Reflecting on the river: rapid urbanisation and representations of Indian cultural heritage.

许多城市在河流及其周围发展，因为它们是重要的要素，例如交通、贸易和渔业。河流在人们的日常生活中也扮演着重要的角色，这是由他们的文化习俗所支撑的，例如印度的传统和葬礼仪式。人们以不同的方式感知、表现和使用河流，这可能与城市一级的决策者(如设计师、规划者和管理人员)讲述河流作为其城市身份的一部分的方式相对应，也可能不符合。随着城市日益城市化，关于河流的多种视角和叙事可能会随着时间的推移而有所不同。然而，我们并不完全理解世界各地城市的快速城市化正在如何改变人们与河流的文化联系。该项目旨在迈出解决这一知识差距的第一步，以加深对河流在印度城市化中对居民的文化作用的理解。通过合作，英国和印度的调查人员制定了以下项目目标：-探索人们对城市河流随时间变化的不同视角和“故事”；-探索和记录河流在过去和今天是如何被使用的；-将来自不同部门的从业者、学者和政策制定者聚集在一起，在快速城市化的背景下研究河流及其文化意义(例如，作为文化习俗的背景)；-开发数据收集和分析方法，以捕捉城市河流作为遗产景观变化的多种视角和“故事”。艾哈迈达巴德已被合作研究小组选为更仔细审查的城市。它正在经历激烈的城市化，被描述为印度的特大城市之一。在这次考试中，该项目将涉及对(当地)写作、绘画、诗歌、神话、戏剧和档案材料的审查，这些材料涉及印度城市化进程中的“河流的意义”。随后将采访负责教学、研究和解释该市文化遗产的学者和专业从业者。这将开始揭开这条河周围的多个“故事”，供以后进一步研究。研究小组将为从业者、学者和用户团体代表举办两次工作坊，分享他们对这条河的做法、解释、经验和记忆，以帮助拼凑出对这条河作为城市文化遗产的更全面的看法。工作坊将有艺术家参与，他们将创作绘画/可视化作品，以及一个戏剧小组，他们将根据不同工作坊参与者的观点来解读不断变化的河流。这些调查结果将共同构成在艾哈迈达巴德举行的针对学者、专业人士和特邀演讲者的高调传播会议的基础。还将在谢菲尔德举行第二次会议，传播研究结果，并将欧洲和印度代表聚集在一起。这些会议将就1)作为文化遗产的河流随着时间的推移发生了怎样的变化，以及2)研究方法的有效性和相关性进行批判性辩论。在会议之后，将正式确定研究网络成员，他们将继续就未来的研究项目进行合作。这个跨部门的研究网络将由一个由印度学术和非学术项目合作伙伴组成的咨询小组领导，该小组将帮助建立研究网络，并将公共和私营部门以及慈善机构和社区团体的利益攸关方聚集在一起。这将支持该小组努力开发收集和分析数据的创新和有用的方法，并在现在和未来实现学术人员和非学术人员之间的知识共享。

Many cities have developed on and around rivers as they are important elements, e.g. for transport, trade and fishing. Rivers also play a significant part in people's everyday lives, underpinned by their cultural practices, for example traditions and rituals such as funeral rites in India. People perceive, represent and use rivers in different ways which may or may not correspond with the way in which city-level decision-makers (e.g. designers, planners and managers) tell the 'story' of the river as part of its city identity. There are multiple perspectives and narratives of rivers which may differ over time as cities become increasingly urbanised. However we do not fully understand how rapid urbanisation of cities around the world is changing the cultural connections that people have with the river. This project aims to take the first step to address this gap in knowledge to deepen understanding of the cultural role of the river for residents in urbanizing India. Working in collaboration, the UK and Indian investigators have developed the following project objectives: - To explore the different perspectives and 'stories' that people have of changing urban rivers over time; - To explore and record how rivers have been used in the past and is used today; - To bring together practitioners, academics and policymakers from different sectors to examine rivers and their cultural meanings (e.g. as a setting for cultural practices) in rapidly urbanizing settings;- To develop data collection and analysis methods to capture the multiple perspectives and 'stories' of/about urban rivers as changing heritage landscapes.Ahmedabad has been selected by the collaborative research team as a city for closer examination. It is undergoing intense urbanisation and described as one of the India's megacities. For this examination, the project will involve a review of (local) writing, painting, poetry, mythology, plays and archival materials about 'meanings of the river' in urbanising India. This will be followed by interviews with academics and professional practitioners who are responsible for teaching, researching and interpreting cultural heritage in the city. This will begin to uncover the multiple 'stories' around the river for further examination later on. The research team will hold two workshops for practitioners, academics and user group representatives to share their practices, interpretations, experiences and memories of the river to help piece together a more holistic view of the river as urban cultural heritage. The workshops will involve artists who will produce drawings/visualisations and a theatre group who will interpret the changing river, based on the perspectives of the different workshop participants. Together, these findings will form the basis of a high-profile dissemination conference in Ahmedabad aimed at academics, professionals and invited speakers. There will also be a second conference in Sheffield to disseminate findings and bring European and Indian delegates together. The conferences will provide critical debate on 1) how the river has changed as cultural heritage over time, and 2) how valid and relevant is the research methodology. The conferences will be followed by a formalisation of the research network members who will continue to collaborate on future research projects. This cross-sector research network will be steered by an Advisory Group made up of academic and non-academic Indian project partners, who will help build up the research network and bring together stakeholders from public and private sectors as well as charities and community groups. This will support the team in their efforts to develop innovative and useful ways of collecting and analyzing data and bring about knowledge sharing, now and in the future, between academics and non-academics.