“The first of its kind in India, this ambitious streetscape project has revived the historic ambience of Dadabhai Naoroji Road of Mumbai through the restoration of shop fronts, signage and street furniture to reflect the area’s Victorian Era commercial heritage. Through a bottom-up participatory approach, this project galvanized local shop owners and residents, leading to the creation of participatory citizen’s associations to continue and extend conservation work in historic Mumbai. Starting with grass-roots advocacy, and continuing through stakeholder consensus, the project succeeded in gaining commitment from the municipal government to adopt urban design guidelines for the entire historic precinct, setting an important precedent. The project’s success has generated widespread appreciation of the aesthetic, social and commercial values which have resulted from the preservation of the street’s historic character. Through its influence on urban policy and contribution to the commercial vitality of the neighbourhood, this project sets the standard for future urban streetscape revitalization throughout India.”
UNESCO Award Citation for UNESCO ASIA PACIFIC AWARD OF MERIT 2004
Client
Consultant to: Mumbai Metropolitan Region Heritage Conservation Society
