ABSTRACT

This book provides a pioneering study of the historical interaction between the city and the natural environment from the colonial to the contemporary era in South Asia.

The book provides a multidisciplinary analysis examining the environmental history of the city and bringing together contributions from environmental experts and practitioners as well as academics. Focusing on case studies stretching from the Maldives and Sri Lanka to the Indian subcontinent, the chapters trace linkages between the contemporary and earlier patterns of urban expansion and their environmental effects and consider lessons that can be drawn with respect to preventing future environmental degradation and mitigating the effects of climate change.

An important contribution to the field, this book studies the contemporary environmental issues arising from rapid South Asian urbanization. It will be of interest to researchers in the field of South Asian studies, world history, and environmental history.

chapter |11 pages

Introduction

part 1|61 pages

Urban Pasts, Contemporary Legacies

part 3|64 pages

Urban Growth in a Fragile Environment

chapter 8|17 pages

Evolving Islandscapes in a Changing Climate

Male' City, Maldives

chapter 9|15 pages

Analysing Human— Environment Coexistence

Urban Development and the Colombo Wetland Complex

chapter 10|14 pages

Vanishing Rains

Deforestation, Declining Rainfall, and Desiccation in North East India With Special Reference to Cherrapunji, the "Rainiest Spot on the Globe"

chapter 11|16 pages

Reconstructing Thimphu

Balancing Tradition and Transition in Bhutan