The Peri-Urban Interface: Local Culture As A Tool For Sustainable Development In The Context Of Kochi

Abstract

Peri-urban areas are territory spaces between the rural and urban area. They act as a support system that provide the resources needed for urban expansion, while converting itself into an urban waste store house. This paper describes how local culture acts as a key for sustainable development and proposes how local culture can be used a s a tool for peri urban expansion of the Kochi city. Since the early nineties, Kochi has been a witness to rapid urbanization which is primarily due to exponential influx of population from different region in search of new opportunities. The city though, has not been able to expand at this pace due to the space constraints. This has led to the ecological foot print spreading over into the peri-urban areas. This trend can be seen as a threat to the local culture due to the movement towards global urbanization and practices which tends to subdue the local culture. The objective of this paper is to incorporate local culture into this peri-urban expansion to ensure sustainable development at the area in transition, in the context of Kochi city.