Kshama Puntambekar

Reinterpreting Urban Fabric in Cities with Living Heritage Kshama Puntambekar

The book explores the issues of livability and intervention strategies in the old urban cores of Kolkata. This work attempts to address these issues in a broad sense by making it applicable to cities of a similar genre, by working on certain generic methodologies of intervention possibilities. The case of Central Kolkata is intended as a base for the application of this study. This area has an interesting mix of problems and facilities, juxtaposed from archaic time; besides having a strong perpetual image and issues directly linked to heritage, health, quality of life, economy, governance, environment and transportation. Central Kolkata has quintessentialneighbourhoods where a range of activities are present, including railway stations, educational hub, office hub, medical facilities, gold business, wholesale daily markets and even prostitution; and a hoard of other activities. Multiplicity of statutory authorities involved makes it even more complex to deal with. Since there have been minimal temporal changes in Central Kolkata (in comparison to the rest of the city) and it has survived ages, the strengths of these organically planned settlements might serve as a prototype for future settlements. Thus, this book looks to answer these questions: - Why do core cities get degenerative?- Isn't there an ardent need for setting the functional and spatial development parameters of old cities based on their historic development?- Can the historic evolution of cities help in determining future development models?The book has captured the soul of Central Kolkata in its true spirit. The fact there is an order behind the chaos and chatter in the hidden alleys of Central Kolkata has been wonderfully captured by the authors. This is not a book for just academics;instead, it's a book that all Calcuttans should proudly read. -- Prof. Debashish SanyalKolkata is not just any other city and is unique in the way it has grown. There are many spaces in this special city that continue to be memories of an era gone by with experiences and emotions almost as though frozen in time. Even so, buildings that have been built in the last couple of decades and continue to be built, do often take away from the character of the city that was, thereby transforming the social and cultural fabric and the vocabulary as well. Architectural practice in Central Kolkata is especially critical due to the overarching development control regulations, Or in fact maybe a lack of appropriate regulations. This book offers an alternative urban scheme that might be theoretical at present but does open doors to a different way of looking at these issues. -- Ar. Gita Sharma Balakrishnan