Sustainability issues in context of indian hill towns

Abstract

Ensuring sustainability of urban centres, particularly in environmentally sensitive hill areas, is important for protecting the quality of their natural and built environment, as well as wellbeing of its people. Although the basic principles of sustainable urban development remain the same in all contexts, the type and extent of problems and issues of sustainability vary significantly due to the generic differences between plains and hills. This requires a deeper understanding of the intrinsic characteristics of their natural environment as well as built environment; and the impacts of one on the other through actual cases. This paper attempts to understand and identify the critical sustainability issues of Indian hill towns based on literature review and observational studies of selected hill towns of North India. Some of the issues of sustainability in hill towns in India include those of hill instability, fragile ecology, proneness to natural hazards, inaccessibility, presence of natural resources, and visual incompatibility of built forms. Proper understanding of these issues is essential for ensuring sustainable development of hill towns and their surrounding regions.