The Historic City of Ajmer-Pushkar: mapping layers of history, use and meaning for sustainable planning and conservation

The project will create a network devoted to developing more inclusive, informed and sustainable planning decisions for public spaces in historic Indian cities, by carrying out a pilot study in the walled city of Ajmer and nearby Pushkar in Rajasthan. These are thriving centres of pilgrimage for different faiths, attracting thousands of devotees at festival times. A rapid growth in tourist numbers has exacerbated the stress on infrastructure. The research will focus on the role of the beliefs and associations, ritual processes, and behavioural patterns of devotees and visiting pilgrims, in order to establish these as crucial factors in the design and conservation of public spaces with religious significance. The primary objective is to create prototypes of digital tools to contain images and information about the city, its history and heritage and, most importantly, to allow reflection, exchange and dialogue among different groups. The tools to be developed will be based on an interactive map of the historic areas as whole, and 3-d interactive scans of key public spaces. Once the basic work on these has been done, an interdisciplinary workshop with participants from India and the UK will be held in Ajmer. This workshop will be the starting point for the continuing network. Relevant public bodies and community representatives will take part. Varied expertise and perspectives will help to refine the tools, and the methods for gathering further data on differing perceptions of the city and on the activities within its spaces. The interactive models will be put online to be supplemented and critiqued. Findings from the study will be fed to the relevant authorities, and it is expected that the tools and approach will be applicable in historic cities throughout India, and worldwide.

The simultaneous occupation and interpretation of spaces by different groups is a universal condition of pubic space within historic urban areas. This intense and specific study will be used to explore the potential for more qualified judgements to be made in such contexts.

The potential for interactive interfaces to contribute to better planning decisions has been a long held ambition. Today, the greater availability and access to handheld media offers the opportunity to play out such ambitions. It would potentially be a protypical "Serious Game" interface for the contemplation of planning decisions. The emphasis of the research here, is however, not on developing the technology, but on developing the methodology and upon testing the actual value of persuing such lines of inquiry for the implementation of design decisions. The technology deployed is already in common usage, the dialogue between citizens and planning authorities remains fractured.

The potential for the better communication and deliberation of both historic and current practices to contribute to the formulation of better strategic decisions should be obvious. Nevertheless, it can be inestimably difficult to balance or take account of such factors given the restricted periods for consideration and restricted channels for consultation. This project is a pilot and as such its pathway to impact is to develop a prototypical approach. The successes and failures of which have potential to be transformative in the context of these complex contexts but also as exemplars for deployment in paralell conditions of multifaceted urban conditions.

The following bodies are expected to participate in the mid-February workshop: Municipal Corporation of Ajmer, Pushkar Municipal Board, Superintendent Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India Jaipur Circle, Rajasthan State Archaeology Department, Rajasthan Local Self Governance Department, Town Planning Department, local INTACH Chapter (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritge), Temple Trusts, Dargah Committee.

The following engagement activites are planned, to initiate communications of the project findings to relevant groups:

Meeting with Ministry of Urban Development for policy level recommendations at national level

Meeting with Town Planning Department and local bodies in Rajasthan to integrate methodology in future planning.

Meeting with Municipal Corporation of Ajmer and Pushkar Municipal Board in implementing the design recommendations in association with locals

An exhibition of the work will be mounted by DRONAH in association with HCN (Indian Heritage Cities Network)-UNESCO at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur

Meeting with IHCN (Indian Heritage Cities Network)-UNESCO New Delhi, for policy level recommendation from the research to be presented at 'Habitat III" UN Habitat Forum in 2016 and to UNESCO, Paris.