Cultural loci in the urban public realm: Entanglements with sustainability

Abstract

The paper looks at four examples of multiscalar cultural practices from the city of Bengaluru, India that play out in the urban public realm. The study locates, defines, and describes the spatial loci of cultural practices in the city and proceeds to examine the transformations in public settings such as levels of control, access, and spatial extent, brought forth by these cultural practices. The latter part of the study analyzes how transformed public settings contribute to social sustainability. A two-pronged approach that establishes the heterogeneity of actors and activities followed by an assessment of the social sustainability impacts of cultural practices using qualitative techniques, helps establish the link between culture and sustainability in the urban public realm. The study reiterates the need to view cultural practices as tools of social resilience and integrate them into the master planning process