The challenges of urban conservation in the historic city of Puri

Shradha Chandan, Satish Pipralia and Ashwani Kumar
Additional contact information
Shradha Chandan: Department of Architecture and Planning, India
Satish Pipralia: Department of Architecture and Planning, India
Ashwani Kumar: Department of Architecture and Planning, India

Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, 2023, vol. 17, issue 1, 105-121

Abstract: Since antiquity, Puri, known for excellence in the field of art and architecture, has been one of the Char Dhams (holy places) of the Hindu Pilgrimage of India. India is rich in temples and historical settlements from the ancient Kashi to Char Dhams. The abode of Shree Jagannath, Puri, is one of the cardinal centres of pilgrimage for Hinduism. Puri, the cultural capital of Odisha, connects thousands of pilgrims to spirituality through its art, culture, heritage and Jagannath traditions. In the eastern state of India, Odisha is an uncharted gem of cultures and traditions with literature and architecture, picturesque beaches and wilderness, with Puri as its focal point. Puri has a distinctive blend of ethnicity, culture and tradition with an eclectic flair. The city accounts for about half of the tourist inflow to the state while tripling it during the Rath Yatra — the annual chariot festival. Situated on the Bay of Bengal, Puri, a high disaster risk zone, often encounters natural catastrophes such as heavy rainfall, floods, thunderstorms and severe cyclonic storms. Despite its importance and numerous governmental schemes, cultural heritage is always vulnerable to damage and destruction. This makes the documentation and sensitive planning approach to the conservation of the pilgrim city of the utmost importance. Based on secondary data and extensive surveys, this paper construes the multifaceted challenges of Puri with emphasis on its sociocultural identities, critically exploring the city in its contemporary form with the urban conservation initiatives undertaken by authorities. It summarises that modification in the planning approach is mandated to achieve its optimum potential to be revered as a world-class heritage city.

Keywords: cultural heritage; pilgrimage; tourism; core city; India; Puri; conservation; settlement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R00 Z33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://hstalks.com/article/7938/download/ (application/pdf)
https://hstalks.com/article/7938/ (text/html)
Requires a paid subscription for full access.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aza:jurr00:y:2023:v:17:i:1:p:105-121

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal from Henry Stewart Publications
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Henry Stewart Talks ().