| It has become clear that urbanization is inevitable. With this, our planning approach has become mostly urban. There is a growing significance of urban development in Nepal. The field of urban planning extended with the growing issues and challenges of urbanization. Human activities take place mostly in urban areas; and affect the environment. Urban planning is concerned with the organization of such activities over the urban space for sustainability. It has generated tools related to making national and regional development sustainable. The lack of a comprehensive approach has created confusions in the application of urban planning in Nepal. There is a need to avoid them in order to sustain its distinct identity; it needs to be well defined. This book is an attempt to present different approaches of urban planning and related experiences in Nepal into a single volume in a comprehensive way. It reflects the evolution of urban planning in Nepal. It contains what needs to be done for transforming urban planning to make it effective and relevant in facing the emerging challenges of sustainable urbanization and urban development in Nepal. The book deals with the core elements of urban planning; and shows how it should be made strategic in order to fulfill the long-term goals of master planning while underscoring the importance of integrated action planning. It shows different approaches for the sustainable use of the urban land and highlights the significance of common public spaces. It presents infrastructure and services as integral parts of urban development for raising the quality of life in urban areas by meeting the needs of the people. It tries to link them with sustainability. The book is expected to raise awareness on the relevance of urban planning in approaching sustainability. It works on strategies for making cities inclusive and sustainable; resilient and safe; and smart. Foreword Through this book, Dr. Jibgar Joshi, a renowned scholar and professional with rich experience, offers among other things, a language and tools for talking cities and understanding the process of planning, forming and developing cities in the present context. I have known Jibgar for more than four decades. He has over the years kept himself engaged in active academic and professional exercise. The book provides readers with a framework, which could be instrumental in getting the insight of all the parameters essential for building cities. Careful perusal of the book could convince readers that the narrative mentioned in the book, if translated professionally into actual practice, could result in the emergence of a city with capacity to remain inclusive, safe, and resilient. Nepalese have witnessed the ongoing unplanned growth of cities in the country and are struggling for getting basic services. Having read the book, I believe the readers would come across a valuable message for avoiding flaws and biases in urban development strategy. The book might reassure its readers about viability of cities which are livable and manageable in their own life time and in their own vicinity. Dr. Joshi’s strategy gets mapped impressively as he discusses in practical tone, integrated action planning and strategic planning. The writer takes special care in blending the concepts and practices of integrated planning, investment planning, and strategic planning in the context of realizing the vision of master plan for urban areas. In a display of pragmatism, he lays emphasis on flexibility in allowing the implementation-dynamics of the process and actors attached to the key elements – planning, integration, and investment – to take their due course prudently. The book is responsive to climate change issues and advocates the use of clean energy. The latest move for saving environment for future expressed in vocabulary of various sorts such as green revolution, respect to natural resources in the heat of development drive, saving mother earth, back to nature, safe earth, and development not at the cost of environment, also features in the book in a prominent way. He refers to the years of dedicated contribution that communities made in creating common public spaces and pinpoints the current pressure on them because of the growing needs of present day economic growth. He voices for their continued accessibility to all people irrespective of their income level. The doctrine he advocates is a complex of concepts and practices. It includes, among others, respect for common spaces and appreciation of their relevance, open heart for integrating them with development, and innovations to use the for sustainability. After a comprehensive tour of urban planning through different perspectives which adorn the book, the readers may have a better feeling of the mess in cities, confusion in role of actors, haze in vision, and drifting policies reflected in the latest state of city-building in the country. Dwelling on the conflict currently being felt in growing demand for and inadequate supply of services, he finds an appropriate role for engineers and planners and also a challenge for them: building infrastructure with apt design and with proper use of land focusing on sustainability and ICT. Arguing that “it is possible to transform rural areas into sustainable and vibrant urban centers”, the author mentions: “people should be made aware of their needs and the possibilities of meeting them in the best possible way.” The book underlines the need for building province-specific and region-specific cities in Nepal and provides guidance to provincial leadership for this. Take-away from the book in this regard is clear: a working urban system could strengthen provincial economies which would then enable the country to realize prosperity at the national level. The book is interesting to read; and facilitates understanding of issues related to core dimensions of urban planning and its parameters and linkages. Dr. Joshi has taken special care to avoid planners’ and engineers’ jargon and scholarly show-off for focusing on communicating his message to common Nepalese who take interest in development matters particularly in the way cities are built or managed. The positive and constructive tone that readers find in various pages of the book should be appreciated for it helps to move on remedying errors of the past. A rich bibliography and appropriate attributions wherever needed exhibit the writer’s keen sense of research and professional authenticity. It is because of these qualities that the book could be termed “a must read book” for those interested in development and cities. I commend it. It will, besides providing readers with updated way of looking at city development and planning, facilitate the decision makers, planners and builders to refresh their thinking and construction practices about city and development matters. Prof. Rama Krishna Regmee, Senior Journalist Kantipur City College Putalisadak, Kathmandu. Preface Nepal has a great deal of experiences in urban planning and development with lots of success stories. With its engagement in many types of planning works, there has been an immense growth in planning knowledge. Many innovative planning tools have been invented and applied. At the same time, its scope has expanded with new challenges of unprecedented nature. However, the success could not be extended to create impacts in terms of sustainable improvement in the quality of life through the provision of urban services. The field of urban planning is expanding fast; and its growing influence at regional and federal level is clearly visible with the growth of urban economy. Once considered as an extension of building as a part of civil engineering, it now covers almost all the disciplines. Earlier, urban development used to be seen as a sector with little contribution to national economy. The focus used to be on rural and national development; and investments in cities were not a priority. Today urban sector has become the major contributor to national development. Most of the investments are being centered on urban areas. Slowly we realized that whatever our policies and intents might have been, our actions and preferences centered on cities. We are now aware that it is not the policy intents that make a difference. What makes difference are our actions and investments. Cities now play a key role in the transformation of the national economy. We now realize that national production suffered greatly as we did not provide appropriate sites for our projects and activities in cities. Increasing investments in cities are the drivers of development and most activities related to national, provincial or local development take place in urban areas. However development in urban areas are taking place in an unplanned way. Urban planning has become less effective. It has not been able to face the new challenges brought about by rapid urbanization. There is an increasing problem of coordination and integration. As a result cities are facing challenges of sustainable development such as increasing exclusion and climate change. Being associated with planning exercises for more than four decades, I had the privilege of witnessing the evolution of urban planning in Nepal. Over the years, I have been using various tools and methods of urban planning during the course of research, teaching, and preparation of plans and policies and their implementation. Urban planning, instead of being developed as a tool for sustainable development, is being shaped through short-run political needs at federal, provincial, and local level. It is being manipulated to ignore equity and environment for the sake of immediate return. The primary goal of planning is to enhance the public good. The changes in the scope of urban planning have placed much more responsibility on urban planners. However, they are being engaged more on isolated activities not necessarily linked with the public good. Sustainability can and should be approached by making cities as well as urbanization more sustainable. It is achieved through the sustainable use of resources for meeting the human needs and sustaining the ability to meet their future needs. It largely relies on the management of urban services in a sustainable way. Poorly managed cities consume natural resources, most of which are not renewable. The book tries to reflect the evolution of urban planning in Nepal for a long time. It tries to present different approaches of urban planning and related experiences in Nepal in a comprehensive way. It is written with the purpose of making urban planning more relevant and effective in the context of sustainable development. It is expected to raise awareness on the relevance of urban planning in the context of approaching sustainability. I will consider my efforts worthwhile if it can influence the development of urban planning to this direction. Although the book is intended for all who have some interest in the prosperity of Nepal, it will, in particular, be relevant and useful for planners and planning students as well as for municipal officials. I am grateful to Prof. Rama Krishna Regmee for his foreword. My thanks are due to Mr. Madan Bista, MS Offset Press. I owe a great deal to my family; my wife Lajmina provided me continuous support and my daughter Dr. Dipika Joshi helped me with her valuable suggestions in making this publication possible. May 2019 Jibgar Joshi 464 Tahachal Marg, Kathmandu Contents I. Introduction 1 – 12 1.1 Purpose and Scope 1 1.2 Overview 3 1.3 Basic Concepts of Planning 5 II. Review of Planning at Different Levels 13 – 40 2.1 Development Plans 14 2.2 Sectoral Plans 25 2.3 Regional Planning 28 2.4 City Cluster Economic Development 34 2.5 District Plans 38 2.6 Rural Development Planning 39 III. Cities and Urban Planning 41 – 61 3.1 Urbanization 41 3.2 Historical Perspective 43 3.3 Purpose of Urban Planning 47 3.4 Making Cities Inclusive and Sustainable 50 3.5 Making Cities Safe and Resilient 58 3.6 Making Cities Smart 60 IV. Land Use Planning 62 – 84 4.1 Introduction 62 4.2 Land Policy and Administration 63 4.3 Land Use Pattern 65 4.4 Land UsePlanning 69 4.5 Land Use Strategy 73 4.6 Making LUP Risk Sensitive 76 4.7 Rebuilding after Nepal Earthquake 2015 81 V. Physical Planning and Master Plans 85 – 89 5.1 Physical Planning 85 5.2 Master Plans 86 5.3 Structure Plans and Indicative Plans 88 VI. Integrated Action Planning and Strategic Planning 90 -110 6.1 Introduction 90 6.2 Integrated Action Planning (IAP) 91 6.3 Investment Planning and Periodic Plans 103 6.4 Strategic Planning 107 VII. Urban Land Development 111 – 125 7.1 Introduction 111 7.2 Slum Improvement and Urban Upgrading 113 7.3 Site and services’ Projects and GLD 116 7.4 Land Pooling Projects 118 VIII. Infrastructure 126 – 154 8.1 Background 126 8.2 Existing Situation of Urban Services 129 8.3 Infrastructure Planning 131 8.4 Engineering 138 8.5 Transport Management 141 8.6 Information and Communication Technology 149 8.7 Energy 152 IX. Environmental Services and Planning 155 – 171 9.1 Basic Concepts and Overview 155 9.2 Problems of Urban Environment 156 9.3 Health and Environment 159 9.4 Water and Sanitation 160 9.5 Solid Waste Management 163 9.6 Air and Noise Pollution 165 9.7 Environmental Assessment 168 X. Greenery and Common Public Spaces 172 -180 10.1 Introduction 172 10.2 Open Space and Greenery 173 10.3 Significance of Heritage Sites and Public Places 174 10.4 Problems and Challenges 176 10.5 Developing Open Spaces for Sustainability 177 XI Conclusion 181 – 189 Bibliography 190 – 202 |
2 thoughts on “Urban Planning in Nepal: approaching sustainability by Dr. Jibgar Joshi”
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Dear Sir,
Good morning.
I am interested to study in urban governance: Livability of the city and quality of life of people. I want to work on how the liveability of Kathmandu would be maintained or improved as well as the quality of life of people. I also would also like to work on how the urban governance is working in this sector, if success how and if not why? I request your feedback and suggestions.
Best Wishes
Dorendra Thapa
Good.