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 – 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 developing and preserving 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 and appreciation of relevance and importance of common spaces, skill to maintain their continuity under any excuse, open heart for integrating them with development, and innovations to use them in an enhanced manner. It is to be implemented with people’s participation accompanied by schemes for sustainability.
The readers may have a better feeling of, after they have a comprehensive tour of urban planning through different perspectives which adorn the book, 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. The author has stressed on infrastructure sketching the conflict currently being felt in growing demand for and inadequate supply of basic services such as drinking water, sanitation, energy, transport and communication in cities. Therein 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. Let the people use their creativity, wisdom, and ingenuity to find solutions to their problems.” The book will urge building province-specific and region-specific cities in Nepal providing guidance to provincial leadership. 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.
Rama Krishna Regmee
Senior Journalist an Prof. Kantipur City College
Putalisadak, Kathmandu.