Culture is a glue that binds cities, citizens

Every city has its own culture. City culture is an amalgamation of the way of life of its citizens, language variation they use, the unique food they eat, a particular sport they enjoy, distinctive clothes they wear, the festivals they celebrate, and overall, how do they go about their daily life in a city. The culture of a city unifies its citizens and gives them a shared identity. Indian cities are indeed working to improve service delivery and infrastructure. Alongside, cities are working on embellishing their cultural image with tactical interventions. As iterated by urban experts on several platforms, keeping city culture alive is essential for sustainable urban development.

That makes a city? Its people, places, businesses, buildings, food, and urban policies contribute to the making of a city. The physical form of a city results from urban planning, infrastructure development, and projects. But cities are not just streets and buildings. Cities are made up of their people, the hustle-bustle of their activities, their historical monuments and vibrant public places. The culture of a city germinates from all. Almost every component of urban life contributes to building a city’s unique culture. Ultimately, the culture of a city makes and remakes its identity again and again.
Culture has not been at the centre of urbanisation discussions. It was first given due importance at the Habitat II conference in Istanbul in 1996. At this conference, global leaders and urban stakeholders recognised culture as an integral part of people’s well being. Apart from making several commitments for sustainable development and conserving the environment, representatives of countries and cities committed “to provide all people, in particular those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, equal opportunities for a healthy, safe, and productive life in harmony with nature and their cultural heritage, and their spiritual and cultural values; and a life that ensures economic and social development and environmental protection, thereby contributing to
the achievement of national sustainable development.”
Despite getting importance on the world stage, the role of culture in sustainable development has been put on the backburners. But many research institutions kept highlighting the importance of culture in urban development. A report Culture 21: Agenda 21 for culture published by United Cities and Local Governments answers why culture must be at the heart of sustainable urban development. It says, “To create a new culturally sensitive urban development model, the role of cultural practices and values in sustainable development must be explicitly recognised, supported, and integrated into planning and policy in a systematic and comprehensive way.” Even the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments has made strong statements saying that there is no future for cities without culture. It says, “Cities need vitality, meaning, identity and innovation, and citizens need to widen their freedoms.”
People need to connect to their cities. And culture is a significant linkage. If the cultural component in planning is neglected, people start disassociating themselves, making a city dull and dreary. In research studies and urban development conferences, it has been rightly put that urban development should be culturally informed. It would further the cause of participatory development and community building.

Urban Culture

City culture is not a definitive thing. It is ever-evolving. For example, the way people travel in a city becomes part of its culture. But the mobility options are not constant. They keep changing. Take the example of Delhi; residents of the national capital used Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses for several decades until the Delhi metro came in 2002. It changed the way people travelled from one place to other. Rashmi Sadana, a cultural anthropologist, quotes E Sreedharan, popularly known as the Metro Man of India, in one of her articles ‘On Delhi Metro: An ethnographic View’. “The Metro will transform our social culture, giving us a sense of discipline and cleanliness and enhance multifold development of this cosmopolitan city.” His statement holds. Delhi metro has brought a sense of discipline to daily commuters. Delhi metro stations are clean. You will hardly find anyone spitting or throwing trash inside metro trains or stations. However, there are still instances of people getting in or out of metro trains in a disorderly manner.
Largely, Metro has brought a culture of keeping things in order in a city which had experienced heat, uncomfortable seats and litter in public transportation. People now travel fast and comfortably in air-conditioned coaches. Their interaction and shared experience with their fellow passengers are different now. When outsiders think about travelling in Delhi, their imagery of Delhi has changed. But the change in mobility pattern and, in turn, change in travel culture of the national capital did not happen in isolation. It was very much integrated with other changes happening in Delhi. The coming of the Metro in other cities did not make such a sweeping change. For Example, Kolkata, also called the cultural capital of India, got the underground Metro in 1984, and it was the country’s first. Delhi managed to have a functional metro in 2002. Still, the travel experience in Kolkata Metro is different. Of course, the Delhi metro is one of the longest and quickest ones to spread to over 350 km in just 20 years, while the Kolkata metro was restricted to less than 40 km for decades. So it covered only a part of the city, not the whole city. The mobility culture did not change much for a large population. The same is true for Mumbai Metro, which covers only a few parts of the city; thus, the mobility culture of local trains is still dominant there.
The same is valid for urban public places. Citizens share familiar public places and develop a shared experience that unifies them as one community. Urban Local Governments can take a cue from the public about their expectations from the local government and plan local development in sync with people’s aspirations. It depends on whether it is about maintaining parks and beaches or working for riverfront development. For example, many cities have improved their riverfronts and water bodies to cater to the community’s needs that celebrate Chathh Puja.

Diversity in city culture

India is a diverse country so are its metropolises. If we take metropolises of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai, culturally, each one is different from the other.
Kolkata, the cultural capital of India, is a city of trams, Howrah Bridge and yellow-black taxis. The city was the capital city until 1912 during the British reign. It was the centre of political and industrial activities and is now known for its colonial architecture, Pujo festivities, and sweet shops. The city holds on to its roots firmly, unlike many other metropolises. Despite the metro being functional in the city for over 30 years now, the city runs at the speed of trams. Of late, owing to the decline in economic opportunities in the city and poor civic services, people started moving out of the city. Still, the émigrés have a strong connection with the city.
Compare this with Mumbai; the financial capital of India is popularly known as the city of dreams, where everyone can get what they want in their life. The city is known for its fast-paced lifestyle, high rise buildings, small apartments and slums; over 50 per cent of Greater Mumbai’s population lives in slums. The celebration of Ganesh Puja brings people together. Walking on the sidewalks of Marine Drive or spending evenings at Juhu beach is the city’s favourite pass time. The city’s lifeline is its local trains. Understanding the needs of the city’s residents, the government of Maharashtra proposed making Mumbai a 24×7 city that will allow select shopping complexes, eateries, and other places to open even at night.
Similarly, Delhi is known for its Mughal-time heritage places such as the Red Fort, Qutab Minar, and Humayun’s Tomb. Dussehra and Diwali festivities are prominently celebrated together. Walking around Connaught Place’s inner and outer circles is a favourite activity of Delhi’s young crowd. However, the place is continuously evolving. Earlier, it was a preferred shopping destination for the city’s elite (British and Indian elites). Now, it has gradually become everyone’s favourite with Palika Bazaar opening and roadside stores offering affordable clothes and electronic accessories. Hence, the area around it was refurbished time and again to cater to the population’s changing needs.
Bengaluru, the IT Capital of India, is known for inhibiting most Indian unicorn companies and the national headquarters of multi-national companies. The pub-going culture after working hours in cities like Bengaluru and Gurugram is catching up. This has resulted in different needs for a specific population. Based on these requirements, local governments need to act.
If we dive deep into cities and understand diversity in local culture, we will find each city has multiple cultural layers that contribute to forming a city’s culture. Cities are melting pots of culture. Generally, popular culture becomes the dominant culture of a city, but it always has multiple layers. Culturally-sensitive planning and programs cater for the needs of all and help make cities inclusive.
The government of India launched an excellent scheme called the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) in 2015. It supports the development of core heritage infrastructure projects, including revitalising urban infrastructure for areas around heritage assets identified. Though the scope was limited, the Mission is a step in the right direction. Cities need localised Mission to transform their cultural places, support cultural activities in cities, build supportive infrastructure, and ensure culturally sensitive urban planning to keep the soul of cities intact.

People need to connect to their cities. And culture is a significant linkage. If the cultural component in planning is neglected, people start disassociating themselves, making a city dull and dreary. In research studies and urban development conferences, it has been rightly put that urban development should be culturally informed. It would further the cause of participatory development and community building