Placemaking and Cultural Landscapes

Placemaking and cultural landscapes are worldwide multidisciplinary global concerns that cover many points of view of the common impacts of socio-economic cultural and rights jurisprudence planning, wellbeing and related advancements. Concerned with the complex interactions between the development and environment of those factors, it is important to seek ways, paths and implications for framing sustainability in all social activities. This book is mostly based on the 10th ACLA – Asian Cultural Landscape Association International Webinar Symposium that took place during September 26–27, 2020, in the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. It examines contemporary social–cultural issues in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) and associated cultural and sacred landscapes. There, the emphasis is on awakening deeper cultural sensitivity in harmonizing the world and the role of society and spiritual systems, drawing upon multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural interfaces—all within the scope of the future of the earth. The book’s chapters add a new dimension of cultural understanding in the broad domain of emerging human geoscience, considered as key policy science for contributing towards sustainability and survivability science together with future earth initiatives.

Rana P. B. Singh has been a professor of cultural landscapes and heritage studies in the Department of Geography, the Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. He is the president of the Asian Cultural Landscape Association (ACLA), the chief coordinator of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) National Scientific Committee “Cultural Landscapes”, a contributing member of the ICOMOS-IFLA (the International Federation of Landscape Architects) International Scientific Committee “Cultural Landscapes”, an expert and voting member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee “Places of Religion and Rituals” (PRERICO), and the president (Asia) of the Reconnecting With Your Culture (RWYC). For more than four decades, he has been studying, lecturing and promoting cultural and sacred landscapes and pilgrimages in India, and also has done field studies in Japan, Italy, Sweden, Korea, and China, and delivered lectures in almost all parts of the world. His publications include 43 books and anthologies, and 340 research papers.

Olimpia Niglio is a professor of architectural restoration, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, Italy. Since 2021 she is a permanent visiting professor at Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan. She is also Research Fellow at the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan. She was previously a professor at Hokkaido University, Japan, Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Colombia, and International School University of Ibagué, Colombia. She studied at the University of Naples “Federico II” where she also obtained her Ph.D., Executive Master’s degree at Business School Sole24ore and post-Ph.D. degree (Miur) in conservation of architectural heritage. She is the director of the EdA Esempi di Architettura International Research Center, the Vice President of ICOMOS PRERICO (International Committee Monuments and Sites), and the Vice President of the Asian Cultural Landscape Association (ACLA). Her publications include 9 books and more than 300 research papers in Italian and English.

Pravin S. Rana is an assistant professor in tourism management in the Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. He has teaching experience of more than 20 years and is specialized in religious tourism and pilgrimages. He is the secretary of the Asian Cultural Landscape Association (India). He has contributed essays in research series and handbooks published by Routledge (London), CABI International (Oxfordshire UK), and Springer Nature (Cham & New York, Singapore). He has published 3 books, including Pilgrimage Tourism: A Study of Varanasi Region (SRME Publishers, 2014) and Banaras Region, A Spiritual and Cultural Guide (Indica Books, 2020). He published 28 research papers. From August 2005 to July 2009, he served as the manager ofthe Children Programme at the World Literacy of Canada India Office. He has delivered seminars in Norway, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea. He is a member of Forum UNESCO - University and Heritage-International network (FUUH), Spain.