Decoding Collective Action Dilemmas in Historical Precincts of Delhi

There is a growing understanding that cultural heritage needs to be understood as a “common good”, pivotal to the sustainable development of communities. Cultural goods create multiple value streams for stakeholder groups whose interests and objectives often collide, leading to governance failures. The management of cultural goods can be seen as a collective action problem arising from the interaction of numerous actors. In the first part, the article highlights the importance of analyzing cultural heritage sites and areas as common goods. Within this context, I highlight why collaborative processes of decision-making and planning are crucial for the sustainable conservation of heritage resources and tourism management. In the second section, the paper applies the Institutional Analysis and Development—Network of Adjacent Action Situations (IAD-NAAS) framework to explore collective action dilemmas at Nizamuddin Basti in New Delhi. Application of the framework allows one to explore interrelated governance dilemmas by understanding stakeholder dynamics within governance action situations with interdependent outcomes. The paper concludes with a suggestive framework for a cultural collaborative process keeping the cultural identity of residents as the focal point. While the IAD-NAAS framework is useful in diagnosing the contending interests and their consequences, the IAD framework could also be considered a starting point to define a framework for a collaborative process.