Varanasi: The making of a smart heritage city
By: Das, Diganta et al
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Material type: 
BookPublisher: Environment and Urbanization ASIA Description: 15(1),Mar, 2024: p.141-155.Subject(s): Varanasi, Smart Cities Mission, Urban heritage, Spirituality, River Ganga, Religious pluralism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Urban transformation, Cultural palimpsest, Heritage tourism, Everyday urbanism, Infrastructure development, Tradition and modernity, Sacred geography, Urban planning, Smart Heritage City, Urban landscape, Historical continuity
In:
Environment and Urbanization ASIASummary: One of the oldest cities in the world, Varanasi is home to more than one religion. It is an acclaimed centre of spirituality for Hindus and Buddhists while being equally sacred for Jains and Sikhs. The city is located along the river Ganga, which many believe is a celestial incarnation to grant salvation. Varanasi is a million-plus-population city; an increasingly important provincial metropolitan centre enshrined with the values of commerce, religion, ritual and tradition; and caught between the confluence and contestations of traditions and modernity. Since 2016, Varanasi has been incorporated under India’s Smart Cities Mission (SCM) to develop the city into a smart city with a strong focus on heritage and tourism. The present article is an attempt to trace the journey of the city that has developed as a palimpsest over centuries; it deliberates the contemporary urban landscape and maps out recent urban and infrastructure developments of the city and its concerns. This article also argues that Varanasi has focused on locally specific everyday urbanisms with heritage and culture and pivoted to making itself a Smart Heritage City.-Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09754253241230588
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Articles
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Indian Institute of Public Administration | 15(1),Mar, 2024: p.141-155 | Available | AR132603 |
One of the oldest cities in the world, Varanasi is home to more than one religion. It is an acclaimed centre of spirituality for Hindus and Buddhists while being equally sacred for Jains and Sikhs. The city is located along the river Ganga, which many believe is a celestial incarnation to grant salvation. Varanasi is a million-plus-population city; an increasingly important provincial metropolitan centre enshrined with the values of commerce, religion, ritual and tradition; and caught between the confluence and contestations of traditions and modernity. Since 2016, Varanasi has been incorporated under India’s Smart Cities Mission (SCM) to develop the city into a smart city with a strong focus on heritage and tourism. The present article is an attempt to trace the journey of the city that has developed as a palimpsest over centuries; it deliberates the contemporary urban landscape and maps out recent urban and infrastructure developments of the city and its concerns. This article also argues that Varanasi has focused on locally specific everyday urbanisms with heritage and culture and pivoted to making itself a Smart Heritage City.-Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09754253241230588
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