Room 201, School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University
The quality of life, living environment and the indigenous techniques and knowledge carried over from the past are considered as Heritage. Old buildings and older areas of the city should be looked upon as assets rather than as liabilities because they represent the history of communities, embodying their tradition, heritage and culture through architecture and the urban form. The ignorance about the value of these centres and (or) their financial unaffordability make the situation even worse.
Built in the 15th century CE, Ahmedabad’s walled city is a vibrant heritage area even today. UNESCO inscribed the Historic city of Ahmedabad as a world heritage site. The historic walled city comprises gates, pols –gated communities with residences packed along narrow residential streets, khadki – inner entrances to the pol, and a unique amalgamation of a multicultural character including Gujarat, Sultanate, Mughal, Maratha and British architectural styles. With close to 2,800 heritage structures nominated by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), most of which are private residential properties, the city faces the daunting challenge of funding their conservation while maintaining its Universal Value and embracing modern lifestyles.
For almost 3 decades, she has been one of India’s leading voices advocating for the development of better cities. She is among the first in India to work towards professionalising urban management. She has been a strong advocate for reforming and decentralising urban development and strengthening people’s participation in governance. Alongside her work at the Urban Management Centre, Ms Baradi has also served as the founding Dean of the Faculty of Management at the CEPT University
She has been the Convener of the Gujarat chapter of INTACH, manages Gujarati Theatre Archives, is an accomplished theatre actor-director on stage and television and is an Editor for the Theatre quarterly in Gujarati language –“NATAK”, the only surviving magazine on Theatre Arts.
She has a graduation in Architecture and Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from CEPT University Ahmedabad, India. She has been nominated to the leadership programme from Senior Executive Institute, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, Charlottesville and also studied at the Local Government Management programme from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.
