Culture-Based Urban Development in Nawalgarh, India

The increasing heterogeneity of urban areas has led to the coexistence of diverse cultures, situating India’s historic cores at the crossroads of cultural diversity. As per the Culture 21 Agenda, the responsibility to inculcate culture in new spatial and economic policies for development lies on the local government. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) suggests that heritage is both tangible and intangible assets. Assets are the stock of resources that people use to build livelihoods, the acquisition of which is not a passive act and is therefore linked to the empowerment of individuals and communities, a belief amplified by the New Urban Agenda. Extensive physical and household surveys in the class II town of Nawalgarh in Rajasthan, India have brought to the fore, pressing issues of assessment, management and valorisation of these assets within the present framework of urban planning prevalent in the country. In this paper, the authors attempt to move from mere discourse about heritage and bring to the fore specific contextual interventions that are suitable to address the complex intertwined issue of heritage-based development that ensures cultural continuity and identity, integrity, and sustainability. Such development strategies foster pride and the communal spirit of residents and positively impact property value.