Sustainable Eco-city

Learning from

Urban Traditions of Kathmandu Valley

Urban Sustainability

• Town system consists of Society, Settlement and Nature– Has a innate tendency to cause distancing from each

other with ‘development’ leading to unsustainabilty– Has a concentration of people and economic activities

• With material and energy inputs and waste outputs also dense and concentrated

• In an open continuum with the hinterland ( urban/rural)

• Town needs to be seen– as a social entity– as a economic entity– as a ecological entity in the scheme of Nature

Eco-sustainability of Urban System

• Urban system is not closed, it can’t sustain by itself– Because of Its resource dependence on ‘hinterland’ (basically for food,

water and energy), whose extent is ever increasing with time! – Its waste environment that pervades into water, air and land around

(fire/thermal and ether/space also?!)

• In addition to Resource and Waste environments, Urban eco-sustainability has to consider– Socio-cultural environment (understanding and set up for sharing)

• Current as well as Future generations

• Unsustainable urban system DECAYS!• Urban ecological unsustainability happens when it decays or causes

decay in one or all of its environments– Physical, Economic or Social > go to urban ecology schema

Urban Culture: Urban Ecology

ECONOMY: Resources & Waste Chains

NATURE: Physical Environmental Chains

SOCIETY: Social set up for Sharing/ Competition

Urban Decay

• Decay in urban systems occur due to– Failure of the supporting capacity (a sum total

of resources and regenerative gains) – Failure of the assimilative/recycling capacity

of Nature (a sum total of waste disposed)– Failure of distribution of wealth: urban poverty

and social degeneration – Social order: fragmentation and loss of

community behavior

Lessons of History

• Kathmandu Valley has a long history of sustained urban settlements

• Kathmandu Valley is almost a closed eco-system (micro-global character)

• Towns of Kathmandu in History would have also faced threats of social, economic or physical unsustainability.– Review experimentations/technologies in successful

approaches towards sustainability– Social agreement/ dialogues in urban culture– Nature and extent of individual/community behavior over the

‘period of sustenance’– Social/cultural/human foresight

Kathmandu: Natural Characteristics

• Bowl shaped topography, valley 25 Km across and 1.5 Km deep on average.– Lake deposits, high fertility soil – Rain fed, all rivers originate within the

valley– Single drain off outlet

• Water and Land sub-systems at Micro-equilibrium > go to Valley outline map

HANDIGAON

Kathmandu

Patan Bhadgaon

Manichur

Changu Narayan

Guhyeswori

Sankhamul

Budanilkantha

Svayambhu

Phulchoki

Chandagiri

Shikhanarayan Bisankhu Narayan

JamachoIchangu Narayan

PASHUPATINATH

Legendary City: MANJUPATTAN

Legendary City: BISHAL NAGAR

N

Kathmandu: Urban Peculiarities

• 2000 years old tradition of Dense settlements• Towns as old and continuously Lived-in

– Always located on Higher Grounds within the Valley > go to Bhaktapur picture

– With a pond at its Higher Level > go to Gahanapokhari picture

– Public Water Supply System of Pit Conduits

– Temples at Street Crossings > go to Nyatapola/Jaisidewal pictures

Cross Roads Marker of Kirat days from Jaisideval/ Tegvala

Kirat make a start at Urbanism!

• The idea of a Settlement – Sitting on fallow ground in a fertile valley– Served by pit conduit water supply system fed by a reservoir

pond at its highest level– Dense and contained within a defined boundary– With Cross-road spaces marked for Urban socialization

• Was basically of the Kirats (before 78 CE)• And Not of the Lichchhavis (78 -879 CE)

– Who came from Gangatic plains with the classic Vedic/Hindu/Buddhist ideals and know-how of planning

– Riverbank flatland pattern of settlements– Well system

Eco-urbanism of the Kirat

• Dense and bounded settlements on high ground: Preservation of economic base/agricultural land

• Integration of nature, economy and society– Dyochhe, pith and norms of social behavior > go to pics of d/p

• Pith located at ecologically sensitive spot such as Water holes, Springs, Land humps, Clump of trees– Divine presence = ecological variance

• Festivals – sharing resources and recognizing the urban/rural continuum– Imprint the rules in the minds of people– Carry the rules over time/ future generations – Socio-cultural nurturing of the hinterland > go to schema

Pigan Festivals (Mar-Apr) display Social Agreements on Natural Ecology and Settlement Economy

&Ritually Mediate the agreements over space and

generations

A pith: Numinous Stones, Family of Siva

On to 2nd Cultural Period

• Population increases– Resource base is expanded– Towns reach out to valley foothills for Water supply sources– Social/cultural mediation of new ecological realities,

understandings and responsibilities– Town Festivals extend out to the resource locations.

• Settlements get enlarged– Andipringga > Bishal Nagar– X8 to 1 sq. km. in extent– Lichchhavi image the town as a Vedic microcosm, geometrically

as well as philosophically– Vaastushastra and Environment of the five elements > go to schema

>go to Lichchhavi pattern >go to Daxinkoligram pattern

Everything consists of Pancha-tatwa, the five

transformation modes/elemental

principles. With the sense (bhuta) of Sound, Touch,

Form, Taste and Smell, the fifteen characteristic

quality-nature (guna) of elements are formed – that

is universal (nitya). … There should be no tampering of the tatwa

Environment – This has to be the universal ecological

imperative.

EtherAirFireWaterEarth

Lichchhavi Pattern

• Daxinakoligram• Dandaka pattern

• Ikhapokhari Jalasayanarayan?• Onde Narayan

• Ikha Narayan• Chikanmugal N

• Makhan N

IKHANARAYAN

IKHA POKHARI

JALASAYINARAYAN

CHIKAMUGAL NARAYAN

JAISIDEVAL

ONDENARAYAN

HYUMATNARAYAN

Eco-urbanism: 2nd Cultural Period

• Guthi: a community based management– Surplus Private wealth as “Public Endowment”– Community ownership and operation of land – Community engagement in maintenance of services

• Recognition of water supply as a urban service– Socio-cultural mediation of urban rural continuum– Closing the ‘urban-hinterland distancing’– Playing out interdependencies– Festivals extend out to sub-regions – Become almost global by 10th century ( eg Matsendranath) >go to wastewater treatment

Moderating Water Pollution

• Lichchhavis start septage/waste water recycling

• The reeds garden (Natapata vatika of the Lichchhavis) south-east outfall and treatment area

Departures of the 2nd Period

• Imaging the city: visioning• Surplus private wealth to public service• Community ownership and operation of

land• Circular regenerative track:diffusing

concentrative system • Regulating mechanism spanning current

and future generations: Framing universal rules/ reaching agreements on values

On to 3rd Cultural Period

• Towns become still larger: Bhaktapur is laid out for 12000 houses at start of 13th century– Social heterogeneity of the town increases

• Urban Ecological problem build up– Economic competitiveness for ‘plenty and surplus’

and disparities in sharing of gains, developing urban poverty

– Over-exploitation of resources– Heavy waste generation/little assimilation/ land and

water pollution and towns spilling boundaries– Further distancing of man from Nature.– Towns are drier and warmer

Eco-city: 3rd Cultural period

• Development through a Mix of– Kirat ecological prototype > to schema

– Lichchhavi’s urban planning principles

• Eco-sensitive ritual bounding and structure– Bounded urban development, Dune and Pine >to schema – Ritual/Social mediation of Wider urban-rural

continuum (resource base) – Tole sectorization, homogeneous neighborhood >to

schema

Eco-city: 3rd Cultural period

• Responding to 'micro-heat, dry regime & waste sub-structure’ – Capitalizes positive aspects of 'new nature‘– Potentially mitigates negative results

• Micro-heat:– High Density/Low rise dev.: warmer micro-climate – tight layout with small courtyards > Itum Bahal

– predominance of paved streets/ heat gain > Itum Bahal

– "No-Greenery-inside” – Was this a wrong move?

– Lachhi – setback for a sunny spot in narrow lanes– Lung space: peripheral Khyos

Eco-city: 3rd Cultural period

• Responding to 'dry regime’ – Use of water-accepting technologies– Pervious paving, open joints– Surface collector drains separated from deep drains –

irrigating the dula or recharging kuwa– Use of wells inside tole and pit conduits between

neighborhoods > recharge through own waste water > protecting from pollution >go to well

Eco-city: 3rd Cultural period

• Responding to 'waste sub-structure’ – Communal toilet streets, night soil collection and raw

sewage manure agri-practice- ‘output-input’ > Schema

– Waste management:garbage and Sagah• Capitalization of micro-heat: composting• Health hazard management: periodic cleaning through

seasonal rituals: Lukumadyo/Pasachahre (Chait) >go to pic

– Sithi: Cleaning and maintaining water supply systems in the driest season (Baisakh/Jeth)

• Water for seeding

– Sithi: Maintaining other ‘urban services’ – public buildings

• Lean agricultural season

Recycling Through

Use of

Extra Urban Heat

*Compost

and Sagah

FOOD

MANURE

FARM

WASTE

v]tsf] k]6df k]6sf] v]tdf

Eco-region: 2nd 3rd Cultural period

• Eco-region goes ‘global’ or valley-wide

• Further away, agricultural land and forested hillocks protected and preserved.

• Watershed areas and sources of rivers given religious image as a preservation primer

• Ecological responses cover PES environment and actors MSN in totality

Lessons of History

• Setting up the new motives and evolving ethical behavior: ritually mediated plan

• Cities planned and patterned after a perceived image of cosmos/ use mediated by rituals

• Accommodating growth but remaining complete and balanced at all times as a mental construct

• Plan in the mind of the user• Exploiting human ethics, individual faithfulness

and emotionally guided inner discipline

Lessons of History

• The Target of Future Generation• In contemporary society with notoriously

shortsighted present/ development paradigm centered on the present man

• ‘Future generation’ is not a fixed ‘time span’.• Plans of indefinite time frame/process objectivity:

karma, dharma and philosophy of rebirth: rolling present and future into infinite time/one entity.

• Buddhism and material frugality, 'virtuous behavior and observance of social order' as a life-principle in Confucianism

Lessons of History

• Bounded but Interacting Urban and Rural systems

• Kathmandu Towns conceived as bounded entities with set of perimeter gods and goddesses defining physical boundary: taboo to build outside 

• Towns of Kathmandu on less irrigated tar: Utility of bounding mundane: save the economic base.

• Distinct and protected hinterland for ecological sustainability

Lessons of History

• Managing Dependencies• Urban-rural linkage/ two inter-dependent

systems managing dependencies– Containing overexploitation of resources, exclusive

exploitation and consequent deprivation of the rural area and lack of commensurate return of the benefits or other inputs back to the hinterland.

– Interacting activities seeking participation of both the dwellers of the city and the hinterland in preserving and maintaining the resource

• Festivals: ritual play or exercises in regionalism, preservation and citizen participation

Lessons of History

• Land Donated in Perpetuity/ Community ownership

• Effective tool of building sustainability through community participation

• Creation, maintenance and operation of elements and processes of providing public good/ decentralized participatory management

• Appeal to philanthropic instincts to canalize individual wealth into community good.

• Most precious and permanent of properties/ healthy association of land and community 

Lessons of History

• Social cohesion in Multicultural society and the town

• Saving sustainability in societal heterogeneity• Efforts at making pockets of homogeneity.• Sustainability of cultural diversity within multi-

cultural societies: Mosaic scenario & not religious neighborhoods

• Well within tole & Conduit between toles! Graded community behavior?

• Other defined acts/ Karma and process objectivity