In rapidly urbanizing India, cities are places of conflict between people and nature. What is the future for conservation in Indian cities? Nature in the City examines the past, present, and future of nature in Bengaluru. One of India’s largest and fastest growing cities, Bengaluru was once known as the Garden City of India. The city’s ecology and environment have been degraded and destroyed in recent years. Yet nature still exhibits a remarkable tenacity. The book has a broad historical focus. Moving from early settlements in the 6th century CE to the 21st century city, it concludes by outlin ... More

In rapidly urbanizing India, cities are places of conflict between people and nature. What is the future for conservation in Indian cities? Nature in the City examines the past, present, and future of nature in Bengaluru. One of India’s largest and fastest growing cities, Bengaluru was once known as the Garden City of India. The city’s ecology and environment have been degraded and destroyed in recent years. Yet nature still exhibits a remarkable tenacity. The book has a broad historical focus. Moving from early settlements in the 6th century CE to the 21st century city, it concludes by outlining a vision of a better future. The book draws on extensive research, integrated with stories of people, places, and examples of positive change. Detailed chapters demonstrate how nature has looked, behaved, and has been perceived differently in the home gardens, slums, streets, parks, sacred spaces, and lakes of Bengaluru. Nature in the city is shaped by human preferences and prejudices, as the book demonstrates. Of interest to local residents, visitors, and outside readers alike, the present volume provides an accessible, informative, and interesting tour of the social spaces where nature thrives and strives in Bengaluru. With heterogeneous environments, population densities, and urban poor, cities like Bengaluru must pay attention to the cultural and social contexts within which nature is embedded. The book further suggests an organic approach for urban conservation in the Indian context that builds on the capacities of people and communities, drawing on the close integration of the socio-cultural and ecological in urban India.