages of world heritage title: One of the advantages of being inscribed as a world heritage site is being able to procure monetary help from the World Heritage Committee. The World Heritage Fund is a form of international assistance scheme which deals with the protection of cultural sites (monuments, groups of buildings, historic cities, archaeological sites) and natural sites inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2019). Hence, the tag provides Ahmedabad with a major source of international monetary assistance. Also, once the city is inscribed, UNESCO asks for a management plan to deal with the upkeep and maintenance of the precinct whose proposal must be included in proposal dossier. Apart from the local governing body, UNESCO expected Ahmedabad to set up a World Heritage Secretariat which would directly deal with the city and have its own authority. A substituted department, this organization would commit and have its own cell of experts looking after the maintenance. There was also the proposal of setting up an Ahmedabad World Heritage City Trust as an advisory body including people’s representation (like the heritage home owners or the Jain/Muslim religious representatives for example). The Trust would also have a ‘Building Resource Centre’ incubating knowledge and Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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resources for providing direct help to people to repair and restore houses along with a cell for supervision and review; a laboratory for material testing and R&D; and a panel of structural engineers for consultancy services resulting in in-house capacity building.

Also, since AUDA is not developing targeted plan for old Ahmedabad with the basis of conservation, the management proposal mentioned taking the help of a national organization called National Institute of Urban Affairs in Delhi, which would help in coordination between the central authorities and the state authorities.

Issue: The promises and proposals made during nomination have not followed through since the inscription. Very little has been done by the Trust (led by trustee Ketan Thakkar, Deputy Commissioner – Heritage) so far including involvement of locals for monument preservation in a pilot project and paying deeper attention to the structures involved in the heritage walk (Dabhi, 2019). Apart from that, there are only advertisements for new posts available in the Trust which may/may not have been filled by now. All these point towards the proposed plans being hollow and not living up to UNESCO standards. (iv) Other initiatives: All is not lost, however, as some initiatives exist and have been able to do both - help achieve the title and continue their support to try and retain it.

Below are some elements which can add up later to the final proposals of this thesis to help Ahmedabad stay on the World Heritage Cities list: - The heritage-walk: One of the most popular initiatives to generate interest in the Heritage city of Ahmedabad, this project was launched by AMC and has catapulted to popularity ever since. With morning and night packages, it is a 2 KM walk spanning 2 hours and 30 minutes covering 20 heritage spots within the old city (Walk, 2019). An online booking portal and a nominal fee (3 to 4.5 USD depending on nationality) enables both tourists and locals to explore the old city. This initiative is especially successful because it is often an important part of trips of foreign delegates to Ahmedabad (during Vibrant Gujarat etc.) and even the Western Ahmedabad residents who have never experienced or seen the old city themselves, can do so through this tour on foot.

- Partial rental of heritage homes: This is one of the few creative adaptive re use being practiced by the home owners of heritage houses in old Ahmedabad. Apart from the usual bed-and-breakfast and boutique café ideas, Times of India recently reported Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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how the terraces of the heritage houses are being rented out for anything between 75 to 370 USD per day based on the amenities available like food, beverages etc.

(Yagnik, 2019). The terraces are very popular during a local kite flying festival called Uttarayan where for two days, i.e. 14th and 15th January every year, most families celebrate the festival of wind by eating winter delicacies and spending time with family, flying kites. Since most of the residents in other parts of Ahmedabad do not own a landed property or have their own terraces to celebrate; and, because the festival holds more fervour in the old city, terrace renting has emerged as a popular activity.

- University studio courses: In 2007, Prof.

Rabindra Vasavada was called by CEPT University,

Ahmedabad

to

start

a

conservation program. This course was different from the other conservation post graduate degrees in the country at that time because it was a combination of architecture with specialization in built heritage. The focal studio developed, was based on one site – Heritage city of Ahmedabad, and this course later helped the UNESCO nomination process during which, Prof. Vasavada pioneered the initiative with the help of his architecture students and other staff and experts (Vasavada,

2017).

The

Centre

for

Heritage Management at Ahmedabad

Figure 8: Pamphlet of a heritage conservation course offered by a local university, Source: CEPT University

University is another college that focusses on master’s level studies based on old Ahmedabad. Dedicated higher degree education is a great source of seriousness for the cause and ensures that the built heritage is passed down to a future generation that is technically sound, informed and sensitive towards it.

- NGO initiatives: The first NGO is CHC, promoted by a group of entrepreneurs that help the community in preserving, sustaining, creating awareness around and promoting their Architectural and Cultural Heritage. CHC is ‘A Single Window Solution’ for restoration expertise, assistance in legal and financial resources as well as to draw Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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up economic sustainability plans for their revitalized Heritage (Centre, 2019). Through its own tailor-made heritage walks, education initiatives for both school children as well as training programs for local artisans based in old city, building restoration aid like technical cell and donations, and sustainable economic ventures, CHC has carved a niche for itself when it comes to working for the Heritage city of Ahmedabad. The other NGO is MHT, run by women for women with women. While MHT’s core operations focus on housing for the urban poor, capacity building, micro financing etc; it also conducted a conservation program with the women of Dhal ni pol in 2016 where it roped in the women of the neighbourhood to come together and take part in the heritage management (Spodek, 2018). Also, recently in December 2018, 7 women trained by MHT conducted school trips for children of a local school arousing awareness regarding heritage architecture as well as local way of life like traditional craftsmanship, games etc. (Trust, 2019). MHT plays a very important role in awareness creation when it comes to old Ahmedabad.

-International collaboration: AMC joined hands with French government through MoU back in 2000 to undertake scientific studies based on old Ahmedabad. The primary aim of this understanding was to get subsidies from the Government of France for building repairs. AMC flagged off programmes for the restoration of the historic city centre as part of an Indo-French collaborative project along with a visiting team led by Pierre Cadot and some other French architects sharing their expertise with Indian counterparts. The French team restored a haveli and lived in it till 2005. The residency came to be known as Arts Reverie for artists and other creative professionals (Rahman, 2017). Today, this famous French haveli has been turned into a very popular boutique hotel (after the homestay policy was passed) by Ahmedabad based builder Mr. Rajiv Patel.

1.3 Research Question, Aim and Objectives of Study “Having established in a previous study how the original residents are moving out of Heritage city of Ahmedabad, what can Ahmedabad do to become resilient to the decline, and continue to deserve and keep its ‘world heritage city’ title?”

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Aim: The primary purpose of this thesis to provide closure to the author’s previous thesis which was investigative in nature. At the time of the study, Ahmedabad was in the nomination list of winning the world heritage title, and the study largely revolved around confirming the belief that residents are indeed abandoning beautiful heritage houses, sucking away the life from a ‘living and breathing heritage’. This dissertation takes the previously established fact forward, and through qualitative and descriptive studies of heritage precincts in cities of Asia, it aims at laying down a concrete plan for Ahmedabad to continue conservation efforts and not lose its way after winning the title. Through the application of a set of proposals on Heritage city of Ahmedabad, this thesis will act as a handbook to successfully retain a prestigious title but at the same time look beyond it to help Ahmedabad not lose its way into becoming a ghost city built out of beautiful, empty heritage shells.

Objectives: i.

To address the issue of declining status of old Ahmedabad

ii.

To critically look at cities in Asia and identify their success and failure points

iii.

To understand how heritage precincts and heritage buildings as a real estate commodity can continue to remain relevant in the modern world

iv.

To incorporate the learnings into generating a recommendation handbook for Heritage city of Ahmedabad to retain the ‘world heritage city’ title and grow from there

1.4 Methodology Step 1: Topic Selection As mentioned previously, this thesis topic originated from a previous thesis by the author. That study was looking at only one angle of a much larger picture and dealt with the out-migration phenomena. Even though it addressed WHAT is happening, it did not address the WHY. The previous study did not talk about the physical issues in depth, did not delve into the concepts of world heritage status and concepts of conservation tools and did not look at Asian case studies for learnings. This study attempts to do all of these. This topic was also selected because of Ahmedabad’s Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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World Heritage City title being under review this year paired with the increase in popularity of heritage houses as a real estate commodity in the world, especially in Asia.

Step 2: Approach of Study The descriptive route of research was chosen, which is heavily dependent on secondary sources of data and research as evidence. This was largely because the end result is a culmination of learnings from various case studies spread across Asia, all of which are not within the author’s direct, physical access.

Step 3: Studying the Treatment Site The Heritage city of Ahmedabad was studied from the physical angle to identify points of concern that are causing the decline, despite the efforts made to earn the World Heritage City title. Although social problems relating to communal and religious tension do exist, an urban planner’s intervention starts with addressing the physical issues first, as are discussed in depth above.

Step 4: Literature Review This step was a result of studying the treatment site which introduced the author to the need for studying certain themes in order to better understand the upcoming case studies in the following steps and finally arrive at certain options for the local government of Ahmedabad in the end. Concepts like implications of world heritage title, land use conservation tools, gentrification and commodification, and adaptive reuse of heritage buildings are studied broadly before some case studies are explored next where these phenomena might occur in good and bad measures.

Step 5: Case Studies Three Asian world heritage cities - George Town Penang, Malacca and Hoi An, and one global city of Singapore are studied where the heritage precincts are chosen based on the criteria of shared UNESCO status, position during colonial British rule, trade importance during monarchy rule, heritage precinct size and demographic population. Only when the context of the treatment site is matched, the precincts are put under the lens of good and bad practices and existing conservation policies are studied.

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Step 6: Learnings Matrix A qualitative method of comparing the treatment site to the case studies is chosen.

This step enables the author to identify key weak points that are to be addressed at the solution stage of this research thesis. The matrix is a succinct method of acrossthe-board comparison to eyeball and identify gaps in one go.

Step 7: Public Opinion A brief online survey is conducted in this step where the respondents are Singapore residents who might have travelled some or all the three other cities (George Town, Malacca City and Hoi An). This step is essential to gather popular opinion of tourists to understand what makes the heritage precincts relatable and how authentic the enclaves are. The survey is, again, qualitative but the questions are close ended so the author can come to certain concrete conclusions.

Step 8: Compilation into Proposals This is the most important step of the thesis, for which the entire research is undertaken by the author. All the previous steps culminate into this step where certain options are proposed by the author to add on to some successful, already-existing conservation initiatives of Heritage city of Ahmedabad. The entire idea of this study is to look beyond the title achieved and be-at-it when it comes to enabling old Ahmedabad to become resilient to the gradual decline.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter includes four broad topics which might be unrelated to one another but were essential to be investigated as they contribute to the thesis at large. The topics came about and were identified as crucial while going through the case study of the Heritage city of Ahmedabad. Firstly, we look at what it takes to earn and retain the UNESCO world heritage title, then comes the study about some urban governance tools and mechanisms that are adopted by various or a few governments in order to protect their heritage, the third topic looks at the issue of gentrification of heritage precincts and what are its repercussions and the response to the phenomena, and lastly the idea of adaptive re-use of heritage buildings is studied where new ideas beyond the cliché are explored.

2.1 Implications of being a World Heritage Site (City) In order to understand the title of the Historic City of Ahmedabad, it is imperative to know what exactly being a ‘world heritage city’ entails. On rewinding, the history of the concept reveals that back in 1950s, UNESCO, for the first time, took on the task of preserving Abu Simbel temples in Egypt from being destroyed by the possibility of a dam construction. This idea translated into the birth of ‘World Heritage Trust’ in a US conference held in 1965 which pledged to preserve “the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry.” (GeoEx, 2018). What resulted in was the UNESCO adopting the ‘The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage’ which came into force on 17th December 1975.

The countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention can, ever since, submit nominations and proposals and a five-step selection process follows (UNESCO, 2019) to either become a cultural, natural or a mixed heritage site: (i) Preparation of a tentative list: An inventory list is made by the nation including all those natural and cultural sites that it deems fit to deserve the title. (ii) Submitting nomination file: Whenever ready, the country can submit nomination files to the World Heritage Centre for review. This file contains in depth documentation and maps of the site and supporting evidence and argument as to why it should win.

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(iii) Evaluation by advisory bodies: The nominated sites are independently evaluated by two advisory bodies – ICOMOS and IUCN, and further, the decision committee is advised by a third body ICCROM when cultural sites are being reviewed. (iv) Decision by the World Heritage Committee: Upon making the final decision, a precinct is ‘inscripted’ as a world heritage city or site. This decision is reviewed annually, and the committee can defer its decision and request further probes if it decides to. (v) Selection criteria: There are a set of ten criteria, of which one or more must be met, in order to win the title. This list is revised by the committee from time to time as the definition and the dynamics of the concept ‘world heritage’ evolves.

Out of the ten criteria, the Heritage City of Ahmedabad coded 1551, was selected (UNESCO, 2019) as a cultural world heritage city based on two out of the three it got nominated under – criteria (ii) Exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on development in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design; and criteria (v) Be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture, or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change.

The title makes Ahmedabad Walled City of outstanding universal value, value that transcends the boundaries of geography and time. It puts the city on the global map and subjects it to both international recognition as well as scrutiny. Where on the one hand, its unique architecture, closely knit urban fabric, distinctive plotting system to respond to topography and climate, co-living religions like Hindus, Muslims, Jains etc. and a shining example of Sultanate urban planning, make it every bit deserving of the title, on the other hand the fact that there is a declining residential population (Sen, 2017) along with the pressure of the tag, make it vulnerable to becoming a gentrified and commodified precinct – one devoid of soul and character. Ahmedabad’s world heritage city tag is due for review in 2019 (Shastri, Times of India, 2018) and without the programs in place to continue preservation efforts, the title might be lost.

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2.2 Urban Governance Conservation Tools Below is a list of some tools adopted by organization to curb heritage degradation, which might not necessarily be an exhaustive one: (i) Land Use Mechanism: This tool is one of the most popular ways of controlling the impact of urbanisation and modernisation on heritage enclaves and buildings. Through assigning a unique ‘zone’ to the old or walled city, as has been done in numerous cities all around the world, including the treatment site, Ahmedabad, the urban planning authority can streamline the future of the enclaves and the other land uses in the city which may impact these enclaves. Every land use document comes with design control guidelines for the different land uses existing in the city like residential zone, commercial zone, heritage city zone etc. (e.g. GDCRs in Ahmedabad’s case) which mention the plot sizes, plot subdivision rules, height of buildings permissible, plot coverage, façade design controls, dwelling unit density, building setbacks, floor space index etc. This land use and development tool is very important in shaping the future of a city and is seen as a fine example in the George Town case study later in the thesis where heritage city remained untouched by modernisation and rapid urbanisation due to the governments initiative in redirecting newer developments on the fringe (as most heritage enclaves were the starting point of a city and hence are at the core geographically). Unlike Singapore, where shop-houses and extreme highrise buildings often co-exist in harmony due to sharp urban governance, developing nations like Malaysia, India etc. need to space out building typologies based on heights, fabric character etc. so that one does not adversely start affecting the other.

For example, if very high-density neighbourhoods were to start developing rapidly around the heritage city of Ahmedabad, the traffic chaos and pollution levels would start shooting through the roof, negatively affecting the physical heritage monuments and shophouses in the vicinity as well as the quality of life for the local residents. (ii) Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA): Similar to the concept of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), required for medium to large scale projects in several countries in order to attain clearance for a ‘go ahead’ post proving that the project is not harming the environment in any manner, HIA is an evaluation method that would be ideally required for all development and rectification projects, irrespective of type and scale, that might effect or are in close proximity to a cultural or heritage site to Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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consider any possible impact the proposed project would have on the affected heritage site. This process of conducting HIA can take the format of a waivable requirement if the developer is able to produce proposals that confirm little or negligible impact on the affected heritage property. HIAs are a good tool when the authorities are struggling with the question of what to conserve and what to approve for urban renewal. While the process might seem like a burden on the developers requiring them to comply with additional bureaucracy and might be a cause for delay of several projects, the experience with this requirement, for example in Hong Kong, has been quite smooth.

Initially it was thought that close to 3,400 buildings might have to be screened under HIA but the authorities found that in most cases the heritage buildings were not at risk and only about 40 odd projects had to undergo HIA since 2008 (Ng, 2015). HIA is especially important when it comes to heritage properties which might not be recognised as heritage monuments of national importance but are significantly important from heritage perspective all the same. This tool is quite useful in this thesis’ case where the shophouses and heritage residential units are the topic of concern.

However, there are roadblocks as sometimes private owners of heritage properties may not agree with the government’s or conservationists’ wishes to let their property undergo HIA as they might be profit-motivated and want their property to undergo urban renewal irrespective of the consequences. This is where context comes into play as it depends on community/society on whether heritage is important to them or whether safeguarding property rights of private owners is a greater concern. For example, in Australia, both private and public projects are subject to HIA before redevelopment takes place and the general Australian community, being aware that heritage conservation is of paramount importance, complies with the rules. Ultimately it is about making the general citizen aware of the benefits in a larger picture and strictly implementing the system to make it a norm. Also, HIA would ideally work better in a socialist country than a capitalist one. (iii) Certification: Certification is a very attractive option if the government is able to micro manage its urban heritage properties as it can take up case-by-case basis evaluation of whether properties have complied with the conservation guidelines they have laid and give a ‘clearance certificate’ or similar seal of approval (discussed during the Singapore case study). This tool is more of a follow up step rather than the beginning of the conservation process but is important all the same, as it serves the Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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conservation efforts by setting the benchmark for other properties and making the owners accountable in a transparent manner. Also, during adaptive re-use, the future customer base can use the certification as an added element to judge the property because certifications largely regulate the quality and authenticity of the heritage property (the clearance procedure for granting certificates can be based on criteria decided by the authorities after consulting heritage experts).

2.3 Gentrification and Commodification Understanding in the most simplistic manner, ‘gentrification’ is defined by Cambridge English Dictionary as the process by which a poor neighbourhood in a city is changed by people who have money, including especially the improvement or replacement of buildings. This sounds harsh in the context of heritage enclaves because then it would imply that every historically rich neighbourhood has become ‘poor’ overtime and is driven by capitalism to change itself to suit the needs of those who can pay to enjoy its ‘services’. The idea seems too insensitive as it almost makes the neighbourhood seem like a commodity, existing just for the sake of recreation and to be looked at as a one-dimensional entity – as if it is ‘museumified’ for us to pay, look at, appreciate and move on. This thinking is very external, and the approach is fairly negative as we are not owning up to these neighbourhoods and their layers, like they do not belong to us and are not part of our society anymore.

Figure 9: Commodification of heritage, Source: Commodification and Politicization of Heritage by Bui & Lee

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The origin of this cause begins with uprooting the original residents of the historical neighbourhoods – either by ignoring them and the conditions in these enclaves, or not involving them in the urban renewal that is being experienced in the enclave. The process is extremely gradual, but it becomes noticeable when slowly, people start outmigrating due to inadequate and inappropriate infrastructure provision and a sudden change in the neighbourhood character leading to shooting rental rates of leased units and maintenance cost of owned dwelling units. It also begins to happen when the type of economic practices begins to change and starts catering to ‘outsiders’ like people from more affluent parts of the city, tourists or even transient population like warehouse owners and workers. Gentrification is, at the simplest level, not paying close attention and respect to a neighbourhood and letting it slip away from its original character.

Now one might argue that with changing times, neighbourhoods evolve, and the transition is inevitable. True, but the way this change needs to be dealt with is being sensitive and contextual. This is where the role of researchers, urban planners and on ground grassroots NGOs comes into the picture, partnering with authorities to make the experience as organic and smooth as possible – without the locals feeling threatened and ousted. The idea might seem vague as there are no prescribed guidelines or blueprints to deal with gentrification and commodification but there is a reason for that – not every heritage neighbourhood is the same and there are several variables that are attached to each precinct. The demography, political and economic stability, geography and climate, existing situation of the neighbourhood, historical past, future development direction and more always influence the gentrification process.

But authorities can begin with making the community aware, prepare for the change, be vocal and transparent about the shape the community is about to take. It can start with enabling capacity building for the community through identifying leaders from within who can work closely with grassroots NGOs, academicians and local students and then pass on the information and training to the entire community. The idea is to make the enclave and its people resilient instead of keeping them in the dark in fears of facing opposition and hence delay in the proposed changes. A very successful and smart way to start is by approaching the women and children of the community, as has been experienced by Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT), in Ahmedabad, which Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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has been touched upon during the study of the treatment site. Additionally, advocating bodies play a crucial role in identifying the flaws with the process of gentrification and suggesting timely feedback. An NGO called the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS) has been able to give their expert opinion on the Chinatown case in Singapore which is discussed in detail later in the Singapore case study of this thesis.

But in all this, it seems like the local residents, mostly middle-class income group, are solely the victims, whereas they themselves sometimes jump into the bandwagon of profits – and rightly so, by selling their valuable properties in endeavours of making lumpsum and/or quick money. This is again where the government must intervene and implement caps for heritage property transactions. If inventory keeping is strong, all change of hands will be recorded, and the government can keep a close eye on what is being sold and for how much and can even put a cap on rates or bar sale for good by enforcing strict measures and providing lucrative incentives to the original owners to not part with their properties.

However, the entire procedure is not entirely negative as it might seem from the discussion so far. Gentrification indicates urban renewal, and this means that the neighbourhood is looking for new target audience, looking for a way to remain relevant in today’s modern times. But cultural or experiential tourism alone cannot be the ultimate solution and outcome. Newer ideas and approaches must be adopted, local flavour must be retained. Pull and push factors for local residents have to be weighed and ultimately creative solutions and new ideas for adaptive re-use of the residential units have to be thought and implemented. There should be a balance between what exists for the locals (their privacy must be respected), and what is approachable by transitionary people. To conclude, the shift in character of a heritage enclave should not only be evaluated and reacted upon through the monetary lens – a holistic and inclusive approach is key (balancing top-down and bottom-up decision making).

2.4 Adaptive Re-Use of Heritage Buildings The adaptive reuse concept is an excellent example of sustainable urban development and is closely related to the gentrification phenomena. Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally

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designed or constructed for8. Adaptive reuse is attractive because it is often economically, environmentally and socially sustainable as it recycles or upcycles existing buildings. However, several factors are considered before a building qualifies for adaptive reuse and every team involved in such a project first makes sure that the finished product will serve the need of the market, will be completely utilised for its new purpose and will be competitively priced in the real estate market. Adaptive reuse makes much sense in the heritage building sphere because it prolongs the building’s life by retaining most of its system, including structure, the shell and sometimes even interior materials. Such revitalisation is popular but is not restricted to buildings of historical significance and can be a strategy adopted for any obsolete building - given other criteria are fulfilled.

Urban planners often view adaptive reuse as an effective way of curbing urban sprawl and reducing environmental impact. It is essentially a brown field project and enables keeping neighbourhoods ‘occupied and vital’. According to Zaitzevsky and Bunnel, “old buildings link us to our past and become a part of our cultural heritage; they should be preserved for their architectural beauty and character added to the built environment” (Zaitzevsky & Bunnell, 1979). Other than aesthetics, some other advantages of adaptive reuse include: 1. Cost saving on building materials for new buildings 2. Cost saving on demolition of old buildings 3. Saving time as it is faster than brand new construction 4. Tax advantages in terms of exemptions 5. Decreased public and social cost as local users are not dislocated, community life is maintained, and neighbourhoods are not abandoned 6. Energy conservation because older buildings used traditional masonry and were much more climate responsive; and lesser use of building materials, water and energy in the process However, undergoing the process of adaptive reuse of buildings is not simple and a few factors have to be considered before going ahead with the reimagination of the use of old buildings:

8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_reuse

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(i) Economic considerations: Often professionals assume that new buildings are always more economical that renovating older ones, but this factor differs on a caseby-case basis and as per a Canadian developer, reusing buildings generally leads to a saving of between 10-12% as opposed to new construction. However, in terms of profitability, adaptive reuse projects often have an uncertainty angle. Three things must be looked at thoroughly when making economic considerations – capital investment, asset condition and regulations. Capital investment decision includes short-term and long-term gains foreseen, energy efficiency that will lead to savings, location of the building as, for example, CBDs are prime locations for practicing adaptive reuse – nothing like a swanky use in an aesthetic and unique building – standing out from the rest and providing brand and image value. Asset conditions are simply the stage in which the building is in its entire life cycle. Sometimes, historic buildings are fragile and not fit for undergoing reuse works because of structural and age issues. Also, the reuse should complement the strength of the building – for example one cannot make a highly compartmentalised hostel for students in a house that was previously for a 4-member family. Lastly, regulations must be considered to identify the monetary benefits and incentives that the government provides for undertaking such a project. Lack of encouragement from the authority might not motivate architects, engineers and property owners to take up such a task.

Governments should encourage adaptive reuse initiatives in monetary terms since developed neighbourhoods already have amenities like sewers, water lines, roads and stakeholders of the built asset are relieving the local authority off the load of supplying public amenities by reinventing use of buildings instead of constructing anew on distant plots of the city fringes. (ii) Environmental considerations: The angles of water, energy and materials and resources efficiency are considered here. Based on the technology adopted to implement the process of adaptive reuse, the final decision is made as to whether the activity is cleaner than bringing in a new building in its place and is it helping the environment in anyway. Since the construction industry is resource heavy and proves to be harmful to the environment, adaptive reuse is a practice seen in green light by urban managers and professionals.

Based on the geography and nature of buildings (volume of interior spaces, floor plate sizes, deadload capacity etc.), adaptive reuse has taken various shape across the Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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globe. In nations that have moved on post industrial revolution into the service era and tech age, industrial-age buildings are being rethought of for new uses. In New York, for example, a former meatpacking district was turned into WeWork co working spaces. Even in London, heritage buildings with larger floor spaces are turning into tech start-up hubs home to Amazon, Cisco, Facebook and Google – the area being called as a ‘Silicon Roundabout’ (Jeng-tek, 2017). In Europe, buildings belonging to royal families are very popular for adaptive reuse projects. In Asia, it is more of the shophouse neighbourhoods which are attracting revamped use projects.

In the next chapter, we look at how the concepts studied above reflect in some ways in actual heritage neighbourhood in some Asian cities. Several concepts discussed so far occur in some degree and measure, and even if they do not, the themes in this chapter provide excellent guidance for producing quality recommendations for Ahmedabad keeping context in mind.

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3. CASE STUDIES Learnings from Asians Cities – Success and Failures: This chapter consists heritage precinct details of Asian cities and points out what makes them tick (or not).

The studies are descriptive in nature and depends on secondary sources largely due to lack of physical access (except George Town and Singapore). With architectural heritage dating back to the colonial era, the idea of protecting and conserving was born from a few policies and resulted in a few others.

3.1 George Town

Figure 10: Geographical context of George Town, Source: Mapbox

Location: 5°24′52″N 100°19′45″E, capital city of Penang state Country: Malaysia World heritage status: 2008 Area: City – 305 sq. km.; heritage site – 1.09 sq. km.

City population: 708,127 (as of 2010) City profile: Coded 1223-002 in the UNESCO world heritage list along with Malacca city, George Town, represents the British era from the end of the 18th century and dates to 1786 (Lim, Lee, Nor'Aini, & Tan, 2008). It was historically established by Francis Light, a Britisher, who obtained Penang island from the Sultan of Kedah to establish a port city. The innermost heritage core consisted of streets arranged in grid iron pattern9 bounded by Light street, Beach street, Pitt street and Chulia street. In 1826, Penang, Singapore and Malacca were incorporated into the Straits Settlements,

9

Underlined terms in chapter 3 indicate highlights of the city resulting in direct or indirect success as a heritage precinct

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with George Town as the capital. However, Penang's importance was soon taken over

by Singapore, as it overtook the Port of Penang as the region's premier entrepôt. In 1832, Singapore replaced George Town as the capital of the Straits Settlements.

Nevertheless, due to the intermixing of the varied ethnicities (Chinese, Peranakan, Malaysians, Eurasians, Siamese) and religions that arrived on its shores, George Town acquired a large eclectic melange of colonial and Asian architectural styles. By the middle of the 19th century, Penang had become a hub for the Chinese opium trade, which provided more than half of the colony’s revenue, but also resulted in establishment of brothels and gambling dens run by Chinese secret societies. These malpractices resulted in underworld violence in 1867 (the year Penang became a British crown colony) known today as the Penang Riots. With its free-port status withdrawn in 1969, Penang went through several years of further decline and high unemployment (Lonely Planet, 2017).

The federal government policies began to favour the development of Kuala Lumpur, meaning that Penang took a back seat in Malaysia’s economy by the 2000s. In 2001, the Rent Control Act, which had protected the low-income residents and smaller business owners within the core city from arbitrary rental hikes, was repealed. As a result, residents began to move out of the city's historic core, leaving its colonial-era buildings in despair. Meanwhile, an incoherent urban planning policy and weak traffic management led to worsening traffic congestion, while decades of brain drain also took its toll as the city lacked the expertise to direct urban development. This fall led to the era of renaissance in Penang and the new state government Pakatan Harapan (earlier Pakatan Rakyat) came into power in 2008. It implemented several policy changes to improve George Town's liveability and cleanliness, as well as boosting the city's economic competitiveness. Efforts to improve hygiene and pedestrianisation, along with the use of public transportation, the promotion of the city's cultural diversity and improvements in traffic flow, were implemented.

Today, local administration of George Town and all of Penang Island is done by the Penang Island City Council, which comes under the purview of the Penang state government. Dating back to 1800, it is Malaysia's oldest local government and the successor to the nation's first city council - the George Town City Council.

Headquartered in the City Hall, the city council is in charge of urban planning, heritage preservation, public health, sanitation, waste management, traffic management, Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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environmental protection, building control, social and economic development, and general maintenance of urban infrastructure. Efforts by the government turned fruitful with the World Heritage status being obtained in 2008 as George Town houses one of the largest collections of pre-war buildings in Southeast Asia. All this subsequently led to George Town also being ranked Asia's 8th most liveable city by ECA International in 2010. Since then, the city's services sector has been enriched by the private sector and an influx of foreign investors has followed.

An integral part of Penang's diverse services sector (giving it the title of ‘Silicon Valley of the East’) is medical tourism, which has made George Town the medical tourism hub of Malaysia. The city attracted approximately 50% of Malaysia's medical tourist arrivals in 2013 and generated about 70% of the nation's medical tourism revenue.

Patients hail mostly from Asian countries such as Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.

The success of George Town's medical tourism industry is primarily due to the specialised medical treatments offered at comparatively affordable costs by numerous private hospitals in the city, coupled with well-trained professionals and advanced equipment. Indirect factors include the relatively low cost of living and the ease of travel facilitated by the well-developed infrastructure. Moreover, George Town, as the economic and financial centre of northern Malaysia, is now home to a vibrant tertiary sector, augmented by its skyrocketing tourism, retail and start-up industries, while an increasing number of expatriates and returning emigres have repurposed the city's heritage properties for business enterprises. In 2016, George Town was ranked the most attractive destination for commercial property investment within Malaysia by Knight Frank, surpassing the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

In recent years, George Town has received several complementary international accolades, further putting the city on the world stage. The city has been listed by various publications, including the Lonely Planet, Forbes and Time, as one of the top travel destinations in Asia. These are in addition to George Town's reputation as a gastronomic haven, with the CNN placing the city as one of Asia's best street food cities. George Town’s title and consequential recognition has also led to numerous shopping malls, hypermarkets and retail stores cropping up, making it a regional shopping hub of northern Malaysia. Many centuries-old shophouses are still operating alongside the city's flea markets and wet markets which cater more to local products.

Performing arts, street arts, festivals (of not just locals but metropolitan culture like Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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inclusion of expatriates), museums have added to the flavour. In 2012, as part of the annual George Town Festival, Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic created a series of wall murals representing local culture, inhabitants and lifestyles. They now form a network of celebrated cultural landmarks in George Town. Since then, the street art scene has blossomed. Arts exhibitions are held at a number of cultural centres in the city. Several wrought iron caricatures, each one depicting a unique aspect of George Town's history and culture, have also been installed throughout the city core.

Even the transport system of George Town is a highlight. While the tram lines have become obsolete, another colonial legacy, the trishaw, remains in use throughout the city, catering mostly to the tourists. Buses are the backbone of public transportation within George Town. ‘Rapid Penang’, with over 30 routes on Penang Island, is the only public bus service provider within George Town. In addition, open-topped double decker buses, called Hop-On Hop-Off buses, have been introduced for tourists in the city. Efforts are also being made to promote pedestrianisation, through wide sidewalks, and the use of bicycles as a greener transportation mode. Dedicated cycling lanes have been marked throughout the city and in 2016, George Town became the first Malaysian city to operate a public bicycle-sharing service, with the launch of Link Bike.

George Town’s most recent achievements date to 2018, when it was recognised as one of the cleanest cities in ASEAN, following a 2017 ranking which placed George Town as Malaysia's second cleanest city after Ipoh.

Key heritage conservation policies:

Per the paper titled ‘Strategies of Urban

Conservation: A case example of George Town, Penang’ (Lim, Lee, Nor'Aini, & Tan, 2008), urban cultural heritage survived because of a series of unintentional policies indirectly linked to the protection of the precinct. However, before delving into the details, it is important to note that one of the key strengths of the local government was the creation and updating of detailed inventory of the buildings in the core city and the buffer areas (George Town 1 to 8 districts) including the types i.e. houses, shops, shophouses and apartment/flat; the quantum of ownership i.e. number of units privately owned by single owner (e.g. out of 14661 properties, 83% landlords owned one unit); the architecture style like utilitarian, neo-classical, art-deco; grading of buildings into ‘Good’, ‘Fair’ and ‘Bad’; and lastly occupancy rate.

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Conservation efforts within George Town was around since the early 1970s but the first formal policy was published only in 1985. However, initially, the Control of Rent Ordinance was enacted in 1956, later known as Control of Rent Act of 1966 because at the time, the availability of housing units was not keeping pace with the booming population leading to surge in rental rates. This policy safeguarded the rights of the tenants and ensured the heritage units did not stay out of reach of the dwellers. When the Act was about to be repealed in 1997, heritage proponents voiced their concerns as the repeal would lead to deteriorating of the urban heritage. The Act safeguarded the heritage buildings indirectly by keeping them occupied but at the same time set a payment limit – not very high but also not very low. A very low rental would mean the owners not earning enough to maintain the beautiful houses. However, the line of balance was thin as the rent control often led to neglect by some owners who thought the amount wasn’t enough to maintain or led to abandoned buildings dilapidating due to missing tenants owing to unaffordable rentals. The Act was however repealed in 1997. The idea, in the end, seems paradoxical, but Malaysia was recently mulling over bringing back the act, hinting that the Rent Control Act was a success in conserving the heritage precinct after all. The article titled ‘Penang may restore rent control in city heritage zone’ (Chow, 2016) highlights the home owners as victims of paltry rental rates stopping them from upkeep of their heritage homes. On the other hand, there are heritage owners now based in Singapore who are charging 500% more than the ideal rate. Per the discussion, the rental increment should be about 20% each year for the duration of about 5 years instead of sky rocketing rentals close to 100% to 200% due to foreign investors eyeing the heritage buildings resulting in gentrification.

The final reason George Town was ‘conserved’ was because of the Penang Master Plan study or the Nathan Plan. One stated policy in the plan was to divert development to the south of Penang island during population boom that occurred due to various stimulating plans for the economy of Penang. “As a result of the policy to urbanise the south of Penang island, little attention was paid to the old city, so George Town was spared from the development wrecking ball” (Lim, Lee, Nor'Aini, & Tan, 2008). This might seem counter intuitive as relocation of people and thus business and activities lead to high vacancy in the city core resulting in degeneration, however, in George Town’s case, exodus resulted in preservation. However, this was also accompanied by careful rezoning (often from residential to commercial and in general known as Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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Transitional Zoning in the Interim Zoning Plan of 1973) of the heritage precinct whereby government buildings, banks and other financial institutions were set up and redevelopment projects where taken in for evaluation on a case by case basis where the proposal had to be sympathetic to the architecture style of the area.

3.2 Malacca City

Figure 11: Geographical context of Malacca City, Source: Mapbox

Location: 2°11′40″N 102°14′55″E, capital city of Malacca state Country: Malaysia World heritage status: 2008 Area: City – 277 sq. km.; heritage site – 0.45 sq. km.

City population: 484,885 (as of 2010) City profile: Compared to its twin George Town (in terms of jointly being inscripted by UNESCO as ‘historic cities of the Straits of Malacca), Malacca is smaller in size and scale and is probably not as exemplary a case. The primary reason for this is largely how it has always been seen in the ‘tourism’ light making it an example of what gentrification and commodification of a heritage precinct might look like.

Malacca has a rich history of mixed rulers and originated from the Sultanate era in the 15th century, then was colonised by the Portuguese between 1511 and 1641, the Dutch between 1641 and 1824 and finally fell in the laps of the British in 1824 and remained colonised till 1957 (Ismail, 2011). This history resulted in Malacca developing in a planned manner, under the Portuguese first, where buildings, streets and squares were built according to the urban traditions of the community. Later, with the Dutch coming in, streets were set out in a rectilinear pattern, although without a Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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uniform grid. Finally, during the British rule, with the departure of Dutch merchants, Chinese began to dominate Malacca in terms of ethnicity and Asian migrants began to settle in. With this, the Dutch façade houses began to transform architecturally,

Figure 12: Malacca under Portuguese rule (left) and Map of Malacca dated 1916, Source: Kohl (1984) and Jabatan Muzium dan Antikuiti (1998)

infusing Chinese and Malay elements and rowhouses transformed into shophouses, evolving the city’s streetscape.

However, at present, problems are galore as sources suggest that the conservation case of Malacca is not well enforced, although government policies exist. 200 local interviews (Ismail, 2011) point out to a lot of alterations done to the original historical buildings, and the major use in the historical city of Malacca being commercial, followed by residential. Although, the adaptive reuse of units is a key highlight (shophouses turned to hotels with modern facilities, toilets and fire requirements added), a later discussion points out to how this re use isn’t always contextual and often superficial. The interviews also suggest how locals are unaware of the policies, are not involved in the planning processes and only prefer to work in the heritage core instead of living there due to poor urban infrastructure services.

Per a discussion (Yue, 2010), a tourist suggested how Malacca’s multiculturalism has become diluted due to the world heritage title and its target audience has become ‘Western-centric’ with abrupt desserts and coffee shops popping up in the heritage enclave sans context and relevance. Although the Royal Printing Press has been conserved, there are sometimes intense ‘conservation’ efforts for structures alone leading to over-doing and not knowing when to stop. There are infrastructural issues Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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as the river Malacca releases foul stench and is garbage strewn with floating decomposing waste, the historical sites do not have maintained signages and public furniture and fixtures, and apart from the physical structures, there is not enough intangible heritage that resonates with the tourists as well as locals. Another element missing are local artisans, craftsmen and food shops.

Even the Report on the Implementation of the Action plan of Melaka, Malaysia (Tourism C. H., 2001) states that the government has taken steps to “consolidate cultural heritage tourism as the USP for the three districts in Malaysia” pointing out that heritage in Melaka has already been calculated to be created and developed solely for the purposes of tourism. This heavily indicates towards commodifying the heritage assets of the city. The study reports “that the Jonker Walk Committee was not representative of the Jonker Street tenants in promoting their own interests above the cold and calculated terms of economics and tourism” which is telling of the nature of conservation in Malacca.

Lastly, the article ‘Melaka highlights pros and cons of World Heritage listing’ (Krich, 2015) points to the surging numbers – of tourists, property prices and rentals. The world heritage title has led to an increase from 7.5 million tourists to about 12 million annually. Malacca, once a rustic and unpretentious town full of unique smells, visual and flavours, has transformed from a quiet community to the monstrosity of tourist commercialism and business. Old traders have been replaced by swanky bars and hotels and by the construction of towering malls and new towns with high-rises around the periphery. The city seems to attract visitors who come mainly for the entertainment value rather than the appreciation of a heritage town and the local people have been driven out as the housing market has skyrocketed. Residential market prices rose by 10% in 2014 and the cost of terraced houses has increased by over 50% since 2010.

The repeal of the Rent Control Act means many residents of the world heritage area have left and it seems illogical to preserve buildings if the local inhabitants are displaced by processes of commercialization and gentrification.

Key heritage conservation policies: Although Malacca struggles, the government does have conservation policies; however, whether they are implemented well or not has been commented on earlier. The state authority takes care of the general planning and development of land and building across all the local authorities within the state.

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The heritage-built environment of Malacca has been under the influence of Town and Country Planning Act 2001, Malacca Enactment no.6 1988, Control of Rent Act (repealed) 1997 and National Heritage Act 2005. Malacca Enactment no.6 essentially allows the local authority to obtain taxes, rates, fees and fines in the city and receive grants from federal and state governments. The Enactment also makes Historic Malacca City Council responsible for the conservation of old buildings and ensure none of the old buildings are demolished and the new buildings built are no higher than the existing lower adjacent building. It also allows the local authority to conduct inspections by officers. Planning Act of 1976 amended in 2001 details out the planning and development powers of the local government and essentially lays out the development guidelines. And finally, the National Heritage Act divides the heritage precinct into three major zones: core, buffer and the outside area. The actions taken to ensure retention of the historic buildings includes retention of first block, façade and height limit up to two storeys (based on the Structure Plan). Any renovation proposal to the existing built structures needs to be submitted to Historic Malacca City Council for approval. There is also an increase in the fine for removing old buildings from 2,400 USD (under Enactment Act) to 122,880 USD (under the National Heritage Act).

3.3 Hoi An Ancient Town

Figure 13: Geographical context of Hoi An Ancient Town, Source: Mapbox

Location: 15°53′N 108°20′E Country: Vietnam World heritage status: 1999 Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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Area: City – 60 sq. km.; heritage site – 0.3 sq. km.

City population: 152,160 (as of 2018) City profile: Hoi An, earlier known as Fai-Fo or Faifoo, is the third and last case study holding the UNESCO world heritage status. Coded 948 by UNESCO, Hoi An won the title based on the same criteria, (ii) and (v), as our treatment site for this thesis, Ahmedabad. It is also a living breathing heritage like Ahmedabad, making the case study contextual and comparable on some levels. Just like most world heritage cities, Hoi An was, historically, an economic and trade hub at a regional scale in Far East Asia. In the 15th century, Hoi An was one of the most important trading ports in SouthEast Asia and the town flourished between 16th and 18th century, with merchants from China, Japan, Portugal and France exchanging goods at this port (Watchful Wanderer, 2015), the buildings and street plans of Hoi An reflecting this blend of indigenous and foreign influences. The cultural legacy of the various countries can be witnessed in the varied architectural styles and the structure and materials used that have remained remarkably intact and unique. The oldest surviving structure dates back to 18th century and the most recent buildings were constructed by French during colonial era which includes shophouses, family chapels, communal houses, assembly halls, pagodas, bridges, churches, wells, temples, markets and tombs. The town was founded as a trading port sometime around 1595 and was the commercial capital of the Champa Empire. Among other goods, Vietnamese and Asian ceramics were transported from Hoi An to as far as Sinai, Egypt. However, from the 19th-20th century, under Nguyen Dynasty, a closed-door trading policy was implemented, leading to economic stagnation of Hoi An. Some even mention that Hoi An lost its desirable trade port status due to the silting up of the river mouth. As a result, the quaint town remained untouched by the Vietnam-American War and the changes to Vietnam for the next two centuries (McInerney, 2018).

Today, Hoi An is, of course, a tourist destination (receiving about 1.5 million tourists per year) because of its rich history of an eclectic cultural mix and crafts such as textiles and ceramics. Interestingly, Hoi An is famous for its tailoring business, the local tailors are some of the most talented ones in the world – making ‘tailoring’ a quite different and world-famous local business. Other than that, the town also offers distinctive regional cuisine that blends various cultural influences and thus hosts a Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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number of cooking classes where tourists can try their hand at making signature local dishes. Such experiential tourist activities have become an increasingly popular activity for visitors. Other unique highlights of Hoi An include Lantern Full Moon Festival occurring every full moon cycle where the local artisans sell flowers, Vietnamese lanterns, candles and fruits exchanged during the festival. Some other festivals adding local flavour are Cam Nam corn festival, Lunar New Year festival, Kumquat festival etc. Hoi An is also known as the ‘Yellow City of Vietnam’ because of many heritage buildings being painted in yellow as the colour symbolises royalty and superiority in Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and French culture. This adds a layer or theme to the town enabling branding by the local government. In all, Hoi An has a combination of various different activities making it an interesting tourist destination.

The town has four important museums managed by the Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, highlighting the history of the region and making tourists aware of the past – entrance to which are permitted by an ‘Hoi An Entrance Ticket’. Now, while this entry fee, which is also required to enter the Ancient Town centre, is controversial and criticised by some (especially international tourists paying hefty accommodation prices), the amount is used as a contribution towards the restoration and upkeep of the buildings. Each ticket costs 5 USD for foreign tourists and more than 85% of ticket fee goes towards heritage preservation efforts.

Coming to the movement aspect in Hoi An, due to the presence of water body edges like along river and ocean (beaches), cycling is a popular and pleasant activity. The town, being small, is walkable in size and since it is safe, walking and cycling are the most preferred means of transportation. Another added dimension is that motorized vehicles are prohibited from entering the Ancient Town for several hours every evening making eco-movement even more desirable.

Hoi An is also the winner of several awards apart from the title of world heritage which puts it on top of its game. It has been awarded one of 50 Best Places to Travel in 2019, one of Top 10 Cities in Asia, one of 10 Most Beautiful Places in Vietnam, one of 17 Cheapest Holiday Destinations outside Europe 2017 and the list goes on. This has built the reputation of Hoi An as a popular destination – efforts taken by the tourism board.

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However, before going into the policy aspects that led to the largely successful conservation of Hoi An, there are some threats and flaws that need to be addressed.

The threats, that are beyond human control, are the natural disasters (like how Ahmedabad was hit by earthquake in 2001). In recent years, conservation of Hoi An has been threatened by severe flooding, storms and termite infestation (a heritage building collapsing in 2003). Coming to the drawbacks of conservation and restoration, attracting international tourists in abundance has led to the Ancient Town being gentrified – housing prices have shot up and expensive restoration materials has resulted in the original residents being forced out of the town centre. Most businesses and houses, now, are owned by wealthy Vietnamese families from other parts of the country. Another backlash has been how ‘museumification’ of Hoi An is taking place as it has become tricky to negotiate the fine line between what is an exhibit for tourists and what are for the locals. Also, many strict urban design guidelines including prohibition of satellite dishes and antennae have forced local-residents to use only cable television and property enhancements and extensions as per personal needs are forbidden, making life in the heritage quarters restrictive and binding.

Key heritage conservation policies: However, as Hans Detlef Kammeier, an international urban management expert puts it, “Hoi An is an interesting example to consider good and bad approaches in urban conservation.” The town has more than 1,300 old houses and relics which have been preserved by authorities for over 300 years (tgvn.com, 2017).

Looking at the policies and programs surrounding Hoi An, the Ancient Town was classified as a national Cultural Heritage Site in 1985 and then a Special National Cultural Heritage Site under the Cultural Heritage Law of 2001, later amended in 2009.

The town is entirely state property and is protected under national laws including the Tourism Law of 2005. The 1997 Hoi An Town Statute defines regulations implemented by the Hoi An Center for Monuments Management and Preservation, the responsible agency of the People’s Committee for the management of the property. Day-to-day management entails collaboration with stakeholders, to maintain the originality and integrity of the property and to monitor socio-economic activities within and adjacent to the property. The capacity of the professional staff has been and continues to be developed by many domestic and international training workshops. Management and preservation are further strengthened through master planning and action plans at the Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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local level. There are also regular restoration and conservation programmes. Multi-

disciplinary research conducted by teams of international and national scholars has informed the conservation and interpretation of the town’s heritage. This research is on-going. A Management Plan was implemented at the time of nomination of the property and is being updated and reviewed as required by UNESCO to ensure that it remains effective. The buffer zone is managed to protect the property from external threats. The potential adverse effects to the property caused by annual flooding and urbanization are being effectively controlled with the active participation of all authorities and the local community. The Master Plan for the Hoi An Ancient town conservation, restoration and promotion together with the city and tourism development was approved by Prime Minister on 12 January 2012, covered the period until 2025 (UNESCO, 2019).

The government has initiated conservation in a way that most homes are restored to maintain ‘authentic’ old world charm of the town, despite its progress into the modern world of television, electricity and automated vehicle ownership. An important aspect of Hoi An’s restoration is adaptive reuse as this allows for maintaining and preserving its history while still being able to develop and promote businesses. Many of the restored houses are used for shops, restaurants, homestays and hotels unlike Ho Chin Minh City where the authorities have torn down historical buildings to replace them with sky scrapers.

To promote responsible conservation and development in Hoi An, the town has been divided into two zones by the municipal government:

Zone 1, Intact

Protection Zone, covers original monuments in the ancient town that have to be protected in their original state. Zone 2, Ecological Environment and Landscape Protection Zone covers the area surrounding Zone 1, where structures can be built that contribute to the promotion of the monuments’ value, given that these structures do not affect the environment of the monuments (Watchful Wanderer, 2015).

Other models being adopted by the government are exploring PPP to involve private entities in efforts and forecasting issues to tackle before trouble hits such as identifying challenges of climate change, rapid urbanisation, population growth Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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and natural disasters in the future. A unique aspect of Hoi An’s conservation efforts is that the approach is sustainable and consciously undertaken as authorities try to engage tourists and locals. There are also talks of linking this heritage precinct with an adjacent UNESCO environmental heritage site the Cu Lao Cham Biosphere Reserve and to build Hoi An into a community integrating ecology, culture and tourism. There is a proposal in place to turn the clubbed precinct into an ‘Eco City’ by 2030.

3.4 Singapore

Figure 14: Geographical context of a few heritage neighbourhoods in Singapore, Source: Mapbox

Location: 1°17′N 103°50′E, city state Country: Singapore World heritage status: Area: City – 723 sq. km.; heritage site – 6.28 sq. km.

City population: 5,638,700 (as of 2018) City profile: The last case study, Singapore, is slightly different from the previous three in relation to the treatment site. While all the other sites were largely living, breathing heritage enclaves, residential-commercial in nature, with an influence of market forces at play; Singapore precincts are slightly more touristic and have certain down sides, even though the conservation efforts in place are world class, detailed, with a true intent of paying homage to the years gone by. While the city’s past matches Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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with those of the previous case studies, later, the conservation policies highlight how Singapore’s route to conservation heavily involves a top down and government involvement-heavy approach – and rightly so, owing to the shortage of land resource in a vertically developing country. What also sets this case study apart is that while Ahmedabad, George Town, Malacca and Hoi An all belong to developing nations, Singapore has been able to evolve itself into a developed nation within one generation; sometimes sacrificing the past to move on to the future.

Beginning with a brief history of Singapore, its earliest mention dates back to third century, where it was described as the ‘island at the end of a peninsula’. Later, the city was known as Temasek or Sea Town when the first settlements were established between 1298 and 1299 A.D. Blessed with one of the most strategic geographic locations, Singapore naturally flourished as a trading port for vessels such as Chinese junks, Arab dhows, Portuguese battleships etc (Board S. T., 2019). This led to Singapore being a place for the fusion of an eclectic mix of cultures, just like many other port towns.

After being ruled by monarchs, and influenced by Indian, Indonesian, Mongolian, Chinese and Malaysian/Islamic cultures; modern day Singapore was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in the 19th century during the British rule. In 1822, he implemented the Raffles Town Plan or the Jackson Plan to address the issues of growing disorderliness in the colony. Singapore was plagued by the issues of four segregated residential areas based on ethnicity – Chinese majority followed by Malays, Indians and others. The European Town had residents consisting European traders, Eurasians and rich Asians, while the ethnic Chinese were in present-day Chinatown and south-east of the Singapore River. Ethnic Indians lived in Chulia Kampong north of Chinatown, and Kampong Glam consisted of Muslims, ethnic Malays and Arabs who had migrated to Singapore.

While South East Asia was not involved heavily in World War I, Singapore’s prosperity suffered major blow during World War II when it was attacked by the Japanese from the north in 1941. When the Japanese surrendered after four years, Singapore went back to the British hands until in 1959 when self-government came into being and the country saw its first elections where PAP won, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore. When Malaysia was formed in 1963, Singapore was a Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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part of it. However, racial tension due to partiality by some political parties to Malays on one hand and by some to Chinese on the other ultimately led to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia and resulted in the formation of Republic of Singapore in the year 1965.

This change of rulers and leaders and rich history resulted in several historical enclaves and buildings existing in Singapore that one can see today. However, being a nation state with limited land resources and a very high population density, while striving for the best quality of life for its people, Singapore has its limitations; and it is also not one of the cities that comes to mind when one is looking for heritage tourism.

However, conservation efforts started in Singapore as early as in the 1970s and 1980s beginning first with the identification and protection of national monuments – 8 buildings at first. This snow balled into identifying ‘conservation areas’ later in 1989 when in a milestone effort, heritage neighbourhoods like Emerald Hill and sub areas in the district of Chinatown (Telok Ayer, Kreta Ayer, Tanjong Pagar etc.), Little India, Kampong Glam, Singapore River (Boat Quay, Clarke Quay etc.), with a total of 3200 buildings, were gazetted for conservation by URA. To date, conservation status in Singapore has been given to over 7000 buildings in more than 100 areas (Authority U. R., 2019). Also, with Singapore being an alpha+ city in Asia – best infrastructure, tax haven, strategically located and one of the top countries when it comes to ease of doing business10 ; MNCs are setting up headquarters here; and creative industries, fintech companies, start-ups and more are setting up their offices – meaning heritage buildings are being eyed for setting up creative ‘co-working’ spaces. Ideas like WeWork11, Mutual Works12, The Working Capitol13 (Fig. 15), The Quadrant14 etc. have gained traction and in the Quadrant’s director Mr. Low Jeng-tek’s own words, “Creatives love co-working spaces and they love to have it in old places largely because it's in a place that’s creating new from old, so it gives them inspiration” (Wong, 2018). This paired with the increase in transaction of heritage buildings in Q1 2018 (8M Real Estate alone acquiring more than 40 properties worth 500 million USD in

10

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-ranks-2nd-in-ease-of-doingbusiness 11 https://www.wework.com/buildings/beach-centre--singapore 12 https://mutualworks.sg/ 13 https://theworkingcapitol.com/ 14 https://www.thequadrantatcecil.com/1st-project

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Chinatown and CBD15) mentioned in various public newspapers is evidence enough to conclude the successful adaptive reuse of heritage buildings and their transformation into relevant and valued real estate commodity in Singapore.

Figure 15: Mutual Works building (left) and Working Capitol building, Source: Primary and InDesign Live Singapore

But before going into the key policies, urban renewal guidelines and built use mandate that exist in Singapore by law, protecting heritage buildings and neighbourhoods, it would be important to know that there are some critics who think the approach to heritage conservation in Singapore has not been the most ideal. According to a cultural geography professor, Lily Kong, "In the early days – the 1960s and 1970s – there were calls for conservation, which were often by expat communities in Singapore". "The local community very often would be silent and absent in all this, because Singaporeans were still grappling with poverty. They were grappling with living in quite abject conditions, and what the old buildings stood for them was poverty, poor hygiene and poor living conditions. As such, Singaporeans then had little to no thought of keeping "old dilapidated buildings" but "moving on to better conditions of modernity, good public hygiene and healthy living conditions", said Prof Kong (Wong, 2018). But that was when conservation started. Today, there is a presence of an NGO called Singapore Heritage Society (SHS), established in 1987, that advocates for relevant, sensitive and contextual conservation. The NGO’s official website says “The Singaporean psyche has been conditioned to think pragmatically about our attachments to the past. There is a critical need for a better decision-making process

15

https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/giving-shophouses-a-new-lease-of-life

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in urban planning” (Society, 2019). SHS calls itself an independent voice for heritage conservation in Singapore and in its book titled ‘Rethinking Chinatown’, discusses certain issues surrounding the nature of conservation approach. Some of the key challenges identified by SHS in the revitalisation of Chinatown are: problems of dying business, residential vacuum and problem of gentrification (Society, Rethinking Chinatown, 2000).

SHS says that the essence of old Chinatown, the street hawking and back lanes have been cleared out and the relocation of local residents have impacted the precinct. Most of the clearing out was done to address what were then identified as chronic problems like hygiene, crime, fire hazards and over density. But with clearing out, the life faded away and now the popular complaint is that Chinatown is no longer ‘bustling’ with people, is failing commercially and has lost its ‘soul’. SHS identifies causes for the suffering retail in Chinatown in the decreasing local residential population which has inevitably made the clientele small along with a drop in tourist figures as well as a nation-wide retail glut. Another reason for the area’s downfall is its shooting land prices being in the central district of Singapore, of which a major part is zoned for commercial use. This ultimately resulted in quicker ‘conservation’ funded by private money but at a cost of losing local involvement. The trade and retail shops in the precinct are also not catering to the locals but rather target upmarket expats and transient population.

Traditional trades have relocated, especially on the periphery of Chinatown. Coming to the problem of residential vacuum, retail centres need local residential population in the long run as transient population is unpredictable. Chinatown’s residential population has decreased sharply as people have moved to more affordable New Towns in Singapore. The second floor of shophouses can be used for residential purposes but high land and rental prices makes only commercial use a viable option.

SHS recommends the government to intervene and pass conservation laws that relax the prices and encourage residential living for locals in the precinct and government owned buildings can also be subsidised for similar use. Lastly, the problem of gentrification is discussed where SHS says that urban planning in Singapore has been driven by the philosophy of economic sustainability which has led to the thought that heritage areas must be self-sustaining and even profit-making like in the case of Boat Quay. But this thinking has inevitably resulted in gentrification where the original

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occupants have been removed and the lower and middle-income families have been uprooted.

But even then, Singapore is striving towards paying attention to its tangible and intangible heritage assets. The Singapore Botanical Garden is the first UNESCO world heritage site in the city-state, and Singapore has now begun its endeavour to earn the title again for its unique cultural heritage – the hawker fare (selling local world-famous street food). If all these efforts come together, then the joint heritage of Singapore can be celebrated in collective manner. Singapore also conducts annual festivals like the Heritage Festival, Food Festival, Night Festival, Light Festival etc. along with the religious festivals celebrated by locals that keep the buss around heritage identity alive and relevant.

Key heritage conservation policies: Today, Singapore, being a city-state is the melting pot of cultures and identities in South East Asia. This cosmopolitan nature, while on one hand makes it every bit modern, on the other hand pushes the people to look for and hold on to a true ‘Singaporean Identity’. While there is a recently launched ‘Our SG Heritage Plan’ which claims to be the first master plan for Singapore’s heritage and museum sector which outlines broad strategies and initiatives for the sector over the period of 2018 to 2022 (Board N. H., 2019), heritage conservation has been going on in Singapore through various measures, authorities, bodies, policies and development guidelines over the decades.

Figure 16: Singapore's conservation master plan, Source: URA Space

Singapore has a conservation master plan (Fig. 16) which has three kinds of sites – envelop control site, national monuments and site with conserved building. While Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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monument conservation is taken care of by National Heritage Board (NHB) and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), building and neighbourhood related conservation is taken care by URA and Building and Construction Authority (BCA). Heritage precincts in Singapore represent the housing that existed before the concept of ‘new towns’ came about in in the city. The detailed conservation guidelines

by URA are applied in varying degrees to the different heritage districts (Authority U. D., 2017): (i) Historic districts: The Historic Districts, which include Boat Quay, Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India, are among the city’s oldest areas. Most of the buildings in these areas are still intact, and the entire building has to be retained and restored. Change of use to commercial or residential use is permitted in these historic districts. The strictest form of conservation is practised in these districts (ii) Residential historic districts: The Residential Historic Districts at Blair Plain, Cairnhill and Emerald Hill are residential areas which developed close to the city centre. A new rear extension lower than the main roof can be built for greater flexibility in adapting the building for modern living. (iii) Secondary settlements: The Secondary Settlements such as Geylang and Joo Chiat are areas which developed later when people started to move out of the crowded city to live at the fringe. These are typically areas where there are already many new developments, so emphasis is placed on retention of the streetscape. In these areas, a new rear extension up to the maximum height allowed for the area can be built. (iv) Bungalows: styles and are predominantly for residential use. New extensions can be built at the side and rear of the bungalow. Large sites can be subdivided for additional new developments. For a site where flat or condominium housing development can be built, the bungalow can be used for residential purpose or as a clubhouse to serve the development.

To facilitate restoration efforts, the government aids private owners like waiver of development charge and car park deficiency charge and waiver of the need to provide car park lots wherever applicable. In the guideline book, other details like conservation plan direction, building use allowable, plot ratio, building height, building profile, signage details (size, position, colour etc.) are defined in black and white based on the Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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nature of the heritage property for the property owners to adhere to. If the property owners are in any dilemma, they can reach out to the government for personal caseby-case basis help. Not just the properties, but envelope control guidelines (for empty plots within the conservation area) for infill usage and incompatible uses (like supermarkets, western fast foods, nursing homes, building material showrooms, warehouse stores, amusement centres, spas etc.) are also clearly spelled out to maintain a certain character of the precinct. URA clearly says. “We encourage established trades and uses that are unique to each area to remain”. URA also compulsorily wants the first floors of the buildings in conserved areas to be ‘activity generating uses’ and identifies Problematic Traffic Areas (PTAs) where ground floor usage is carefully evaluated to ease congestion. A Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) clearance is issued to conserved buildings which have been restored according to the conservation guidelines by the government. There are three categories of’ types of works’ in this case and the process for Category 1 and 2, for example, works in the following sequence: 1. Consult 2. Submit Plans to URA 3. Conservation Permission Issued 4. Submit Plans to BCA 5. Site Inspections 6. CSC Clearance Property owners can submit their application electronically through CORENET and can expect a decision within 20 working days. The government also provides details on the transformation of other properties on its official website for owners to learn from other cases and identify if their properties are of similar nature and how to go about the conservation process in that case. This transparency often makes the procedure smoother and hassle-free.

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4. EVALUATION 4.1 The Learnings Matrix In the following table, all the missing elements, in terms of conservation in Heritage city of Ahmedabad are listed and compared to the four other case studies in order to identify the gaps and instantly understand which issues need to be addressed. The comparison of the precincts is justified primarily due to (i) common world heritage status (ii) size of heritage precinct (iii) shared colonial history (iv) presence of mixed ethnic and religious groups (v) historical and geographical importance as trade and port centres during colonial times (vi) Asian context and more. In the table below, GT stands for George Town, MC for Malacca City, HA for Hoi An and SG for Singapore.

The tick marks signify the corresponding elements addressed in the case studies that Heritage city of Ahmedabad has not attended to so far: Key Learnings

GT

MC

HA

SG

1. Heritage city of Ahmedabad is not inherently a planned city for vehicular movement. It has an organic walkableshaded street pattern.

2. Ahmedabad does not have a complimentary tourism sector to heritage and culture (like medical, luxury, ecotourism) 3. The shophouses in the heritage enclave of Ahmedabad are not being re-imagined in terms of usage – adaptive reuse lacks creative ideas and execution 4. Ahmedabad has not earned international awards and accolades (based on food culture, local artisanship, cleanliness etc.) that complement the world heritage city title; heritage city not a strong, independent brand 5. Ahmedabad is not a regional centre for other economic sectors like industrial or service and is not a shopping hub. Mumbai serves that purpose in western India.

6. A certain local flavour in terms of authentic products and art and crafts businesses is missing as a large element in Heritage city of Ahmedabad. Thematic sub precincts do not emerge successfully.

7. Man-made trails including art districts, place-making (‘Instagram-able’ corners) are missing elements.

Heritage walk alone cannot fulfil the role of attracting tourists and other transient stakeholders.

8. The heritage precinct is not pedestrian friendly and does not have bike sharing system or timed vehicular streets to make it safe to walk and cycle around.

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Key Learnings

GT

MC

HA

SG

9. It is not clean and pollution free – taking away from the aesthetics and repelling visitors 10. A smart and efficient method of updating and maintaining heritage buildings inventory (with all corresponding details) is missing 11. The local authorities do not intervene in capping the heritage building sale prices and rental amounts 12. Although some experiential tourist activities and festivals exist in Ahmedabad; they are not well regulated, planned and executed by any single or group of entities 13. Ahmedabad does not charge visitors for viewing the traditional neighbourhoods contained in the heritage city 14. Ahmedabad does not have a separate heritage conservation masterplan (with detailed urban guidelines for ground floor usage, signages etc.) and heritage categorization is unclear and ambiguous 15. Apart from TDR, other incentives do not exist to motivate property owners to maintain their heritage assets and continue ownership Based on the table above, which is solely dependent on the literature and case studies pursued during the thesis, George Town and Singapore come to the fore as two case studies which are more successful in terms of addressing the issues plaguing Heritage city of Ahmedabad. Coming to the general popularity and delving into tourists’ choice, the following perception study gives us an idea about which destination ticks the most as a heritage precinct with people who have visited the cities in question.

Figure 17: Fabric of the five sites studied, Source: Google Earth

4.2 People’s Perception A survey questionnaire composed of 14 questions was circulated to collect on ground perception and popular viewpoints of tourists and travellers who have been to the four Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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heritage neighbourhoods that are studied. The survey was to incorporate an added angle to the research to ensure on ground reality is reflected in the conclusions before the recommendations for Ahmedabad are passed. The online survey, loosely based on a survey by Lily Kong and Brenda Yeoh (Kong & Yeoh, 1994), consisted of the following questions (all multiple choice – in some cases only one city could be chosen while in others, more than one city could be chosen) and a total of 48 responses were received over a period of one week. The survey composed of questions like: 1. What age bracket do you fall under (between below 20, 20-40,40-60, above 60)?

2. What is your gender?

3. Which of the four heritage precincts have you visited?

4. Out of the ones visited, which precinct would you like to visit again?

5. Which precinct reflects its heritage the most accurately and captures its local (Malay/Vietnamese/Singaporean) culture/identity?

6. Which precinct is the most cycle-able and walk-able?

7. In which precinct did you come across a completely pedestrianised street or a timed pedestrianised street?

8. Which precinct is the most aesthetically pleasing?

9. Which precinct had festivals (like food festival, night festival, lantern festival, kite festival etc.) going on when you visited?

10. Which precinct did you find the cleanest, most hygienic and pollution free?

11. Which precinct had markets selling authentic, local products like art, crafts etc. that cannot be found easily in another world destination?

12. Which precinct had a unique food culture?

13. In which precinct did you observe or interact the most with local residents/non tourists?

14. Which precinct did you perceive to be the safest?

Upon receiving the completed survey forms, the four precincts were evaluated. The steps involved in the evaluation process included: Step 1: Capture the ‘universal’ number out of 48 responses – i.e. to know how many people have visited each of the heritage precincts. In this case, if a person has visited

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all four precincts, then their response will be considered in the ‘universal’ number for each of the four heritage neighbourhoods.

Step 2: Out of the total visitors who visited each precinct (the ‘universal’ number), a vote for each of the questions answered was recorded. Then the percentage was calculated to pit the four neighbourhoods against each other and identify the best ‘performer’ for each question asked – for example, for the question ‘which precinct captures its local culture best?’, out of the 20 people who went to George Town, 30% felt it captured the culture well; out of the 29 people who visited Malacca, 38% felt Malacca did justice in capturing local culture, out of 6 people who visited Hoi An, 50% supported Hoi An and out of 48 who have been to Singapore’s cultural precincts, 42% feel Singapore does a good job capturing its local culture. So, in this case, Hoi An emerged as the precinct performing the best (solely based on the survey numbers).

Step 3: After repeating step 2 for each of the 11 questions, the case studies that resonated the most with the travellers were identified.

Out of the 48 respondents, 47 were between the age of 20-40 years, 1 respondent was over 60 years of age and about 65% were females. The following charts represent the results of the survey: Total people who visited the precinct SG HA

48 6

MC GT

29 20

Precinct with repeat visit value - % of votes SG

69%

HA MC GT

67% 59% 60%

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Precinct that closely captures its local culture - % of votes SG

42%

HA

50%

MC

38%

GT

30%

Most cycle-able/walk-able precinct - % of votes SG

52%

HA MC

67% 17%

GT

40%

Precinct with partially/fully pedestrianized street(s) - % of votes SG

50%

HA MC

67% 28%

GT

30%

The most aesthetically pleasing precinct - % of votes SG

52%

HA MC GT

67% 24% 30%

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Precinct that had festivals going on when visited - % of votes SG

67%

HA

33%

MC

45%

GT

20%

Precinct perceived to be the cleanest - % of votes SG

88%

HA

17%

MC

0%

GT

0%

Precinct with markets selling authentic, local products - % of votes SG

25%

HA MC GT

67% 38% 40%

Precinct with unique food culture - % of votes SG HA

58% 50%

MC GT

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59% 85%

58

Precinct where locals were observed/interacted with - % of votes SG HA

27% 0%

MC

21%

GT

15%

Precinct perceived to be the safest % of votes SG HA MC GT

88% 0% 3% 0%

From the charts above, Singapore (winning 1st position five times and 2nd position four times for each poll question) followed by Hoi An (winning 1st position five times and 2nd position once) grip their tourists more than George Town and Malacca city. While George Town stands at about 3rd position over all (by winning 1st position once and 2nd position once), Malacca does not connect so much in terms of the elements of heritage precincts addressed in the questions (as it wins 2nd position onwards in all polls). This short survey exercise reaffirms that most of the case studies have taken up conservation of heritage seriously and are continuing the process in order to be a successful UNESCO world heritage site and an attractive travel destination. While the respondents are transient in nature and are only one of the various stakeholders involved in the heritage narrative, the survey helped the author to incorporate third party opinion in the study and complete the triangulation method of secondary sources and primary level opinion.

In the next chapter, certain options for the local municipal government of Ahmedabad are listed in order to help Heritage city of Ahmedabad become an exemplary case for other heritage cities in India that aspire to win the UNESCO title and take the exercise Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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of heritage conservation head on. While several monuments in India are well looked after, heritage neighbourhoods consisting of multiple heritage houses and buildings become tricky and India can learn a thing or two from the Asian cities of George Town, Hoi An, Singapore and avoid taking few steps taken by Malacca City. Although not all missing links identified in Heritage city of Ahmedabad can be resolved by the proposals in the next chapter (e.g. the problem of organic road network established during pre-colonial/monarchy times instead of linear/grid iron pattern), some key ones are targeted at where urban planners can be heavily involved.

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5. INTERVENTION The recommendations in this section go back to the issues of Heritage city of Ahmedabad identified during the city’s study in Chapter 1. There is a total of five options suggested covering issues that are a threat to the title of Ahmedabad’s world heritage city title and if the decline needs to slow and ultimately stop, all or a combination of some of the following options can be adopted. The options are a result of the detailed study and feedback exercise conducted over three months:

5.1 Options 5.1.1 Option I Issue addressed: Multiple overlapping authorities Solution option: Re-organizing the institutional framework A separate body like National Heritage Board (NHB) of Singapore is required in the case of Heritage city of Ahmedabad. Since the precinct in question is only 5.3 sq. km. in size; its leadership should be efficient if enough personnel are deployed and responsibilities are clearly delegated. An organization can be framed in the form of a new board, say for example (hypothetically) the Ahmedabad Heritage Board (AHB) which shall be made up of a few sub-teams. The board can be led by the deputy commissioner for heritage or alternatively a chairman.

One sub-team should be working closely with AUDA (who prepares the entire Ahmedabad city’s masterplan) to prepare the conservation masterplan of Ahmedabad city – a layer under the overall masterplan. This map will not only represent the Heritage city of Ahmedabad but will also include all the heritage within the AUDA boundary (including monuments under the responsibility of ASI). Once this masterplan is ready, there should be a clear grading of heritage into classifications like city level standalone monuments (under ASI), heritage-religious precincts and heritageneighbourhood precincts (under AHB). This will require incorporating the inventory preparation proposal mentioned in option III along with policies encouraging property maintenance. For each of the gradings, clear development and protection regulations and guidelines need to be charted out (at urban design level). This part of the AHB will be authoritative and regulatory in nature. Within the conservation masterplan, there will also be built use assigned i.e. what uses are allowed and not allowed on the ground Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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floor, first floor, second floor and so on of the heritage shophouses. This floor-wise use regulation will help tackle the issue of adaptive reuse and spaces used as warehouses as well, which will be discussed more in option II. While the first sub-team will be in regular discussion with ASI at national level and constant interaction with AUDA at overall city level, next sub-team’s role will be coordinating with AMC for urban physical facilities that only have to do with the Heritage city of Ahmedabad. The first responsibility of this sub-team will be to review proposed infrastructural projects within the precinct to decide whether it damages the overall built character or not. This is where the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) becomes important. The HIA process can be outsourced to a third party which the AHB and the contractor agree upon and then the developments can follow suit. Next, this sub-team will coordinate with AMC regarding any transport, solid waste, sewer and water lines related intervention. The idea is to be aware and update the entire AHB about where Heritage city of Ahmedabad stands in terms of infrastructure (like comparing city service level benchmarks to the heritage precinct provisions) and to respect this precinct as an entity in itself – like a city within a city. This sub team will be a functionality and reviewing committee. It will also look after the maintenance and update happening with the help of the next sub-team and issue certification.

The next sub-team will take up the role of an advisory committee. The roles will be like the ones that were proposed for the Ahmedabad World Heritage Trust i.e. a team of consultants for heritage property owners consisting of experts like civil engineers, architects, interior designers, urban planners (both practicing and teaching professionally) who will help and the property owners to undertake maintenance projects and receive technical support. This advisory cell will translate the regulations set by the first sub-team to the laymen. This team will also have public participation by interacting

with

representatives

from

NGOs

and

ethnic-religious

groups,

academicians, student representatives, think-tanks and R&D organizations in their regular meetings. This cell will be the participatory angle of managing the heritage precinct as bottom-up approach will be one of the key methods of decision making.

However, the final call of this sub-team will be left to the discretion of experts.

The fourth sub-team will be working with the Gujarat Tourism Board to work on the branding and event management angle of the Heritage city of Ahmedabad. This Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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team will be in charge of ensuring the initiatives taken by the other sub-teams are reaching the public through the outreach program, that the precinct is enrolled in competitions that can eventually result in winning certain accolades that will further the tourism attraction and compliment the UNESCO title, and this team will also be involved in school, university and NGO programs that can enable place making initiatives within the precinct. Other than the heritage walks, this sub-team can develop other initiatives that will be discussed in Option VI to create a brand value for the Heritage city of Ahmedabad.

Lastly, the most important sub-team will oversee the budget and funds allocation.

For each of the sub teams, especially the physical intervention and the event organising teams, resource and budget is extremely important. This committee will review funds required each year for the plans in place for the future budget cycle and can work with AMC to acquire budget to cater to all heritage needs from within the local government budget. However, since local level budgets are small being the third tier of government in India, this sub-teams work can be the most sensitive and difficult.

It must work closely with AMC in order to ensure it receives what it needs, post review.

Figure 18: Reorganization of institutional framework, Source: Primary

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5.1.2 Option II Issue addressed: Heritage building maintenance and inventory upkeep Solution option: Use of open source technology to aid property owners This recommendation addresses the flaws in the current TDR procedure. Although the policy is beneficial for the purpose of refurbishing private heritage homes, the procedure needs to become swift and transparent – especially for the sake of dilapidating properties. This is where a system of comprehensive and meticulously catalogued information database and interactive map comes into the picture. Through opensource mapping and data management (Routh & Shah, 2013), the TDR procedure can be improved manifold. Technology and the internet can improve inventory upkeep and thereby act as a catalyst between the private home owners looking for funds to maintain their units and the developers in search of buying TDRs at a discounted rate. Also, before going into the solution itself, it is important to understand that technical and technological literacy in certain mapping applications and softwares is a pre requisite in order to adopt this solution.

There are two kinds of datasets required for this, one spatial and one non-spatial. First, the base maps consisting of the boundaries of Heritage city of Ahmedabad and the six wards that make up the walled city are required. The next layers are the building footprints accompanied by some details that can help identify the buildings like their survey plot numbers, number of floors, condition etc. These maps are then digitised on to QGIS, a mapping software, which helps geo-reference the buildings on the wold map to help locate them with coordinate system and fit in other corresponding details of the heritage buildings in the attribute table of the buildings shapefile. The following table shows how the attribute table might look: A

B

Survey Plot No.

Ward name

C

D Built No. area of (sq. floors ft.)

2 580

E Ready reckoner rate (per sq. ft.)

F

G

H

Grade Condition

Tradeable FSI available

2A

Fair

0.3

22/A

Khadia

25/A

Dariyapur 3

870

1

Good

0.5

31/C

Kalupur

2

645

2B

Bad

0.3

Raikhad

4

2A

Good

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I

J

K

L

Potential revenue generation

Current use

Name of Current Owner

Contact information

Mixed

Chimanlal Shah

chimanlal.shah@gmail.com

Mixed

Jivabhai Patel

jivabhaipatel11@hotmail.com

Residential

Raghavendra Kumar

Residential Table 3: Possible attribute table of mapped heritage buildings, Source: Primary

Once the digitising process is complete, it can be published using the GeoExplorer app of OpenGeo Suite (Routh & Shah, 2013) to make the maps and the details in them public. Once the platform is available for mass viewing and contribution, the private developers who are interested in buying TDRs at a discounted rate can filter buildings out that are at a deteriorating stage and based on the other details like their grades, the exchange FSI procurable, the revenue expected to be generated etc. the developers can approach the owner of the property and strike a deal. Once the owner receives the money earned by selling the TDR, he can use it for maintenance and upgrade of his heritage property. Since this platform is open, mapping contributors and owners and developers can update the status of units on the platform themselves.

For e.g., suppose a property has undergone maintenance recently and is currently not available for refurbishment and hence the owner has no need of developers approaching him, the building’s condition can be updated.

The outcome of this exercise will be that it will not only enable the developers to use certain filters on the app and find out properties looking for refurbishment on an emergency basis and thereby owners looking for them to sell TDRs which the developers can use in other parts of the city, especially the CBD where FSIs are high and construction is profitable; but this exercise will also motivate the private home owners to upgrade their homes and update the details of their properties from time to time in order for them to be visible to potential developers. In this give and take situation, the larger purpose of updating heritage home inventory is also solved. The entire system design is to ensure transparency, ease and the availability of an open source forum. The development of this exercise can be in purview of the functionality and reviewing and the advisory committees of the ‘Ahmedabad Heritage Board’ suggested in option I. Once the system is out, it will be a platform for direct contact of Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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heritage home owners and private developers who are tied in a symbiotic relationship.

The committees’ responsibility will be to monitor the system and also award certificates to the properties that have taken up restoration of the buildings maintaining its traditional character.

5.1.3 Option III Issue addressed: Adaptive re-use of shophouses Solution option: Coworking space policy and regulated control of built use This option is the responsibility of the authoritative and regulatory committee of the new heritage management framework. As Ahmedabad is the economic capital city of the state of Gujarat and is developing at a rapid rate, newer commercial enclaves (in Prahladnagar, Sindhu Bhavan Road, Iskon Circle etc.) are being set up all over the city in addition to the existing ones. This is indicative of the fact that office spaces are becoming increasingly important as population and jobs are multiplying. This gives an opportunity to the heritage homes to convert into more than just ‘home-stays’. One recommendation for the authority is to come up with a co-working space policy (in addition to the homestay policy) to generate interest like in Singapore and Malaysia.

Although co-working space giant WeWork has already penetrated the Indian market with spaces in Mumbai, Gurugram and Bengaluru (Fig. 19), it is currently only looking at tier-I cities and conventional office spaces. Ahmedabad, being a tier-II city needs certain weightage at the regional level to ensure there is a market for such co-working spaces. But it is interesting to mention that Ahmedabad historically has a business culture (similar SME scale of Singapore) and people in the city have an entrepreneurial spirit. This can very well serve as a catalyst for the formulation of the co-working space policy – historical homes being the USP. The initiative will ensure the previous CBD of Ahmedabad, which was the heritage city, returns to its glory days. Heritage city of Ahmedabad, even to this day has numerous businesses, but these are along the main roads like Relief Road and in some key streets like Ratan Pol (known for textile fabric business), Rani no Hajiro (known for traditional jewellery) etc. Through the co-working space policy in heritage buildings, newer office buildings catering to younger

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entrepreneurial spirit can emerge very similar to, for e.g. the Mutual Works office next to Mustafa Centre in Little India, Singapore.

Figure 19: WeWork website displaying office space options in Bengaluru, India

Another important initiative to take is to clearly establish not just the allowable uses in the urban guidelines within heritage precinct (e.g. regulate the intensity of usage by promoting activity generating usage on ground floors of shophouses etc.) but to control and restrict certain other uses. First, the authorities need to rezone built usage (popularly from residential to commercial as is established in George Town and Malacca city case studies) within the heritage land use and vertical zoning must be a part of the GDCRs. Here is where the need of a conservation masterplan can be highlighted because Singapore’s conservation portal spatially indicates (Fig. 20) which

Figure 20: Conservation masterplan of Singapore mentioning prohibited built uses, Source: URA Space

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property, where, can be used for what usage (post evaluation) and cannot establish what businesses (often massage and spa parlours, pet shops, schools, western fastfood restaurants and chains, supermarkets, nursing homes, bars/nightclubs/karaoke lounges, amusement centres, motor vehicle showrooms, pollutive trades, mobile/telco shops etc.). Ahmedabad’s conservation masterplan must be published as an online portal and can be an additional layer to the previously discussed open source mapping system for the TDR policy. This conservation masterplan must be open to viewing and not editing and will be a gazetted document only subject to authorities’ approval and edit, accessible by developers and property owners. This will strictly regulate and ensure the warehouse and light industry usage that is being practiced currently in fragile heritage homes is wiped out and makes way for service sector usage complimenting the co-working policy and the heritage shells do not crumble and are not lost to heavy commercial practices. This will also be complimented by certain transportation restrictions that will be discussed in the next option.

5.1.4 Option IV Issue addressed: Transportation and pollution Solution option: Vehicular traffic management and control, eco-transportation In continuation of the previous option of zoning, this recommendation needs to be incorporated into the conservation masterplan of Heritage city of Ahmedabad. It is the identification of Problematic Traffic Areas (PTAs), a concept existing in the conservation master plan of Singapore (Authority U. D., 2017). Spatially identifying sensitive traffic zones will help regulate the kind of ground floor usage allowable in the PTAs. Activating these ground floors will only add to the traffic woes and hence vertical zoning here must be done in such a way that vehicular movement is minimised. With the removal of the warehouse usage, medium and large sized trucks will be completely restricted from entering the heritage precinct between 9 AM and 10 PM. Any logistical vehicle entrance must only be allowed during non-peak hours to avoid street blocking and safety issues, for the local residents especially.

Once the PTAs are identified, the next step for the heritage board will be to allow Ahmedabad Traffic Police force to intervene and deploy personnel on site. Strict traffic management is key to saving the Heritage of Ahmedabad from constant noise and air Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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pollution. If drivers are fined for rash driving, not using helmets and jumping traffic signals, illegal on-site parking on narrow streets especially, then vehicular circulation will smoothen out and congestion will minimise. One key intervention that can take place is to seal the entrance and exit to the Heritage city of Ahmedabad for floating population with gate keepers at the incoming and exiting points of the core city like how Hoi An regulates the entry and charges transient people to access the heritage core (although this might be a grand task as the Heritage city of Ahmedabad is extremely porous). There can be a ‘pass’ for local residents to take in their vehicles, but the thoroughfares used by passers-by (even taxis like Uber and para transit system like auto rickshaws) need to follow a pay and use system – ‘checkpoints’ can especially be placed at the bridges that connect the old and new Ahmedabad on the left and right side of River Sabarmati. This is a combination of the toll pricing and ERP logic of Singapore and even London and some other megacities of the world where traffic congestion comes at a price for the people causing it – especially in city centres.

Lastly, the introduction of walking and cycling friendly measures is of dire importance for the success of a heritage precinct. In the brief feedback survey conducted in this study, Singapore and Hoi An were favoured because of their pleasant movement system. If using private vehicle becomes an expensive affair in the Heritage city of Ahmedabad, walking and cycling will automatically become the next best alternative use – but there should be a supply to meet the demand. Since Indian cities have no control over private vehicle ownership and public transport system is in a sorry state, even in Ahmedabad; AMTS and BRTS cannot be depended upon completely for accessing old Ahmedabad. Right now, two wheelers choke old Ahmedabad as they are smaller and easier to drive in the core city but due to the magnitude of usage, ultimately create traffic chaos; if their usage is charged as per the ERP idea; the next best option will become bicycles and on foot travelling as the heritage city is small in size. For this precise reason, traffic police must monitor vehicular movement so that pedestrians can move safely; and more importantly, a shared-bike system should be implemented like George Town. Pay and use bike-stations with security measures like locks (to avoid infrastructure thefts which are common in India) at 2 or 3 points in the entire heritage precinct will be enough to encourage eco movement. For visitors, there can be multi-level car parks on the outskirts of old Ahmedabad but movement within the core can rely on alternative methods.

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5.1.5 Option V Issue addressed: Cleanliness, public image and precinct branding Solution option: Solid-waste management and placemaking projects In the last intervention option, the roles of functionality and reviewing committee reemerge followed by the branding and event management committee. Rules that have to do with plastic use and waste disposal are of poor grade in old Ahmedabad and even after the launch of the Swachha Bharat initiative between 2014 and 2019 by the Central Government of India and collection of cess tax for the purpose of ‘cleaning India’, results are far from desirable. Right now, AMC takes care of cleaning old Ahmedabad along with the rest of the city. However, a team is required that solely caters to the Heritage city of Ahmedabad if the precinct wants to become attractive and worthy of some titles in addition to the UNESCO award. Clean precincts are attractive to tourists and foreign investors who can act as a catalyst to uplift the image of the precinct and spike the local economy in the process. Right now, there is only one night-food market called Manek Chowk which has become a landmark for vegetarian food in the old city. Other food streets within the heritage city are not popular (like non-vegetarian food street Bhatiyar Gully) because of hygiene concerns.

Cleaning up of the heritage precinct is a must not just for the brand value but to push businesses forward by attracting potential customers. Just like in George Town where local food is served up in clean hawker markets, old Ahmedabad can come up with food parks in the empty land parcels present in the precinct and become a permanent landmark. Right now, AMC’s waste segregation drive (launched 2018) into dry and wet waste is being popularly practiced in all of Ahmedabad city. If this is closely monitored and continues for a long while in old city, the results can push complimentary tags and businesses forward. Winning a title like ‘cleanest heritage precinct of India’ will make Ahmedabad heritage precinct extremely popular with nonlocals. For these accolades, the government must enrol nominations and entries to platforms like National Geographic, Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet etc. Curation of the precinct and its involvement in popular travel channels and magazines and other media can uplift the image of old Ahmedabad and at the same time keep the authorities on their toes to live up to the global as well as local expectations.

The other project that the urban heritage management of Ahmedabad needs to pursue is place making. For the longest time, the heritage-walk along with a few boutique Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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hotels and cafes have been the sole USPs of old Ahmedabad. The idea of ‘theming’ cultural sub districts is a great option to generate interests within the larger heritage boundary along with art districts similar to George Town and Singapore and even old Delhi in India. Place-making is a great complimentary use especially for celebrating the unique festivals of Ahmedabad where community gathering and interacting of local and global population can occur. Already self-funded voluntary projects by local groups (HeyHi, IBelive Ahmedabad etc.) have come and gone whose small initiatives can be seen in the form of a few wall arts and colourful corners in the walled city, but to expect groups to take up such tasks themselves is not a reliable option and nor is it feasible and fair. A dedicated urban place making cell taking care of a certain colourwise theming (like Hoi An) even to indicate sub-precincts; regular festivals similar to Kochi Biennale in the capital city of Kerala state of India; regular arts and culture festivals with the heritage as backdrop (which happens intermittently in Ahmedabad through sponsorships by Times of India, Heritage Music Week etc.) are the need of the hour. Most projects in the city come in for a few seasons and disappear into oblivion. If a public relation and image branding cell exists in the urban management board, then the initiatives will continue at a consistent pace and interval and help keep the heritage precinct, neighbourhoods and buildings relevant even in modern times, it

Figure 21: 1. Colourful Hoi An house, 2 & 3. Street art and furniture in George Town, 4. Food market in George Town; Source: 1. Littlewanderbook.com 2. Sotheadventurebegins.com 3. Beaqon.com.sg 4. Tripadvisor.com.sg

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will keep the conversation around the neighbourhood going. People of the larger city and even of other heritage cities of India need to be reminded time and again of the importance of the Heritage city of Ahmedabad so that it does not wipe out of memory and is not ignored in the long run.

5.2 Direct Monetary Value Addition As per GITCO’s report, Ahmedabad’s UNESCO title has helped the city’s tourism industry to attract 13% more foreign tourists during the period of 2017-18 (Tourism News Live, 2018). It mentions that the number of foreign tourists who stayed overnight in Ahmedabad increased from 122,000 in 2016-17 to 138,000 in 2017-18. In terms of domestic tourists, travellers who visited Ahmedabad have also increased from 6,663,000 in 2016-17 to 7,459,000 in 2017-18 – an increase of 12%. Considering the options suggested in this study are implemented enabling Ahmedabad to stay a UNESCO heritage city, and assuming a consistent inflow of tourists, the numbers can look like the following in the next five years:

Year

No. of foreign tourists (at 13% growth rate)

No. of domestic tourists (at 12% growth rate)

Total tourists

2016-17

122,000

6,663,000

6,785,000

2017-18

138,000

7,459,000

7,597,000

2018-19 (E)

155,940

8,254,080

8,510,020

2019-20 (E)

176,212

9,356,570

9,532,782

2020-21 (E)

199,120

10,479,358

10,678,478

2021-22 (E)

225,005

11,736,881

11,961,886

2022-23 (E)

254,256

13,145,307

13,399,563

(E) = Estimated This increase in number of tourists can reflect in revenue generation as the heritage walk itself costs 3 USD per local visitor and 4.5 USD per foreign national. This revenue generation (assuming every tourist takes the walk as a part of their visit) in the next five years can look like:

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2016-17

No. of foreign tourists (at 13% growth rate) 122,000

549,000

No. of Revenue domestic from tourists (at heritage 12% walk (3$ growth per head) rate) 6,663,000 19,989,000

2017-18

138,000

621,000

7,459,000 22,377,000

22,998,000

2018-19 (E)

155,940

701,730

8,254,080 25,062,240

25,763,970

2019-20 (E)

176,212

792,955

9,356,570 28,069,709

28,862,664

2020-21 (E)

199,120

896,039

10,479,358 31,438,074

32,334,113

2021-22 (E)

225,005

1,012,524

11,736,881 35,210,643

36,223,167

2022-23 (E)

254,256

1,144,152

13,145,307 39,435,920

40,580,072

Year

Revenue from heritage walk (4.5$ per head)

Total revenue in USD 20,538,000

(E) = Estimated In terms of improved income from rejuvenating heritage buildings, an average condition shophouse generates 260 USD rent per month. A shophouse turned homestay charges 10 USD per night per room (consider 5 rooms in the house available for stay) i.e. 1,500 USD per month if all rooms are booked all around the year. This gives the owner a chance to earn 1,240 USD more by converting his unit to a homestay. Alternatively, the owner can benefit from the co-working space policy. At present, the rental price per month per square feet for an office space in Sindhu Bhavan road (one of the prime commercial areas) in Ahmedabad is 3 USD. If the owner turns his unit into co-working space of good grade or quality, he can earn about 2000 USD for his average sized shophouse (considering co-working spaces in the heart of the city are as valuable as office spaces in Ahmedabad’s current commercially prime location) – a profit of 1740 USD over just renting his normal shophouse to a migrant family. Although the revenue generation estimates are based on several assumptions and one-point data and its simplistic in nature, it points towards the advantages of tapping on the potential of heritage properties in generating income for individual heritage property owners as well as the government which can further be used to implement betterments and upgrade the heritage in return – a cycle of revenue generation and investment.

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5.3 Possible Challenges to Feasibility The roadblocks that can occur to implementing each of the options are: Option

Challenges • •

I

• • • •

II •

•

III

•

• • IV

• • •

V

• • •

Lack of political will to reframe the organization Possibility of a new political party coming into power in the 2019 state elections that discourages the current one to pave the path Other policies and programs of higher priority than heritage diverting budget allocation elsewhere (e.g. health, education etc.)

Non-cooperation by different bodies at different levels (international, national, local) who must work together Lack of leadership and delegation Lack of willingness and workforce to take case-by-case basis for the certification initiative Lack of fair and informed judgement combined with corruption Zoning purely commercial vertical uses without parking provisions or in interior residential clusters may cause extreme traffic issues and gentrification due to disturbance to residents’ lives Co-working space policy will be adopted if the incentives to owners (tax benefits, bill discounts etc.) are attractive. Government must have the budget capacity to give back in return for policy adoption by property owners Strong transportation planning and engineering team missing If road widening is a solution to increasing the capacity of clogged roads, then the valuable heritage buildings are at risk Inadequate personnel in the traffic police force to deploy on roads Lack of initiative and budget for implementing eco-friendly transport modes Corruption leading to transport plans getting lobbied Lack of budget Ownership not taken by community representatives and participants Lack of incentives by the authorities to reward, acknowledge and incentivise volunteering and pro-bono-based activities

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6. CONCLUSION 6.1 Outcome of Implementation It is important to realise the weight of the title of India’s first UNESCO world heritage site and the fact that Ahmedabad was able to make its place amongst only 287 such world heritage cities in the world. Implementing the options in this thesis along with the ones that were suggested in the dossier by the team that helped Ahmedabad win the UNESCO title and some of the existing successful strategies discussed in Chapter 1 can have the following positive effects to the city apart from the few direct monetary benefits discussed previously: 1. Sense of pride: Ahmedabad is special not just to the state of Gujarat but all of India because it was put on the world map by Mahatma Gandhi and his ashram. A city that holds not just historical sentiments and architectural marvels of the Mughal era or the British era but even the independence struggle of the nation, has become the first city in the seventh largest nation of the world to win a major title. This title is worth holding on to because if, post review this year, the title is lost; it will mean hurting the national pride along with bringing negative publicity to the image of the city and its authority. If UNESCO backtracks, the tourism of the state, which has been building a strong base due to the nation’s Incredible India campaign (India’s International tourism campaign launched in 2002), will face a hit and will be stifled by competition from the neighbouring states like Rajasthan in the North, Madhya Pradesh in East and Maharashtra in the South – all richly blessed by natural and manmade tourist destinations.

2. Increased budget allocation: India is a three-tier government and every budget year; the allocation is done by the Central to State and finally to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Upon deciding to implement the transformation steps for the Heritage city of Ahmedabad, the municipal corporation or even the new heritage board proposed can demand a larger share of money at the ULB level. A larger budget and a larger team of dedicated personnel indicate strength in the government body and can depict power and credibility. Any title held by the city can act as an evidence that there is a need for increased budget. International titles also attract attention from United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Board (ADB) etc. who are willing to fund heavy duty

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infrastructure projects in developing nations and foreign interest and investments are often seen in positive light in India.

3. City’s identity: The unique physical footprint and social construct of the Heritage city of Ahmedabad has lately been under threat due to crumbling heritage buildings and original residents out migrating making way for migrants from other Indian states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar etc. This is taking away the original character and identity of the Gujarati community. Implementing physical improvements will give the original residents reasons to stay back in their own homes within the heritage precinct and improve their quality of life. If they feel safe within the heritage structures, the neighbourhoods, if their surroundings are clean, if there is continuous supply of basic infrastructural services, then they will not feel ignored by the authorities or threatened by the improving life of those living in ‘new’ Ahmedabad on the western bank of River Sabarmati. Inequity within the city creates micro political climate. Paying attention to the growing needs of the people living in heritage precinct and addressing their needs via the options suggested in this thesis will serve the larger purpose of retaining the city’s identity.

4. Trade and commerce catalyst: Improving living conditions in combination with introduction of new typology of work spaces in the heritage precinct can not only boost the confidence of those who are living and working there already, but it can also attract people from other parts of the city and even the country. Since relocation across India for an Indian citizen is not very difficult; the implementation of the proposals can in fact lead to in migration in the old city which is a great news for the economy. The essence of Ahmedabad city was the textile trade and business and today, the Gujarati community is extremely entrepreneurial in spirit. Singapore’s idea of ‘live-work-play’ can translate very well in a smaller scale into the Heritage city of Ahmedabad if the proposals are followed.

5. Support to creative profession: Ahmedabad city is home to some of the most iconic design and arts colleges in India – National Institute of Design (NID), Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT), Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), National Institute of Fashion and Technology (NIFT) etc. These universities provide education in streams such as architecture, urban planning, film making, product designing, graphic designing, textile designing, advertising etc. and Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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produce some of the most competent young talents and professionals each year. The proposed Ahmedabad Heritage Board can engage the talent pool and alumni from these universities and can absorb them into the work force very smoothly, especially through the procedure of tailored campus placements. Having local talent from nationally acclaimed colleges in the heritage board can be a very successful symbiotic relationship and even lead to an exemplary model.

6. Model example for contemporaries: Since India is a democratic nation and opposing political parties are often in competition, every accolade won by one state or city becomes a requirement for the competing states or cities. When a few Indian cities began to build metro rail systems, a few other cities followed even though they are smaller in sizes and might not need the system – such is the competition for public validation and vote counts. Hence, Ahmedabad winning a prestigious title gives other heritage cities like Varanasi, Agra, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Madurai etc. a purpose to be able to win the title as well. This competition, according to the author, is healthy as it amps up conservation efforts and improves the overall condition of heritage precincts and makes authorities take control and implement local area plan strategies. In order to achieve the title, each of the cities vying for it will have to work hard to match up to the requirements of UNESCO. The options proposed in this thesis can be moulded in the other cities especially because many of them are universal solutions to problems that exist in most Indian cities like reframing the authority in charge of heritage, inventory keeping system, traffic management, solid-waste system, place making etc.

Contextually also, most Indian heritage cities are tier-II like Ahmedabad and are on the banks of a river and have been a trade hub at some point ruled by monarchs followed by British. Even though not every feature can be matched to the t as no two cities are the same, this thesis encompasses solution to several of the issues of Indian heritage cities at large and can be used as a handbook for them as well.

6.2 Scope and Limitations of Study • Short, three-month study conducted between mid-January and mid-April 2019 • Empirical study with informed decisions taken based on literature reviews, case studies, survey and the author’s previous study as evidence

• Nature of the study is qualitative, descriptive and theoretical Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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• Attention paid only to the physical issues and aspects of Heritage city of Ahmedabad as social and political issues are extremely sensitive and involve local politics, communal sentiments, religion etc. – beyond the control of an urban planner

• Proposals are not quantified in this study and are not gauged in terms of monetary and technical feasibility

6.3 Way Forward A third part of study to this series can be introduced. While in this study, more informed, refined and researched solutions were given to a previous study that concentrated more on finding out and confirming the problem (Sen, 2017), the next part can be about post implementation results where, again, a quantitative study must be done especially to measure the change on trade and commerce which is easier to quantify than national pride or city’s identity (through a difference-in-difference study of pre and post implementation of solutions). A complete feasibility study on implementing each of the five options in detail is also possible considering the overall revenue generated from various sources minus the cost of application incurred. A technical feasibility study for each of the options suggested is also possible. The other study can be to find out whether residential mobility has reduced post solution implementation and are people deciding to stay back and not move out of the Heritage city of Ahmedabad. It will complete a ‘problem-solution-transformation’ study series. The transformation study requires: •

Acknowledgment of the solutions and beginning of implementation

•

Observation of the change in policies, organization framework, services etc.

•

Framing a study on capturing the housing decisions of the local residents

If the residential mobility percent has decreased from what was found out in the previous study (25% of 200 households surveyed, expected to shoot up to 60% based on their future plans), then this thesis can be concluded as a success.

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Ismail, W. H. (2011). Sustainable Urbanisation on the Western Side of the Historic City of Malacca. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 632-639.

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Kong, L., & Yeoh, B. S. (1994). Urban Conservation in Singapore: A Survey of State Policies and Popular Attitudes. Urban Studies, 247-265.

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Krich, J. (2015). Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved from https://asia.nikkei.com/NAR/Articles/Melaka-highlights-pros-and-cons-ofWorld-Heritage-listing Lim, Y. M., Lee, L. M., Nor'Aini, Y., & Tan, S. f. (2008). Georgetown as a Heritage City: The Voices of the Residents. 14th Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference.

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ANNEXURE Urban heritage perception survey – a few entries (6 out of 48 received): A

B

C

D

E

Sr. No.

Age Bracket

Gender

Current city

Precincts visited

Repeat visit value

1

20-40

Male

Singapore

MC, SG

SG

2

20-40

Male

Singapore

SG

SG

3

Above 60

Male

Singapore

GT, MC, HA, SG

GT, HA

4

20-40

Female

Singapore

GT, SG

None

5

20-40

Female

Singapore

GT, MC, SG

GT

6

20-40

Female

Singapore

GT, MC, SG

MC, SG

F

G

H

I

J

Accurately capturing local culture

Most cycleable and walkable

Complete/timed pedestrian street

Most aesthetically pleasing

Festivals celebration

SG

SG

SG

SG

SG

SG

SG

None

SG

SG

HA

HA

GT, MC, HA, SG SG

None

SG

SG

SG

SG

None

MC

GT

GT, MC, SG

SG

GT, SG

MC

SG

MC

SG

SG

K

L

M

N

O

Clean, hygienic, pollution free

Authentic local markets

Unique food culture

Most local residents/nontourists

Safest

SG

None

MC

None

SG

SG

SG

SG

None

SG

SG

HA

GT

None

SG

SG

None

GT

None

SG

SG

None

GT, SG

None

SG

SG

MC

GT, MC, SG

None

SG

Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

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Beyond the title of ‘India’s first world heritage city’

84