Old is Green:- Can Heritage Make our Lives Cleaner?

Today buildings and the construction sector emit one-third of global emissions and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions. This will only continue in the future and so will their Carbon Foot-Print as will GHG emissions. Currently, cities consume 70% of the world’s energy and account for 70% of Global Co2 Emissions. This raises a curious, question; Wouldn’t it be easier to renovate an existing one rather than building a new one? Research has shown that refurbishing an existing historic building could reduce carbon emissions by 40 to 62% as opposed to building a new one which would only contribute to it. Whimsical as the suggestion may seem the question potentially raises larger questions of Sustainability, Community, and Social Cohesion.

Sustainable development is central to heritage preservation, but it works the other way around equally as much. Most historic and cultural sites have evolved over some time in tandem with the environment they are situated in and shaped by the people who inhabit it. They are the ultimate example of how human beings have co-existed with and co-adapted to their environments. Therefore any question of environmental protection is incomplete without recognizing cultural heritage as an indispensable factor. Of the 897 cultural heritage sites throughout the world, a large proportion is situated in environments that have been developed and shaped by natural and human forces. The magnificent Angkor Wat Temple Complex in Cambodia is situated in the Angkor Wat Archaeological Park which extends 400km2 and is filled with Temple Ruins situated amidst a thick Tropical Forest containing Endemic Medicinal Plants and surrounded by a 650 feet wide water body. Such a landscape is populated by people who have inhabited the area for centuries and have depended on local natural resources for livelihood including harvesting medicinal plants, fishing, rice cultivation, and traditional textile and basket weaving practices. Macchu Picchu, the capital of the ancient Inca Empire in Peru is situated amid a unique Sub-Tropical Cloud Forest with an abundance of Bio-Diversity and is located right at the intersection of the Peruvian Andes and Amazon Rainforest. Historic Old Towns in Europe often encompass a “cultural landscape”, that along with palaces and mansions also include parks, gardens, rivers, mountains, and oceans. The Jardin Du Luxembourg in Paris, Hyde Park in London, the Alps mountain range in Salzburg all shape the urban landscapes which contain them. It should come across as no surprise that Built and Natural Heritage around cities are often considered integral to Urban Planning when creating better, greener, and more livable cities. Human settlements are inseparable from their histories, why then should they be kept separate when planning their common future?

I have been witness to this as a Policy Officer for almost 3 years with the Indian State Government. In 2019, I and a team of Bureaucrats and Experts succeeded in making Hyderabad part of the UNESCO Creative City Network. Hyderabad became 1 of 242 cities throughout the world leveraging culture to promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals. What set the stage for Hyderabad was not just the International Recognition bestowed by such an award, but rather that the SDG’s were now being mainstreamed into the city’s Urban Development Plans, a rarity particularly in a developing country, where economic growth is seen as the end-all to all social problems. A year later Hyderabad was recognized as a “World Tree City” by the Food and Agricultural Organization for its Urban Forestry. Ancient Stepwells, hundreds of years old are being restored in the city which once stored water what has always been a water-scarce region. A small stepwell is capable of storing more than 2 million liters of Rainwater (i.e. half a million gallons). Large Stepwells have a capacity of more than 6 to 8 million gallons of water. We were surprised by the amount of rainfall retained by an ancient structure, something which even modern water storage devices find hard to achieve. An approach that sees local communities and their culture as part of sustainable growth rather than separate from it is tragically missing. This is probably more so in developing countries where a monochromatic approach, excluding citizens and their communities, seems to be the norm.

So what does the future hold? Often in the debates on climate change and a cleaner planet, what is often left out is an approach that puts culture and local communities at the heart of Sustainable Growth and Development. Communities are directly shaped by the context they live in. This has been abundantly demonstrated through various successful Urban Planning Efforts. Barcelona, Spain is just one such example. In response to rising congestion and GHG emissions, the city has developed a holistic plan that has placed its people and neighbourhoods at the heart of the Growth Process. The City’s took a “Culture-Centred” approach towards developing pedestrianized blocks in its various neighbourhoods. Instead of replacing its 19th Century Infrastructure consisting of Grid-Like Streets, the city instead used its existing buildings to develop them as independent neighbourhoods by pedestrianizing them in the process turning 70% of the city into public spaces free of vehicles. This along with a “Greening initiative” has made sure the city has thrived despite mass tourism. Landscapes like parks, gardens, and water bodies, especially when they are very ancient follow the function of being Carbon Sinks and Natural Hazard Mitigators. As many cities across Europe and some parts of North America recognize the growing importance of culture in building sustainable societies, there is a lot more to be done. The case is more so for developing countries like India and China, where to recognize the value of sustainability is at once also recognizing the value of people and communities. One cannot fully protect natural heritage without understanding how human beings have interacted and shaped it. Recognizing this relationship is key to building a greener and healthier planet.