Time is an architect. It sculpts stone into any form it finds rational. It changes economies on a whim to transform buildings for new uses. And it lets war destroy the magnificent only to be replaced with the mundane.

Time also leaves us beautiful remnants from past cities: former temples and broken castles, roofless churches and silent grandstands.

“For, indeed, the greatest glory of a building is not in its stones, not in its gold. Its glory is in its Age, and in that deep sense of voicefulness, of stern watching, of mysterious sympathy, nay, even of approval or condemnation, which we feel in walls that have long been washed by the passing waves of humanity… It is in that golden stain of time that we are to look for the real light, and color, and preciousness of architecture; and it is not until a building has assumed this character, till it has been entrusted with the fame, and hallowed by the deeds of men, till its walls have been witnesses of suffering, and its pillars rise out of the shadows of death, that its existence, more lasting as it is than that of the natural objects of the world around it, can be gifted with even so much as these possess of language and of life” ^[2]

To historians, buildings are particularly important since most are constructed of durable materials and tend to last for a long time, providing invaluable information about the past. Through architecture it’s possible to gauge many things about a culture, such as lifestyle, artistic sensibilities and social structure. For instance, early Western religious structures exhibit a general evolution toward more intricate and meaningful interiors, reflecting not only improvements in technical skills but also a growing interest in “inner spaces,” the spirit over the body. This tendency can be seen in several of the most famous holy monuments of Western Civilization: the Great Pyramid of Egypt, the Greek Parthenon, and the Pantheon in Rome and the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (Istanbul). This inclination toward interiority culminates in the cathedrals of Medieval Europe. Thus, buildings are not just brick and marble but windows into the soul. ^[3]

We build too! We make buildings for our families to live in, our fellowmen to work in, our children to play in; but how many times in this never ending process of building do we think about what we create. When we design buildings, we visualize them in the first, second and third dimensions, that is, we consider all that is tangible about the structure. But in reality, there is more to it than what meets the eye. The structure build by the people of a civilization are the most important factor in assessing its growth and development. Hence, beyond the three dimensions, there also exists an intangible dimension, the fourth dimension, that of time.

           Strolling down the streets of this city called Delhi, one is bound to encounter a mix of buildings belonging to various periods of time tailored together in its urban fabric. On one hand we would see a collection of ruins of the bygone civilizations, whereas on the other one would witness history being created.

While ruins take a visitor way back in time when the structure was a habitat for our forefathers, there are these structures that are being created and inhabited today by us that will eventually have a tryst with destiny in the times to come; their fate is yet to be decided, it is to be decided by time.

In a scenario like this, one is often left wondering whether fate would be the way ruins stand today, proud as ever, or whether they will fail to stand the test of time and that of the needs of our descendants. Whether they will be appreciated, conserved and looked up to or will they be brought down mercilessly to make way for their descendants.

Human civilization is marked my the form and structures of the cities and town. The physical advancement of the cities represent the civilization of the era. Cities are dynamic symbol of growth, the point of civilization’s most exuberant vitality. Cities behave like living organisms. The internal dynamics of a city cause it to develop, growing outward until its supply of developable land diminishes.

The city then starts getting intensely developed or starts recycling land, if the economy permits. A stagnant economy can start the aging process resulting in areas of the blight. The old cores of traditional of inner city areas of a city, which now developed as from the response to the culture, and lifestyle of the people are adversely affected.

For these cities, good governance and good city planning are essential to survive and stop their decline. Nevertheless, the processes of urban decay have usually been dealt with an economic approach; the reversibility of urban decadence is linked to the restitution of economic value, improvement of the quality of life or to the amelioration of urban or social conditions.

Our increasingly urbanized civilization must pay attention to its Cities and Towns, which are growing in size and complexity. One of the major challenges of our time is how to ensure that cities have operationally and economically efficient services, which enhance their environment, their social and cultural values. Cities have always been centers of human activities. The founding, shaping, and growth of human agglomerations throughout history have been products of complex interactions of many forces.

In modern day, with advancement in the real estate development the growth poles are shifting outward and leaving the core of the town in position of getting further urban decay due to over crowding and decaying build environment. The urban local bodies do not get enough revenue from such areas and thus they don’t care to restore vitality in the area through augmentation of the infrastructure and conservation of the ancient and architectural heritage lying all around Delhi.

If we visit Delhi and go to the old Delhi then you will realize that pages of history getting unfolded in a systematic manner and you will feel that the history has once again got alive in the canvass of your mind. It is high time that city planning and maintenance authorities take immediate steps and be a part of the great tradition of the India culture and heritage. Try to revitalize the decaying urban core through measures of urban regeneration and renewal of the urban core.