Regenerative urbanism of Panj Tirath: the transformative gandhian cultural landscape of south Gujarat, India

Architecture is an amalgamation of the built environment, traditions, ecology, and sociocultural practices of human habitation. It has an innate power to raise aspirations, instill a sense of pride and belonging, and nurture social behaviour. Post Independence of India in 1947 A.D., there was a need to define the language of a new habitat that would characterize the future of the nation. This research is based on five settlements in the proximity of Surat city which we would propose to be identified as ‘Panj Tirath’ which is the Gandhian cultural landscape of South Gujarat; a paradigm of regenerative urbanism at a regional scale. These places are deeply influenced by the Gandhian philosophy and have been sustained, re-interpreted, and bolstered with time. These settlements include Dandi, Haripura, Vedchi, Bardoli, and Dharasana and have been pivotal to India’s freedom struggle. The result of the research is documented narratives of multi-disciplinary perceptions of urbanity and the transformations these five places have observed post-independence