A green city is a smart city
For those growing up in the 1980s in Kathmandu, the 'Green Belt' became a familiar term as poplars rose up along the Ring Road. Over the years, this strip of green gave Kathmandu some breathing space as the city grew at breakneck speed.
Slowly, encroachment, carelessness and road expansion decimated the trees. The poplars were the first to go, then the jacarandas that lined the streets were cut, too.
From a Green Belt Kathmandu has become a Dust Bowl. But all is not lost, the tree-lined Darbar Marg to neighbourhood beautification at Narayan Chaur have shown that if communities get together it is possible to revive the Valley’s lungs.
Kathmandu will benefit from developing a series of linked water bodies, open spaces, parks and patches of urban forests, by not only connecting fragmented green spaces but also increase their ecosystem services, a concept that gives economic value to restoring nature.
Lack of open, green spaces takes a daily toll on the lives of the residents who have limited space for walking or other social activities. The abject lack of greenery in Kathmandu is a contributing factor to not just physiological but also psychological stress.
Sprawling, insensitive and haphazard development over the years have over-run what remained of open spaces. More recently, Kathmandu has experienced annual flooding during monsoon and extreme temperatures, a new phenomenon for the city’s residents.
According to the World Economic Forum, access to green open space and a feeling of social connection creates liveable and vibrant cities. The small open spaces that remain are not a result of planning but due to litigation (Tinkune) or neglect (Tundikhkel). But even here, they provide people a place to unwind and de-stress with friends and family.
The new corridors long the Bagmati, Dhobi Khola and other rivulets have constricted the floodplains, but at least the banks are tree-lined.
Tree have many obvious positive aspects like emitting oxygen, muffling noise pollution, moderating temperature. But also little-known benefits like releasing essential oils like phytoncides, which help physical and mental wellbeing in humans.
While Kathmandu has not yet seen a campaign that calls for the protection and preservation of nature, we have in the recent years seen some movement around keeping open spaces intact.
For many Kathmandu residents, the realisation sank in after the 2015 earthquake. “It is important to tell the masses how our open spaces are being encroached upon and why they should be preserved,” says Vijaya Shrestha, who coordinated the Occupy Tundikhel campaign.
Organised by a youth group, it was an attempt to spread awareness about the importance of open spaces of which Tundikhel was a prominent symbol. The historical and cultural importance of this once-vast maidan pre-dates its function as a military parade ground. But Tundikhel has been steadily encroached upon by the Army, and it is now only a sliver of its former expanse.
Restoring it to its original boundary would not only provide Kathmandu with lungs, but also preserve its historical significance, as well as serve as a refuge in future disasters as it did in the 1934 and 2015 earthquakes.
The Kathmandu Valley Development Authority has identified 887 open spaces within the Kathmandu Valley: 488 sites in Kathmandu, 345 in Lalitpur, and 53 in Bhaktapur. Among these, 58% of the area is usable for public activities. These open spaces vary in size, services, and function. But identifying open spaces alone cannot guarantee their protection unless the feeling of ownership can be developed among the communities.
Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has been developing a plan to carve out 36 parks of varying sizes and services in the city, in collaboration with 11 municipalities to develop other green spaces around the valley. So far, the plans have been restricts to maps and their sustainable management will be a challenge. Issues of ownership are unclear, and the lack of belongingness can lead to poor maintenance, commercialisation and encroachment.
In some cases, open space development has turned into bourgeois environmentalism--with high boundary walls, restricted opening times, and fees that favour a few well-off people. This deprives ordinary citizens from access to greenery. The valley’s open spaces are fragmented, and unplanned urbanisation has left them disconnected with each other. They can be linked through ecological corridors that help plants and animals spread, migrate, as well as rehabilitate environments.
Kathmandu’s river corridors have been designed purely for vehicular traffic. However, we can develop riverbanks as green corridors—which would also help reduce flooding. Last spring’s colourful blossoms along the river corridor show what is possible.
Likewise, Kathmandu’s Ring Road and major road networks can create and connect green spaces. Tree-lined streetscapes will create an ecological corridor, providing a continuous shaded path to the urban population, and a movement corridor for birds, insects, and small creatures.
Technically, connecting green spaces is possible if the city’s environment department stands up strong against destructive development. The bigger challenge is a social and political willingness to participate in preserving and taking ownership of nature’s aesthetics.
Nilima Thapa Shrestha is an architect and urban planner.
Kathmandu’s river corridors have been designed purely for vehicular traffic. However, we can develop riverbanks as green corridors—which would also help reduce flooding. Last spring’s colourful blossoms along the river corridor show what is possible.
Likewise, Kathmandu’s Ring Road and major road networks can create and connect green spaces. Tree-lined streetscapes will create an ecological corridor, providing a continuous shaded path to the urban population, and a movement corridor for birds, insects, and small creatures.
Technically, connecting green spaces is possible if the city’s environment department stands up strong against destructive development. The bigger challenge is a social and political willingness to participate in preserving and taking ownership of nature’s aesthetics.
Nilima Thapa Shrestha is an architect and urban planner.