CONCLUSION

Traditional concept of

open spaces

Socio-cultural cohesiveness

Cultural resilience towards disasters

Rapid population growth +

Urbanization

Open spaces at danger

April 25 Gorkha Earthquake

Importance of open spaces

revived

Preservation imperative

National & International commitment

required

TRADITIONAL OPEN SPACES AND CULTURAL PRACTICES FOR DISASTER RISK MITIGATION

TRADITIONAL OPEN SPACES IN KATHMANDU VALLEY

ABSTRACT All developing countries are facing the phenomenon of urbanization. From the 1970s onward, Nepal has observed one of the highest rates of urbanization in Asia and the Pacific. Historically, Kathmandu Valley has enjoyed sustainable development practice and maintained an ecological balance of urban development through various physical features; cultural practices as well as sustainable opportunities for economic development. The valley reflects its long history through a variety of cultural heritage sites comprising of settlements, monuments, religious sites and traditional infrastructures. The cultural practice of worships and processions are embedded into the people’s lives. Looking from the disaster risks viewpoint, cultural and natural properties are increasingly affected by the events. At times of stress, the significant role of heritage in contributing to social cohesion and sustainable development has stressed the importance of its safety. Open spaces of various scale, size and geometry were integral parts of traditional settlements in Kathmandu Valley. This paper tries to review on utilization of cultural heritage, especially traditional open spaces in risk reduction and disaster mitigation. Keywords: culture, heritage, urban safety, disaster mitigation

INTRODUCTION Since many years, Kathmandu Valley has been claimed to be highly prone to earthquakes by various national and international studies. Most of the infrastructure and buildings in the Valley are not strong enough to resist a high magnitude quake. To address the issue, a joint assessment was conducted by Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/ Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and identified 83 open spaces suitable for Shelter, Aid and Medical Help in the Valley(Shrestha P. , 2015). Traditionally, open spaces of various scale, size and geometry ranging from street scale to courtyard scale and even urban squares have been endowed as integral parts of designated urban spaces in Kathmandu Valley. The concept of garden/ green space inside the settlement is rarely located. Instead, one finds open spaces in the form of paved courtyards, street squares or water bodies (Rai R. , 2011). Provisions of large open spaces (khyo) for public benefit were also made at town peripheries. These dynamic and functional spaces regulated and shaped urban forms as well as catered to socio-cultural activities (Sharma, 2013).

Example of Traditional Settlement: Town of Khokana Source: www.nepalvisitors.com

Compact Settlement

Street Network

Closed courtyards

(Bahal/ Bahil)

Neighborhood squares (Chowk)

Palace Squares

Open space at town

periphery (Khyo)

Example of Closed courtyard (Bahal): Nagbahal, Lalitpur

Source: www.panoramio.com

Example of Neighbourhood Square (Chowk): Indra Chwok, Kathmandu

Source: www.thriftydrifters.com

Example of Palace square: Patan Durbar Square Source: www.nepalonetours.com

Example of Open space at town periphery (Khyo): Tundikhel, Kathmandu

Source: www.nepalonetours.com

Street Networks of ancient town of Khokana Source: Korn, 1976

Significance of the indigenous concept of traditional open spaces revived after the April 25 quake.

The large open spaces such as Tundikhel served as a major evacuation space. It was one of the 83 gazetted open spaces marked for evacuation and refuge in case of disaster.

From building makeshift shelters to collecting necessary supplies, people came together at one place and helped each other.

These traditional open spaces also helped in building social and cultural resilience.

People taking shelter in traditional open spaces, after April 25 Quake Source: proof.nationalgeographic.com & www.anthropology-news.org

Tent houses in Tundikhel Source: earthquake-report.com

Traditional Compact Settlement On an elevated land Helped to preserve agricultural land >> self

sustainable in food products Open spaces available at community level

Types of Open spaces Street Network: major backbone of a traditional town connects all the closed courtyards (bahal / bahil),

open courtyards (chowk or nani) and public squares

Closed Courtyard (Bahal/ Bahil): Communal open space surrounded by houses Multi-purpose utilization for various daily chores –

bathing, washing clothes, drying of grains

Neighbourhood Squares: Open space at road intersections Used as a gathering space for usual leisure or

festivals and events

Palace Squares: Open space in front of royal palaces Space for major festivals and events

Open space at town periphery (Khyo): Vast open spaces located near to any densely

populated settlement Marks the boundary of the city Space for performing larger social and cultural

events

Open spaces Well endowded with required infrastructure such as

light timber structures used as resthouses (patis), stone water spouts (hitis)

proximity from neighboring households made them functionally appropriate as evacuation spaces

Rituals and festivals Helps in space utility and cognition Observational learning of city routes and spaces

Traditional houses Earthquake resistance measures: symmetrical

windows, double framing of windows, use of timber wedges

Mud mortar - partial collapse of the building, providing time for evacuation

URBAN SAFETY THROUGH THE EYES OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Hisila MANANDHAR1 and Yogeshwar K. PARAJULI2 1 Urban Planner, Email: hisila_man@hotmail.com; 2 Development Commissioner, Email: ykp.kvda@gmail.com

Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, Anamnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal