21st Century (2000–present)

Kathmandu Valley Dev. Plan

2015– · Nepal · South Asia · Regional & polycentric planning · Planned by Govt of Nepal
Kathmandu Valley land-use zoning map: heritage and cultural conservation zones, urban and mixed sub-zones, agricultural and forest zones within and beyond the Ring Road.
Kathmandu Valley land-use zoning map: heritage and cultural conservation zones, urban and mixed sub-zones, agricultural and forest zones within and beyond the Ring Road. · © Government of Nepal (KVDA) / JICA — used with credit · Kathmandu Valley Development Authority / Government of Nepal, Kathmandu Valley Land Use Zoning Map — reproduced in JICA, Data Collection Survey on Traffic Improvement in Kathmandu Valley, Final Report, Figure 7.3.4

Core idea

Heritage protection + growth areas

Why it matters

Balances rapid growth and cultural assets

Description

A development strategy for the Kathmandu Valley prepared under the Government of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley Development Authority from around 2015, in the aftermath of the Gorkha earthquake. It sought to manage the explosive, largely informal growth of the valley's urban agglomeration by designating growth areas and infrastructure corridors while protecting the World Heritage monument zones, agricultural land and the valley's distinctive Newari urban fabric.

Significance

The plan illustrates the dilemma facing historic South Asian city-regions: reconciling rapid, weakly regulated urbanisation with globally significant cultural heritage and acute seismic risk. Its partial implementation has made the Kathmandu Valley a frequently discussed case in debates on metropolitan governance capacity, post-disaster reconstruction and heritage-led planning in the global South.

What shaped it

Sources

Open it on the interactive timeline →
hub.toekom.st — History of Urbanism · an interactive timeline of 850 planned cities across 6,000 years.