Sustainable Eco-city

1. Sustainable Eco-city Learning from Urban Traditions of Kathmandu Valley

2. 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

3. 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

4. Urban Culture: Urban Ecology NATURE: Physical Environmental Chains SOCIETY: Social set up for Sharing/ Competition ECONOMY: Resources & Waste Chains

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

9. 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

12. Cross Roads Marker of Kirat daysfrom Jaisideval/ Tegvala

14. 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

15. 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

16. Pigan Festivals (Mar-Apr) display Social Agreements on Natural Ecology and Settlement Economy &Ritually Mediate the agreements over space and generations

17. A pith: Numinous Stones, Family of Siva

19. 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

20. 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.

21. Lichchhavi Pattern • Daxinakoligram • Dandaka pattern • Ikhapokhari Jalasayanarayan? • Onde Narayan • Ikha Narayan • Chikanmugal N • Makhan N

23. 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

24. Moderating Water Pollution • Lichchhavis start septage/waste water recycling • The reeds garden (Natapata vatika of the Lichchhavis) south-east outfall and treatment area

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

31. 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

34. 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

36. 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

37. Recycling Through Use of Extra Urban Heat*Compost and Sagah v]tsf] k]6df k]6sf] v]tdf

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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

45. 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 

46. 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 & notreligious neighborhoods • Well within tole & Conduit between toles! Graded community behavior? • Other defined acts/ Karma and process objectivity