Himalayan Urbanism: Questions of ecological, economic and ethnographic identities (The case of depopulation in Uttarakhand)

The Himalayas are undergoing drastic transformations. The increasing modernisation and economic reform in the Himalayan communities has resulted in a newly imposed urban-rural dichotomy. While traditional rural settlements struggles with regards to livelihoods, declining socio-cultural practices and eventual depopulation, contemporary urban areas are places of economic and industrial growth. Urbanity is a relatively new notion in the Himalayan context and territories are struggling with increasing populations due to rural-urban migration. The current development trajectory in the Indian Himalayas involves large-scale infrastructure projects (dams and highways) and extensive resource exploitation. There is a blatant disregard towards the needs of present inhabitants and their traditional subsistence agriculture economy. The present development process causes marginalisation and loss of the traditional knowledge systems and socio-cultural identity of the mountainous communities. At the same time, the importance of traditional knowledge and practices have been widely recognised as way forward with regards to sustainable mountainous development. Several studies identify the role of the traditional knowledge in integrated livelihood development, ecological restoration and climate change mitigation, but their potential benefits and influences have not been incorporated in contemporary practices of urbanisation (design, policy and governance) (Mercer et al, 2015). The proposed research aims to establish the spatial impacts of the ongoing economic, ecological and ethnographic transformations in the Himalayas, in order to propose a context-specific approach for urbanisation. It will develop an integrated design research approach towards modernisation and economic reform of the mountains without losing their ecological and socio-cultural wealth. The research will look at the ongoing phenomenon of depopulation, a major factor in loss of socio-cultural wealth, ecological transformation and landscape degradation. Depopulation has effects at individual, community and regional levels. The research focus its spatial implications on the traditional settlements and the landscape (the setting). Understanding the changing landscape patterns and settlement forms that emerge due to socio-economic and ecological transformations is crucial for a deeper understanding and an integrative analysis. The overall objective of the research is to explore replicable and adaptable scenarios towards the adaptation and transformation of traditional Himalayan settlements.