Cultural Continuity in Historic Urban Areas of CHITPUR: Harnessing ICH for Building Resilience

Art and Artists play a crucial role in preserving the cultural fabric of historic cities worldwide. Traditional arts and crafts, deeply rooted in local knowledge and environment, contribute significantly to a city’s socio-economic identity. However, these forms face threats from cheaper alternatives and vulnerabilities unique to historic urban areas. This chapter highlights the role of intangible aspects of cultural heritage in the disaster cycle. While a lot of discourses exist around the relationship between disasters and intangible aspects of heritage, and its potential contribution to disaster risk reduction, efforts for the same have either been building-centric or have been limited to just raising awareness. Through the primary case study of Chitpur, an urban craft and historic trade hub in the city of Kolkata, India, this chapter sheds light on how these practices, while at risk due to various underlying vulnerabilities, may also serve as a capacity to reduce risks. It illustrates how these practices have the potential to adapt in very creative ways to cope with human and climate-induced hazards and concludes with the understanding of the inherent contribution of intangible aspects of heritage in building community resiliency and the need to mobilise it.