Regional Resource Urbanism, Envisioning an Adaptive Transition for the Urbanising Periphery of Kathmandu

Ashim Kumar Manna (1)
(1) Urbanism and Architecture (OSA), Faculty of Engineering Science, KU Leuven, Belgium, Belgium
https://doi.org/10.21625/essd.v6i1.788

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Issue
Vol. 6 Issue 1 (2021): Sustainable Cities and Communities
Submitted
June 30, 2021
Published
June 30, 2021
Keywords:
    Kathmandu, landscape urbanism, periphery, resource management, systemic design.
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Abstract

Despite a strong tradition of harmony between the landscape and its settlements, Kathmandu's periphery now stands altered due to the contemporary challenges of modernisation. It has become the contested territory where rapid urbanisation and infrastructure projects conflict with the valley's last remaining resources. i.e., fertile soil, floodplains, water sources, forests, and agricultural land. The periphery is essential in preserving the remaining agricultural landscape, which is the mainstay of the numerous traditional communities of Kathmandu. Both the occupants and the productive landscape are threatened due to haphazard urbanisation and future mobility projects, resulting in speculative and uncontrolled sprawl. A detailed investigation was conducted on a site 15km south of Kathmandu to address the city's landscape challenges. The chosen investigation frame presented the suitable conditions to study and test strategies posed by the research objectives. The research utilises landscape urbanism and cartography to reveal the landscape's latent capacities, identify the spatial qualities, stakeholders, and typologies involved in the production and consumption of resources. The study identifies existing resource flows and their ability to generate future scenarios. Systematic design strategies were applied in resource recovery projects by optimising enterprising capacity building within communities after the earthquake. The research recognises the merit in existing practices, community networks, the ongoing post-earthquake rebuilding efforts in offering an alternative design strategy in which landscape becomes the carrying structure for the sustainable reorganisation of Kathmandu's periphery.

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Authors

Ashim Kumar Manna
Urbanism and Architecture (OSA), Faculty of Engineering Science, KU Leuven, Belgium
[email protected] (Primary Contact)
Manna, A. K. (2021). Regional Resource Urbanism, Envisioning an Adaptive Transition for the Urbanising Periphery of Kathmandu. Environmental Science & Sustainable Development, 6(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.21625/essd.v6i1.788
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