ABOUT THE COURSE: This MOOC addresses and explains ‘urban ecological heritagescapes’ as a theoretical traction to foster sustainable urbanization especially within the diverse and complex urban geographies of the global South (more specifically India). Here participants will engage with theories on natural-cultural heritage, grasp interdisciplinary methodological frameworks such as environmental history and political ecology, and learn about the recent initiatives of international and national agencies (such as ICOMOS, Ramsar, etc.) in this direction. Snippets from the field and voices of multiple actors (civil society, bureaucrats, engineers, communities, NGOs and GROs) from the wetlands of Kolkata and lakes of Bangalore will empirically inform theoretical insights – foregrounding and activating the role of ‘interactive governance’ in co-managing ‘natural’ heritage and ensuring urban resilience from within. The course is relevant and timely in terms of advancing United Nations SDG 11.4 – safeguarding world’s natural and cultural heritage. INTENDED AUDIENCE: Students, researchers, practitioners, government agencies, heritage activists, environmentalists, right-based think tanks, etc. across global scalesINDUSTRY SUPPORT: With the SWAYAM NPTEL as the launching platform and SMUS TU-Berlin actively disseminating this course, it has good potentials to attract attention of transdisciplinary sectors, working on critical heritage issues and at the environment-development interface.
An Introduction to Urban Ecological Heritage: Theories and Applications
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and NPTEL via Swayam
Overview
Syllabus
Week 1:
1. Urban ecological heritage – concepts, contexts and correlations
2. Urban ecologies – interdisciplinary frameworks and approaches
3. ‘Heritagescapes’ – safeguarding city-nature inheritance
4. Situating case 1 – lakes of Bangalore
5. Situating case 2 – wetlands of Kolkata
Week 2:
1. Historicizing lakes of Bangalore – social-ecological perspectives (60 mins)
2. Urban environmentalisms – lake-based and rights-based (45 mins)
3. Example 1: The Jakkur Lake (15 mins)
4. Example 2: The Puttenahalli Lake (30 mins)
Week 3:
1. Example 3: The Kaikondrahalli Lake (30 mins)
2. Kolkata and EKW - conveying the co-evolutionary narrative (60 mins)
3. ‘Living systems infrastructures’ (30 mins)
4. Case study 1: The Nalban and Goltala Fisheries (30 mins)
Week 4:
1. Case study 2: Baro Chaynavi Cooperative (30 mins)
2. Case study 3: Jhagrashisha (30 mins)
3. EKW as heritage – co-transecting the route (60 mins)
4. Safeguarding SDG 11.4 – Urban ecological heritagescapes through interactive governance (30 mins)
1. Urban ecological heritage – concepts, contexts and correlations
2. Urban ecologies – interdisciplinary frameworks and approaches
3. ‘Heritagescapes’ – safeguarding city-nature inheritance
4. Situating case 1 – lakes of Bangalore
5. Situating case 2 – wetlands of Kolkata
Week 2:
1. Historicizing lakes of Bangalore – social-ecological perspectives (60 mins)
2. Urban environmentalisms – lake-based and rights-based (45 mins)
3. Example 1: The Jakkur Lake (15 mins)
4. Example 2: The Puttenahalli Lake (30 mins)
Week 3:
1. Example 3: The Kaikondrahalli Lake (30 mins)
2. Kolkata and EKW - conveying the co-evolutionary narrative (60 mins)
3. ‘Living systems infrastructures’ (30 mins)
4. Case study 1: The Nalban and Goltala Fisheries (30 mins)
Week 4:
1. Case study 2: Baro Chaynavi Cooperative (30 mins)
2. Case study 3: Jhagrashisha (30 mins)
3. EKW as heritage – co-transecting the route (60 mins)
4. Safeguarding SDG 11.4 – Urban ecological heritagescapes through interactive governance (30 mins)
Taught by
Prof. Jenia Mukherjee
