Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE December 2014 ACCOMMODATING CONSERVATION: REGULATING ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN A HIMALAYAN TOURIST TOWN Jamie Kathleen Johnson Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Jamie Kathleen, "ACCOMMODATING CONSERVATION: REGULATING ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN A HIMALAYAN TOURIST TOWN" (2014). Dissertations - ALL. 176. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/176 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ABSTRACT This dissertation discusses the construction of socio-spatial landscapes in Leh, Ladakh and elucidates the relationships between stakeholders in the tourism arena, conservation profession, regional and state government, and local civil society. It explains processes of urban regulation, juxtaposing the (re)production and representation of Ladakhi architectural heritage both during the conservation of historical buildings and during the construction of new tourist accommodations. Qualitative ethnographic research and spatial studies were conducted to investigate how competing discourses on Ladakhi heritage generated by state-based tourism industries and by non-governmental organizations are shaping building traditions, residence patterns, and livelihoods for resident Ladakhis. Leh’s built environment is a product of numerous contestations and negotiations between residents, NGOs and the state in places I call heritage construction sites: architectural conservation projects and new guest-house construction projects, respectively. In this study, I pinpoint how Ladakhis identify with or contest the transformation of their urban landscape, answering the question “whose heritage is it?” ACCOMMODATING CONSERVATION: REGULATING ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN A HIMALAYAN TOURIST TOWN by Jamie K.