Holistic urban heritage management of an historic temple town: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2044-1266
Article publication date: 9 October 2019
Issue publication date: 19 March 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Urban heritage management is motivated by the alarming rise in destruction of historic buildings; the implementation of pointless urbanization plans and uncontrolled commercial development threatening to overwhelm our historic built heritage. Hence, there is an immediate need for urban heritage planning in historic towns, especially in India where urban growth is rampant. The purpose of this paper is to examine how development in the historic temple town of Kumbakonam can be managed by using a holistic approach that preserves the town’s historic flavor, sacred traditions and built heritage.
Design/methodology/approach
The historic center of Kumbakonam has been surveyed and is the focus of this study. Utilizing a case study methodology, the authors made multiple field visits to document the special heritage character of the town, conducted interviews with people living in the study area and evaluated the existing policies and guidelines for development of Tamil Nadu in view of the holistic approach.
Findings
The study reinforced the belief that the historic temple town of Kumbakonam has significant urban heritage worthy of preservation. However, due to chaotic and ill-planned urban development, changing land use, intrusion of contemporary architectural styles, commercialization and the lack of strong policy guidelines for holistic management, the special heritage character of the town is threatened with continued destruction.
Practical implications
This research on Kumbakonam can help urban planners to develop viable heritage management programs for other historic temple towns of Tamil Nadu. The authors describe and evaluate some guidelines for retaining the social and cultural flavor as well as the built heritage of towns like Kumbakonam by taking a holistic approach.
Originality/value
Up to now, there has been no attempt to come up with comprehensive management guidelines for integrating the unique urban heritage characteristics of the historic temple towns of Tamil Nadu in plans for urbanization.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Disclosure statement: No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Citation
Kandasamy, K. and Kesavaperumal, T. (2020), "Holistic urban heritage management of an historic temple town: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 105-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-07-2018-0052
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited