post disaster urban redevelopment

Master Thesis On

POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

Submitted to the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at the University of Duisburg-Essen in partial fulfillment of Master's degree in Sustainable Urban Technologies By

Aryal, April 3009426

First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. J. Alexander Schmidt Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Wehling Semester: Winter semester 2016

February, 2016 POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my thesis supervisor Prof. Dr. J. Alexander Schmidt for his valuable suggestion from the time to choose the topic after the massive earthquake in Nepal till the date to complete this research. It is not enough for his continuous support and expertise throughout the period of my study to thank him in words. Furthermore, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my second supervisor Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Wehling for his incredible support and ideas for the research. I would like to thank all of the interviewee for their valuable time and suggestions regarding the urban development of Kathmandu and their experiences during and after earthquake. In addition, I would like to express my appreciation and respect towards my parents who are supporting me from my home country for my study. I am very much grateful to my supportive wife Mrs. Jharana Ghimire for her continuous support and help for the completion of this research. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my friends, without their support this research would never have been completed. I am only to blame myself for any deficiency of this study in spite of huge contribution from these people.


ii

DECLARATION I April Aryal, Matriculation number 3009426, Sustainable Urban Technologies hereby declare that the work entitled "POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT: Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake" is my original work. I have not copied from any other students’ work or from any other sources except where due reference or acknowledgement is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by another person.

......................... April Aryal 10.02.2016


iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................ii MOTIVATION ................................................................... vi 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 1 1.1 HYPOTHESIS and RESEARCH QUESTIONS............................................................. 2 1.2 BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................. 3 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ..................................................................................... 5 1.4 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 6

2. DISASTER ...................................................................... 8 2.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 8 2.2 TYPES of DISASTERS .................................................................................................. 9 2.3 EARTHQUAKE.............................................................................................................12 2.4 DISASTER MANAGEMENT .......................................................................................13 2.5 DISASTER MITIGATION ............................................................................................ 15

3. KATHMANDU VALLEY..................................................17 3.1 HISTORY ....................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 HISTORY OF EARTHQUAKES IN KATHMANDU .................................................. 17 3.3 RESPOND TO PREVIOUS EARTHQUAKES ............................................................18 3.4 KATHMANDU VALLEY URBANIZATION ...............................................................19 3.4.1 HOUSING ................................................................................................................. 20 3.4.4 CULTURE ................................................................................................................. 22 3.4.5 SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE .................................................................. 23 3.5 EARTHQUAKE FOOTAGE ........................................................................................ 24 3.5.1 KATHMANDU VALLEY........................................................................................... 25 3.5.2 CAUSES BEHIND THE DESTRUCTION............................................................... 30 3.6 PRESENT CONDITION.............................................................................................. 32 3.6.1 IMPACT ON LIVELIHOOD ..................................................................................... 38 3.6.2 IMPACT ON INFRASTRUCTURE.......................................................................... 39 3.6.3 IMPACT ON HOUSING .......................................................................................... 39 POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

iv

3.6.4 IMPACT ON ECONOMY ......................................................................................... 40 3.6.5 IMPACT ON SOCIETY............................................................................................. 40 3.7 POST DISASTER RECOVERY ....................................................................................41

4. CASE STUDIES ............................................................. 44 4.1 CHRISTCHURCH ........................................................................................................ 44 4.2 HAITI ........................................................................................................................... 48 4.3 COMPARATIVE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH AND HAITI ....................................... 53 4.4 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 54 5.1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 56 5.2 SUSTAINABLE URBAN REDEVELOPMENT .......................................................... 57 5.3 URBAN REDEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................... 63 5.4 COMPONENTS ........................................................................................................... 67 6.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 76 6.2PLANNING AND POLICIES ....................................................................................... 76 6.3 IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................................................. 78

7. CONCLUSION ...............................................................80 7.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 80 7.2 FUTURE RESEARCH ..................................................................................................81

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................... 82


v

MOTIVATION The Kathmandu Valley is the city where I was born. Every corners of the city are very intimate and important for me. Even the important aspect and intimacy increase as being an Architect. I already worked as an Architect in the Kathmandu valley for about three years and this makes me even personal with the city. The traditional settlement of Kathmandu valley was always fascinating for me. The sustainable approach of the city during the traditional period with low production of waste was one of my favorites regarding the sustainability. The famous ideas was that they used to implement a cycle called what comes from agriculture goes to our stomach and what comes out from our stomach goes back to our agriculture. (Tiwari)

AGRICULTURE

HUMAN BEING There was no provision for the waste. Actually, there was no waste. This beauty of Kathmandu valley was an inspiration for me towards sustainability. After completion of Architecture studies, I started working as an Architect and my priority regarding the designing solutions were forever looking for the most possible sustainable solutions. The vernacular architecture from the study of local obtainable technology for the environmental adaptations was basically the departure for my designs. I tried to transform the traditional knowledge towards modern design solutions. One of my courses during the Architectural studies was the Disaster Risk Management of Historic Buildings and Cultural Heritage. During this study there was a project of Earthquake vulnerability assessment and the existing government institutions for the earthquake related activities. This was one of the milestones for my transformation of Architectural thinking for the urban planning and urban design. This research as a Master's thesis is only perceived after the Earthquake of Nepal on 25 April. There were a lot of cumulative loop holes which act collectively for the destruction. The temples where I used to worship do not exist anymore. The squares where we used to meet our friends are no longer the same. A lot of destruction not only in the Kathmandu valley but the numbers of villages which were the tourist and trekking destinations for me were no longer there. This tragedy is the departure point for the start of my research towards the imagination of sustainable and resilient city in terms of POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

vi

earthquake. The whole city which I left before two years is not the same as it was before. Most of the cultural heritage sites listed under world heritage sites by UNESCO is whollyoor partially damaged. Many icons of Kathmandu valley like the Bhimsen tower, which symbolizes the democracy during the early 19th century in Nepal.

Before Earthquake nepalee.com

After Earthquake

This tower is one of the tallest towers in Kathmandu and also the symbol of democracy in the country constructed in 1832 A.D.

e

Before Earthquake

After Earthquake

This is Kathmandu Palace Square, one of the world heritage sites of Kathmandu valley

This tower is completely demolished by the devastating earthquake. Out of seven different world heritage sites three are severely damaged and two are partially damaged. The Kathmandu Durbar Square is one of the oldest palace squares of the country. Although there is no evidence of exact construction dates for this square but as per the archeological evidences the early inscriptions are dated back to 1069. This whole palace is severely damaged after the earthquake. These damages are the foundation for this research. POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

vii

1. INTRODUCTION Kathmandu is a beautiful valley with diversified art and architectural composition. The valley itself is a living museum with numbers of temples, stupas and different palaces. But there is a constant threat of natural disaster, especially earthquake, in the valley as well as whole country. The valley is highly vulnerable in terms of earthquake. The factors that were catalytic for the increasing the vulnerability are also some anthropogenic factors like unorganized urbanization, violation of building codes during construction, low quality constructions, encroachment of public spaces, telecommunication tower installations without proper structural designs, etc. After the earthquake of April 25, 2015, there is an immediate necessity of the new plans and policies is observed. The instant situation observed after the earthquake was the chaos. There were no any immediate actions from the government; this reflects the failure in policy regarding the emergency handling. There were no any immediate steps from the government. Only some cultural and social organizations were actively participated in emergency rescue. Different NGO's and INGO's were more active than government. The different affected areas after earthquake can be listed below:    

Human (Including high effect on livelihood) Infrastructures ( Physical infrastructures and social infrastructures) Policy ( failure in policies) Economy (GDP, National Economy, etc.)

The failures observed after the earthquake can be summarized below:      

No policies for the emergency handling Low earthquake preparedness, although Nepal is in high seismic zone Low public awareness High vulnerable urban situation due to rapid and unorganized urbanization Violation of Building bye laws and building codes resulting the heavy loss in infrastructures Lack of urban code for the sustainable and resilient city development.


1

1.1 HYPOTHESIS and RESEARCH QUESTIONS The Kathmandu valley is in very high seismic zone with a constant threat of natural disasters like earthquake. The Kathmandu valley already suffered a series of heavy earthquakes. The city is becoming more vulnerable towards the earthquake as the urbanization is at exponential rate and on the other hand there are no efficient policies and principles towards the resiliency. Unless new innovative principles and strategies are made for the development of new sustainable and resilient urban settlements, these settlements will be in risk of natural disasters. In order to mitigate such disasters some new guidelines, strategies, policies and principles are obligatory. This study aims to address these aspects with appropriate hypothesis focusing mainly in the specific case of Earthquake.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: 1. What are the processes/measures of the urban redevelopment after an Earthquake? 2. What are the areas to be identified to make the redevelopment sustainable and earthquake resilient? 3. What might be the possible policies and strategies to develop a safe and less vulnerable urbanization? Above questions were the main guidelines for the basis for this study. These questions lead to the formation of the following hypothesis.

HYPOTHESIS: As the cities in Earthquake prone zone are highly vulnerable, different guidelines and principles are to define to develop a sustainable and disaster resilient urban settlement. Above hypothesis contained terms earthquake prone zone, Sustainable urban settlement and disaster resilient urban settlement. In very short, these terms can be elucidated as; the earthquake prone zone means the areas under high seismic zone or vulnerable in context of earthquake. Sustainable urban settlement is the settlement where the quality of life is maintained respecting the future generations' rights to enjoy the resources and using the resources in efficient and intelligent way by the present generation. The reasons of remarkable disaster vulnerability of urban settlements are (i) high population, (ii) dense construction in terms of super- and infra-structure, (iii) degradation of environmental quality due to their overpopulation and dense construction, (iv) economically and technologically high investments. (ALARSLAN, 2009) Urban settlements need to be disaster resilient which implies elasticity and POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

2

flexibility in coping with the particular challenges of the various natural disasters (Vale, et al., 2005) For the assistance to this hypothesis, the main data sources are the case studies from the recently redeveloped urban settlement Christchurch, New Zealand after earthquake and struggling country after earthquake, Haiti. Apart from this, data from different reliable sources like UN, World Bank, GIZ, JAICA, etc are also synthesized. From the recent earthquake in Nepal, April 25, 2015, the scope of this study is to try to define strength, weakness, opportunities and threats for the redevelopment of Kathmandu in sustainable and resilient way as well as to develop guidelines for the similar urban settlements.

1.2 BACKGROUND Recently, there have been a lots of disasters proliferated, either in the form of Tsunami or Katrina or big earthquake or volcano or in the form of terrorist attack. These all disasters, whether natural or manmade, ultimately are destructive to human civilization. As the urban population lags behind the rural population, the disaster risks in these urban settlements are increasing daily. Due to high population density and high population growth in the cities, mostly, in the developing countries, they do not have proper and adequate preparedness towards disaster resilience. Recent examples were from Haiti earthquake and Christchurch earthquake. Haiti is still struggling for the recovery and Christchurch is one of the most livable cities in the world after redevelopment. This study aims to take a case example from a developing country, Nepal, and to propose sustainable and resilient measures which can be adapted to the other similar kinds of countries. As a student of Sustainable Urban Technologies, I have an idea to develop my Master's thesis on the proximity of Sustainable Science. I decided to compare the sustainability study of Kathmandu valley with one of the European city. But unfortunately, the earthquake of April 25, 2015, suddenly changed everything. Kathmandu suffered a heavy loss due to the earthquake of magnitude 7.9. This accident changed my research scope into Building collapse after earthquake urban redevelopment after earthquake. This study is an outcome being an inhabitant of Kathmandu. I have noticed in Kathmandu after earthquake, the temples which I used to worship, the palace squares where I used to play and the houses where my families and relatives used to live are no more. This forced me to study towards the conceptualization of a disaster resilient and sustainable city. I decided not to mourn for the city rather I would change this grief into


3

my strength and develop a strategy which could prevent future loss and not only to Kathmandu but for all cities like Kathmandu. Most of the building were affected and even collapsed. There were some reasons behind the loss. Some of the reasons can be summarized as below: 



 









The ground floor of the buildings were without the proper use and only used as a shopping or parking and were predominantly without any internal walls, which ultimately caused soft storey effect and caused the building to collapse. The construction of the buildings without considering the geological structure of the ground. Even high rise apartments were developed without proper structural analysis and structure design. Short storey effect causing building collapse The lack of social awareness and preparedness. People were not aware of the intensity of the earthquake. Construction without following building bye laws and lack of proper monitoring. The municipal authority provided the permit to build two story high building but they are constructed five storey and even more. Unorganized urbanization. There is no urban code which controls the proper urbanization. Not efficient zoning of the city. Even the industrial zones are surrounded by the residential buildings. The lack of open spaces. Most of the open spaces encroached by the neighbors of the adjoining public space. This leads to the scarcity of public open spaces and created a chaos during the Kathmandu valley aerial view disaster. suggestnepal.com Inactive and inefficient government plans. After the earthquake, there were no proper policies from the government were formulated. This finally caused for the people to believe NGO's and INGO's rather than own government. The awareness programs are also incomplete as most of the television and paper Medias were focusing for the preparedness during the earthquake as people 4should curl them as much as possible and to find places below the beams and aside the columns etc. This might hold true to some extent but they did not flow the message like if Cover head


NSET-Nepal

4



some people are outside they can remain there but instead many went inside and found dead in curled position and standing aside columns. There were no proper renovations of the heritage sites as per the earthquake resistance. The whole country is in high seismic zone and in every 60-90 years there are repetitive huge earthquakes. We failed to consider this. This is also the major case as every alternative generations succeeded to escape the earthquake.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The technical advancement is alarming the possible disasters which even increased the uncertainty and the fear among the people. This study aims to minimize the fear from the people and tries to outline the strategies and policies to rebuilt the cities a sustainable, livable and disaster resilient. After the literature review and case studies from different post- earthquake cities this study envisaged to establish strategies and guidelines for disaster resilient cities with the disaster mitigation measures setting different urban codes as well as planning ideas and zoning for similar types of earthquake prone urban areas. The guideline will be formulated on the vision of immediate, medium and long term opportunities. This research aims finding the possible reasons behind the physical damages in Kathmandu valley. There are some factors which are already identified such as violation of codes, violation of bye laws, maximum exploitation of buildings more than carrying capacity, lack of urban code, etc. The detail explanations of these statements are also the one of the objectives of this paper. Why we were not prepared although we already knew that this day is very near? What could be the possible documents as appropriate guidelines for the further development without the fear of earthquake? These are the demanding questions and this research aims to find out the best possible answers. The cultural and social asset of Kathmandu valley can be the ultimate capital for the further redevelopment and construction of earthquake resilient city. The exploration of indigenous knowledge is vital and in some cases may be the transformation or just implementation after resurrection. The organizations like UN, EU, World Bank, UNDP, JICA, and GIZ already contributed a lot regarding various disaster mitigation and awareness. They played a pioneer role in creating public awareness, disaster preparedness and warning before the disasters. Urban agglomeration is itself becoming the one of the worries for the urban scientists. If a disaster is to occur in such an agglomeration, an unexpected loss of lives and heritages can be predicted. This study thus spotlight on the future disaster mitigation approaches and guidelines which could be beneficial to not only Kathmandu but also to various earthquake prone urban settlement with similar socio-economic conditions in order to save the agglomeration from the possible calamities. POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

5

The social bond among the people could be the prominent to develop the earthquake resilient society. The strong cultural and social root of Nepal could be the positive and asset to develop a better model. This could be very important for the redevelopment of the city after earthquake. The people are always the first priority and the group of people forming community is responsible for the cultural and social cohesion and connectivity among themselves. This capital can be important in the context of Nepal. The primary objective of this study is to find out the process or measures towards redevelopment after devastation. Next important aspect of this study is to spot out the areas to be identified to make the redevelopment sustainable and earthquake resilient. There are several areas to be identified as the shortcomings of the various factors cumulatively act to create a disaster. These areas are to be identified and to be restored towards the progression of resilient and sustainable path. Another important objective of this study is to define new design parameters for urban growth. The parameters could be a document of code or laws. This defines the necessary fundamentals for the future urban growth without creating just an agglomeration. This code is basically focused on the development of resilient city against earthquake and simultaneously sustainable for the inhabitants. For e.g. the importance of public open spaces, the necessity of wide road networks so to serve as temporary open spaces during emergency, etc. are defined in this code.

1.4 METHODOLOGY The literature study and synthesis of the data from the sources like UN, EU, JICA, etc. is the major part of the study which follows the practical approach from the recent data and field visit of Kathmandu valley. So the methods of this study are from two basics, theoretical base from the literature and practical. The theoretical part consists of literature review, institutional and scientific documents and from the case studies from various international post-earthquake redevelopments. Practical part is the major departure for the further redevelopment planning based on theoretical foundation. It consists of:  Interviewing with the concerned peoples.  Comparative case study of existing redevelopment models after earthquake in different places.  Existing activities for the earthquake resilience in Nepal.  Development of suitable model for the post-earthquake redevelopment with the appreciated criticism from urban scientists. The social and cultural assets of Nepal would be one of the major preambles for the post-earthquake redevelopment and could be important for the development of guidelines and strategies.


6

The summary of the methodology is illustrated in the diagram below:

To create a sustainable and disaster resilient urban settlement considering the case from Kathmandu, transdisciplinary approach regarding the holistic development is necessary. The existing social and cultural capitals could be the prominent to create the public awareness and preparedness. The expected departure from the above study is to formulate principles and strategies to provide guidance to be disaster resilient for disaster prone settlements.


7

2. DISASTER 2.1 INTRODUCTION The word disaster implies a sudden overwhelming and unforeseen event. At the household level, a disaster could result in a major illness, death, a substantial economic or social misfortune. At the community level, it could be a flood, a fire, a collapse of buildings in an earthquake, the destruction of livelihoods, an epidemic or displacement through conflict. When occurring at district or provincial level, a large number of people can be affected. (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2008) A hazard can only be disaster when it meets vulnerability. There will be no disasters without human beings. A hazard become disaster when there will be loss. There are lots of hazards in the oceans and seas but we never Figure 1: Langtang village after Earthquake,Nepal counted them as a disaster unless they directly or http://hype.my/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Aftershockindirectly meet the people. The hazard and Disaster-in-Nepal-1.jpg vulnerability simultaneously create disaster. Unless the vulnerability is not present hazard does not necessarily be disaster. But even if there is capacity there would not be disaster, in spite of, both hazard and vulnerability.

[

]

f (DISASTER)=f HAZARD + VULNERABILITY CAPACITY

Thus it is clear that, hazard will not always a disaster, but depends on the vulnerability and capacity. After the earthquake of April 25, 2015, Kathmandu Nepal, there is one famous saying among people," Earthquake doesn't kill, only the infrastructures we created kill". This refers to the increase in vulnerability and a cause of disaster. Vulnerability is the state of increasing the susceptibility in response to the hazard. As above mentioned example, the built infrastructure increases the vulnerability in response to the earthquake. The deforestation enhances the possibility of landslide. The vulnerability of landslide is increased by deforestation. The capacity is the resource within the society or community to reduce the effects of the possible disaster. The capacity is considered an important before disaster, during disaster and even after disaster. The pre alarming capacity before disaster prevents the POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

8

possible disaster to be limited till hazard and even during disaster, capacity is important for the immediate response and disaster management and post disaster resilience is another capacity of the society. The role of humans should not be downplayed, as human actions contribute in different ways to different catastrophic events (McEntire, 2001)or create social constructs liable to change, meaning disaster is mostly social in character. (Alexander, 2005) This implies that disasters might be defined as super-natural, natural, technological or even social [ (Alexander, 2005); (McEntire, 2001); (Quarantelli, 1998)],as the causes of disasters range from drought to tsunami, from transportation accident towards and the disaster impact also ranges from individual to country. This is always a threat to humankind. Either in a small scale or in a bigger, the disaster is always frightening to human beings. The disasters sometime are because of inability to deal with the immediate circumstances. At small level, a small problem with neighbor can be sometime a disastrous. At the same time the assistance from neighbor can be relief in some cases at household level. But at national level a flooding of whole region, landslide, an earthquake, drought, terrorist attacks, etc. are disasters. Only from government level or Non-Government Organizations (NGO), or other organizations are able to cope with this rather than an individual. They can be natural or without anthropogenic interventions. Sometime human can be catalytic to increase the risk of the disaster or to increase vulnerability. The climate change is one of the well-known effects and major catalyst is anthropogenic interventions. In national level due to different natural disasters there is a loss of national GDP every year in most of the countries around the globe. Such disasters become more cruel in the poor countries as they are neither able to survive immediately nor to recover soon. Even the famine is one of the major disasters in some parts of the world. It is very difficult to measure the disasters. The common measure is according to the total lives and property damaged by disaster

2.2 TYPES of DISASTERS The disasters are either natural in origin or from the human interventions. Those disasters like, extreme heat or extreme cold, winds, floods, earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions, etc. are considered as natural disasters. In this kind of disasters there is no direct human connection. The disasters from the accidents like transportation, wars, collapse of buildings, industrial accidents, etc. are considered as manmade disasters. The third one is the disaster with human as an increasing factor, e.g., desertification.


9

NATURAL DISASTERS: There is directly nothing a human being can do for this kind of disasters to prevent. They are very much stronger and capricious. If once the prediction is done it is only the precaution for the safety of human being. The evacuation can be done to prevent possible loss. The natural disasters originate from the forces of nature. Some of the natural disasters are listed below:      

Floods Droughts Volcanoes Earthquakes Landslides Tsunamis

For other events classified as natural disasters, risks can be dramatically reduced through careful planning. Construction codes when enforced can reduce loss from earthquakes. Governments can institute measures to assist in extreme cold and extreme heat. Food security programs can protect a population against food crises arising from pests and failed crops. Surveillance systems and high coverage by routine immunization programs can help prevent outbreaks of disease. Social programs can reduce vulnerability to disasters which otherwise could not be controlled. (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2008)

(CRED, 2015)

Natural disasters hit every continent in the world in the period 1994-2013. Asia bore the brunt of them in terms of frequency and the total numbers of people killed and affected. POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

10

This is due mainly to Asia’s large and varied landmass - with multiple river basins, flood plains, mountains, active seismic and volcanic zones etc. at high risk from natural hazards - plus high population densities in disaster-prone regions. Earthquakes (including tsunamis) are typically far more deadly than any other type of disaster, accounting for 55% of the disaster deaths over the 20-year period, claiming nearly 750,000 lives. (CRED, 2015)

(CRED, 2015)

DISASTERS with HUMAN as a FACTOR The beliefs are still prevailing in some communities with the blame for every disaster is upon god. This is from initial days of human civilization and still exists. During the past three decades there was high natural exploitation than the production of natural capital. Many disasters would never have been or at least with a small impact without human intrusions. Due to the deforestation, there is unusual desertification. During recent earthquake in Nepal there was a famous quote "Earthquake doesn't kill, the infrastructure we made are going to kill us". This appears to be very true. When we do not construct according to earthquake resistance construction in earthquake prone zone, without climatic consideration in extreme climatic zones, then this is obvious we are increasing the vulnerability ourselves. Current hot topic of climate change with the result global warming is a catalytic and anthropogenic example of human being a major factor. After the industrial revolutions, the exponential increase in temperature is a good example with the actor being human.


11

DISASTERS caused by HUMAN The products made in industries which are potentially dangerous can be someday a disaster. The weapons produced from human beings are increasing the risk. Although development is indispensible, the potential threat from high transportation development simultaneously increasing the transportation disasters risks. Armed conflict is also one of the biggest disasters. We already had bitter experiences of world wars along with additional wars. Post war effects not only directly impacted within the remaining landmines and the populations displaced, but also there is an economic consequence to the countries affected as well as their region. (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2008) WTC after Sept. 11, 2001 http://media.graytvinc.com/images/911+attacks.jpg

2.3 EARTHQUAKE An earthquake is natural (volcanic eruption, plate tectonics movement) or manmade (explosions) hasty and brutal motion of the earth, which lasts for a short span of time within a limited area. Naturally it occurs when tectonic plates collide with each other and the release of stress causing the vibration of concentric seismic waves and finally there is earth Plates and earthquake movements know as earthquake. Most of the earthquakesandplates.wordpress.com earthquakes last only less than a minute. The point from where the energy is released is known as focus and just above it on earth surface is known as epicenter. The epicenter acts as an origin of an earthquake on the earth's surface. Several aftershocks are present after an earthquake. There are several methods to measure earthquake. Widely accepted one is Richter scale, developed by Charles F. Richter in 1934. Other methods like The Moment Magnitude Scale, The Mercalli Scale, etc. are also used. The large earthquakes like the April 25, 2015, Nepal followed by series of aftershocks and even sometime series of earthquake. It is important to know an earthquake as a result of stored energy in the earth-crust which POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

12

creates seismic waves during the release of the energy. The seismic event either created by natural phenomenon or by the human interventions, which produce the seismic waves, is earthquake. Earthquake is generally accepted as a disaster. But before a disaster, as we discussed above in introduction, is a natural hazard. If the region without any infrastructures and built environment face earthquake, it only ended becoming a hazard. If the same happens in urban settlement like Kathmandu, it is a disaster. Some things that affect the amount of damage that occurs are:    

the strength of quake;, the design of building; the distance from the epicenter; the type of material (rock or dirt) the buildings rest on (soil).

Three types of earthquakes are identified according to their origin, tectonic, volcanic, and explosion earthquakes. Tectonics earthquakes are the result form the geological forces caused from the tectonic plates movement. Volcanic eruptions caused the volcanic earthquakes. The man made and due to the chemical and nuclear explosions sometimes caused explosion earthquakes.

2.4 DISASTER MANAGEMENT I have recently watched a speech of Osho, Rajnish, in some religious program, he said, "don't worry, this to be pass". This creates the hope. The bitter truth about disaster is that it is reality but the sweeter truth is that this is temporal reality. Every year thousands of people lost their lives because of different disasters; this is a big threat to humanity. It is very necessary to manage such disasters to avoid human loss. The perception of disaster as an “event” implies that disaster has a point of beginning and an end. Therefore we categorize disaster situations with reference to the event in focus; before, during and after disasters. This also determines disaster management actions as prevention or mitigation (before), emergency response (during) and long term rehabilitation and development (after), which together form part of disaster management cycle. (Jigyasu, 2005) Disaster management can be described as a management approach that uses administrative, organizational and operational knowledge to implement policies, strategies and practical measures to lessen the impacts of disasters. (Un/ISDR, 2004) Modern approach of defining management cycles from the perspective of sustainable science refers to the holistic approach looking a whole management cycle from predisaster to disaster till the post-disaster period as a complete system. The disaster not only specified but in general system the definition to find the risk management is more POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

13

complete and holistic to define the disaster management, as a sub system of the whole system. What goes around comes around. What goes up must come down. Alicia Keys (in “Karma”) Nothing is permanent in universe. The thing is we cannot be inert considering this fact. We have to add additional inputs to the ongoing risks to human kind. At first we understand disaster management as a system and there is a disaster management cycle.

Disaster Management Cycle

There are two phases in disaster management cycle, other than disaster itself. Before the disaster there is risk management and after the disaster there is crisis management. This whole cycle is a system and none of the components should be separately studies to understand the disaster in whole. These two systems are also known as emergency management system and risk management system. Disaster management needs continuous chain of mitigation, preparation, response and recovery. This completes the disaster management cycle. According to disaster management system, there is always the possibility of disaster for which the proper disaster mitigation is needed and should be followed by preparedness during the disaster and immediately before disaster the measures for the early alarming should be developed. These pre-disaster preparations put aside the possible loss. Impact POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

14

assessment after the disaster is very important to know the intensity of disaster. The emergency response after the disaster is vital for the further recovery and reconstruction. Disaster management is the organization of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and rehabilitation. (Jeggle, 2003)

2.5 DISASTER MITIGATION In simple understanding disaster mitigation is to reduce the severity of the human and material damage caused by the disaster. Disaster mitigation concerns those measures taken to reduce the damage, disruption and casualties caused by disasters. (OECD, 1994) Disaster mitigation is any action taken to eliminate or minimize the impact of a disaster on people, property and the environment. (Florida, 2004). This can be defined as a means to limit hazard to become a disaster. Mitigation is to take actions prepare to reduce the possible effects of the hazards. The United Nations had adopted the decade of the 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. The aim was to achieve significant reduction in the loss of life and material damage caused by disasters by the end of the decade. The measures necessary to reduce the risk of disease were expensive-massive investment in infrastructure was needed to build sewers and clean water supply networks-and required major changes in public practices and attitudes. Social historians refer to this as the “Sanitary Revolution”. Disasters today are seen in much the same way as disease was in the early19th century: unpredictable, unlucky and part of the everyday risk of living. Concentrations of people and rising population levels across the globe are increasing the risk of disasters and multiplying the consequences of natural hazards when they occur. Initially encouraged by public awareness campaigns, they gradually became part of the social norms and were taught by parents to their children. Attitudes changed from the previous fatalism about disease to a public health “safety culture”, where everyone participated in reducing the risk of communal disease. (Coburn, et al., 1994) The most important part of the disaster mitigation is to understand the nature of the threat from the disaster itself. According to geology, location, climate and other conditions there are different hazard threats to different countries and places. Some countries are prone to volcano, some are prone to earthquake and some are prone to flood, etc. The effects these hazards are likely to have and the damage they are likely to cause depends on what is present in the region: the people, their houses, sources of livelihood and infrastructure. Each country is different. The understanding of the hazard includes the following comprehension:  

origin of hazard possibility of happening and magnitude


15

  

scale and method of destruction identifying most vulnerable groups and the effects on them consequence of damage

Saving life and reducing the possible loss of economic destruction is mitigation. Depending on the nature of hazard, mitigation measures are different. The thatch roof or small huts are vulnerable to strong storms but resilient to earthquake. As this study is limited within Earthquake, the mitigation for the earthquake is taken into account mostly.  Engineering of structures to withstand vibration forces.  Seismic building codes.  Enforcement of compliance with building code requirements and encouragement of higher standards of construction quality.  Construction of important public sector buildings to high standards of engineering design.  Strengthening of important existing buildings known to be vulnerable.  Location planning to reduce urban densities on geological areas known to amplify ground vibrations.  Insurance. Seismic zoning and land-use regulations. (Coburn, et al., 1994) The community participation is very prominent as the disaster is not only confined to individual but at a community level. The community participation can be expected as follows:  Construction of earthquake-resistant buildings and desire to live in houses safe from seismic forces.  Awareness of earthquake risk.  Activities and day-to-day arrangements of building contents carried out bearing in mind possibility of ground shaking.  Sources of naked flames, dangerous appliances etc. made stable and safe.  Knowledge of what to do in the event of an earthquake occurrence; participation in earthquake drills, practices, public awareness programs.  Community action groups for civil protection: fire-fighting and first aid training. Preparation of fire extinguishers, excavation tools and other civil protection equipment.  Contingency plans for training family members at the family level. (Coburn, et al., 1994)


16

3. KATHMANDU VALLEY 3.1 HISTORY The settlement history of Kathmandu Valley is from 190 A.D. (Rajbansi, 1994 p. 18). The Lichhavi period (c.300 A.D.-879 A.D.) laid the foundation of cultural social and administrative development and achieved architectural development in high standard, particularly, in, Kathmandu Valley. The masterpiece of stone sculptures that are available in Kathmandu Valley belongs to that period. (Pradhan, 1996 p. 49)

Kathmandu Valley Aerial View

The next great dynasty is the Malla dynasty.(c. 1200 Source: miro r. susta photography A.D.- 1768 A.D.). This period had witnessed the culmination of art, architecture and culture of Kathmandu Valley. As a result, this period is considered as the golden period of Nepal. (Pradhan, 1996 p. 50). The Shah period (1768 A.D.-2008 A.D.) heralded the modern history of Nepal. During the Shah period, Rana's took the power from kings and allowed kings to be ceremonial. During the Rana's power (1847- 1951 A.D.) they had encouraged the western NeoClassical architecture, almost all the existing big white stucco palaces belonged to them. (Pradhan, 1996 p. 50)

3.2 HISTORY OF EARTHQUAKES IN KATHMANDU Kathmandu valley is suffering a lot of earthquakes from historical time. From 1900 to 2005, over 13,000 disaster events were recorded with a total of 7,400,000 human casualties in Nepal. (Aryal, 2012). In Nepal, during last century, over 11000 people have lost their lives in major earthquakes. The earthquake of 1255, which has been reported, destroyed many houses and temples and killed one third to one fourth population of Kathmandu Valley. The earthquake of 1408 destroyed the MachhendraNath temple of Patan. Similarly the earthquakes of 1681 and 1810 have been reported but the exact location of these earthquakes is not known. (Marahatta, 2007) The most destructive was Bihar/ Nepal earthquake in 1934. Three earthquakes of similar size occurred in Katmandu Valley in the 19th century: in 1810, 1833 and 1866.


17

The seismic records of the region which extends back to 1680, 1407, 1259 and 1253, suggest that earthquakes of this size occur approximately every 75 years.

3.3 RESPOND TO PREVIOUS EARTHQUAKES Most known and devastating was the earthquake from 1934, January 15, most popularly known as Nepal-Bihar earthquake. Kathmandu valley was cruelly affected at that time. The HistoricNepal- Bihar earthquake measured 8.4 in Richter scale. It caused the widespread damage in Central and Eastern part of Nepal and in Northern India. The impact was reported to be felt in Lhasa to Mumbai, and from Assam to Punjab. (Institute, 2015) Depending on the locality, the earthquake Kathmandu Valley after 1934 was said to last for 2-5 minutes with peak Shree M J Brahma Sumsher shaking around 2.5 mins after the initiation of the earthquake. It should be noted that peak shaking occurred only after few minutes of initiation of shaking allowing sufficient time to evacuation at the mid-day; hence less casualties. (Institute, 2015) As per the recorded data velocity of ground shaking had been estimated in Kathmandu as 8 ft. /sec with higher values of 10 ft./sec in Bhaktapur, and in some villages in Lalitpur. Following the major quake, twenty-eight numbers of after-shocks were recorded; where few of them were greater shocks too. (Institute, 2015) Kathmandu valley was severely damaged in that earthquake. However buildings built on Bedrock survived well than those built on unconsolidated sedimentary deposit available at most part of the valley. Tilting and slumping of the houses were entirely absent. Most of the destruction of the structures built on unconsolidated sediment had been assumed due to amplification effect of such loose deposits. (Institute, 2015) Roads and lands were fissured out at many places with emergence of water and sands too. At places, even the water springs out about 10-12 feet from such fissures. Floods were there in the rivers carrying dirty waters. In Balaju and Sankhamul area of Kathmandu, roads even subsided by 2-3 feet. Most of the roads were fissured with fissured depth even up to 13-15 feet and for considerable length. Over 70% of the building collapsed in Kathmandu. (Institute, 2015) POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

18

Following the devastating earthquake of 1934, the Ranas tried to restructure the city according to the changing times. They built thoroughfares connecting the old city to the palace complexes which were constructed outside the city cores. JuddhaSumsher introduced wide thoroughfare into the city core area of Kathmandu, opening up the Durbar square and constructing a new centre within the city. He maintained the uniform façade of JuddhaSadak, built Bhugol Park, Nepal Bank, the fire brigade and a sabhagriha (Jan Sewa cinema). Many of the buildings of New Road also followed the colonial design although it was not uniform as in JuddhaSadak as they were built as individual structures. Much of JuddhaSadak still retains its original façade while that of New Road has been completely modernized. The Bhugol Park is a small sandwiched space, its openness reduced by the construction of the new large Nepal Bank building built in the open space in front of the original building which also has been demolished and replaced by a new annex. At that time, the government spent Rs 2, 06,500 through the earthquake relief fund in Kathmandu valley alone. The earthquake relief fund established by the king offered loans to those affected throughout the country. It must be noted that Prime Minister JuddhaShamsher JBR, a hereditary executive, left no stone unturned to announce the relief efforts after the earthquake of 1934 and cater to the people in need for years later. He was able to do everything that was possible at that moment. In fact, his Kharibot speech to the nation, in which he explained to the common people in 1938 how the government tackled the devastation, provided relief to the earthquake victims and affected people, started the process of reconstruction and re-aroused the passion of a nation that almost collapsed, is still a living testament of Nepal’s capacity for disaster management. (Adhikari, 2015)

3.4 KATHMANDU VALLEY URBANIZATION The spatial definition of urbanization is the process of transformation of the land use from agricultural and forest use into built-up surface and the transformation of rural landscape towards urban. This transformation is very rapid in Asia in recent decades. Kathmandu Valley, which is the most populous metropolitan region in the country, has been facing rapid urbanization over the last three decades (Sharma, 2003).

Land Use Map of Kathmandu Valley Kathmandu Metropolitan City


19

The better living opportunities are the major pulling factors towards Kathmandu valley. The centralized government system and the agglomeration of all possible facilities from education to health and from job to safety are factors for internal migration. As per Central Bureau of Statistics, CBS,2004 the reasons for migration in the valley include ‘family reasons’ (54%), ‘looking a job’ (18%), an ‘easier lifestyle’ (14.2%), ‘education/training’(9.1%), ‘natural disasters’ (0.6%), ‘political reasons’ (0.3%), and ‘other purposes’ (3.8%).

Changes in land use Thapa,2008

There are various factors for the analysis of urbanization and urban system but the scope of the study is limited to the major factors within the direct impact of earthquake vulnerability.

3.4.1 HOUSING The Housing is one of the major factors to reflect the urbanization process. The situation in Kathmandu valley shows that there has-been 14 percent decline in owner households between 2003/04 and 2010/11. Rental households meanwhile have increased by 15%.According to NLSS 2010/11 average dwelling size in urban area has decreased from 584 sqft to 571 sqft since 2003/04. In case of Kathmandu Valley it has decreased from 589to 555 sq ft. Average dwelling size in Kathmandu Valley is slightly lower than that of other urban areas. However, the average area of housing plot has increased from 1162 sqft to 1224 sqft in case of Kathmandu Valley.

Private Housing condition

((MoUD), 2015) In the last one and a half decade the private sector has emerged as an active player in the urban housing. Around62 housing projects (Group Housing and Apartments) with 6113 housing units are being implemented within Kathmandu Valley since 2012. The involvement of private sector in housing in other urban areas remains limited. ((MoUD), 2013). The recent development of this housing and apartment companies provided well-structured housing. On the other Housing provided by companies hand, the private housing and even some private apartments flickr.com were built avoiding the bye- laws and building code. There is no efficient and proper monitoring and supervision from the responsible authorities. This POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

20

increases the vulnerability of city in terms of disaster. Even the associated bodies are not concerned much more.

3.4.2 OPEN SPACES Open spaces in Kathmandu are not only recreational and leisure activities but also basic needs. As the city is prone to earthquake, the open spaces are the routes as well as shelter during the disaster period. The open spaces are also need to classify according to suitability during the emergence. A methodology to rank suitability of open spaces for contingency planning and placement of shelter in the immediate aftermath of a disaster is introduced. The Open Space Suitability Index (OSSI) uses the combination of two different measures: a qualitative evaluation criterion for the suitability and manageability of open spaces to be used as shelter sites and another quantitative criterion using a capacitated accessibility analysis based on network analysis. For the qualitative assessment implementation issues, environmental considerations and basic utility supply are the main categories to rank candidate shelter sites. (Anhorn, et al., 2015)

Open Space Suitability Index (OSSI) evaluation scheme

(Anhorn, et al., 2015)

Open Space distribution Kathmandu

The open spaces were traditionally used to perform various cultural and ritual performances. Even after the earthquake of 1934, open spaces in Kathmandu were used as shelter and public speech places. But gradually there is a movement from land-mafia POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

21

who encroach the public spaces with political or monetary power. The gradual disappearance of public and open spaces results the city more vulnerable in terms of natural disaster like Earthquake, fire, etc. During this earthquake the only used open spaces in Kathmandu valley was Tundikhel, this is the open space used for various activities like festivals and political speeches. This space was serving as a shelter for more than 1000 people during this earthquake.

3.4.3 INFRASTRUCTURES The infrastructure development in Nepal was extensive just after the re-establishment of democracy in 1990. The development was retarded due to a decade long civil war so called Maoist war (1996-2006). There were only destructions of the infrastructures rather than development. Although there were no any remarkable changes throughout country, Kathmandu, being capital city is able to develop various infrastructures. In Kathmandu valley itself there are more than 30 hospitals, more than 10 engineering and medical institutions, most of the NGOs and INGOs located, and even the industrial districts are there. Almost everything needed for the valley are there in Kathmandu itself. But still the infrastructures are incomplete and insufficient. There are some bye laws and building codes but they are rarely in practice. The powerful and rich people of the city are untouchable from the government and law. The roads are tendered in such a way that the corruption money is more than the infrastructure development budget. The transportation system is without any rules and regulations. The electricity is available only 12 hours per day in average due to high power cut provision. There are no any efficient alternatives. The drinking water supply is also a big problem. Almost designed for 0.6 Mi in 2001 but the population is double in a decade but still the water supply project is under construction. No proper sewer system. The political infrastructure is still very young and unfortunately the democracy is not yet institutionalized.

3.4.4 CULTURE The Kathmandu valley is always privileged with culture of the city. The brotherhood and the respect towards others are always of high priority and the people are proud that this still exists today. The country itself is under the influence of Hinduism. The religion also set an example of the respect towards environment. For e.g., the god is omnipresent, this is the belief of Hinduism. There is presence of god in every form like stones, mud and water till sun and moon. This cultural belief creates the importance of value of all things. This prevents people to do any harm to the environment. According to senior professor of Institute of Engineering, IOE, Prof. Sudarshan Raj Tiwari says: “…local POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

22

technology is quicker for rebuilding because of the local materials…we had knowledge on post disaster rehabilitation by restarting life by rebuilding…” He adds that earthquakes have cultural responses too because during earthquake people tend to evacuate themselves to the open spaces by shouting Narasimha- the name of earthquake god, which was nothing but alarming other people who might not have felt the earthquake. Therefore it could be said that there is the cumulative knowledge on earthquake vulnerability reduction particularly in Kathmandu culture. (Marahatta, 2007)

3.4.5 SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE The History of Kathmandu Valley suggests the sustainability was precedence of the valley. The ideology of people to worship nature was the most significant part of the respect and concern towards the environment. This was far before the democratic movement in the country. During the decade of democratic revival in the country (1990s), there were not much thinking in the sustainability and resilience. Although the scientists working in the earthquake research always warn the next alarm is near. As per the history revives the frequency of a big earthquake is almost 70 years, the mid 90s and early 2000 were more vulnerable. Here are some examples towards the resilience development regarding the traditional construction technology: Plan Configuration: The traditional buildings derive a fair level of earthquake resistance through use of appropriate plan configuration. Use of square plan with full symmetry in the case of temples, give these buildings perfect symmetry in terms of distribution of mass and rigidity. This has given equal strength to the building in response to any direction of ground wave and lateral forces. Symmetry in position of openings not only avoids location of openings too close to building corners but also effectively make the center of mass and center of rigidity (geometric center for buildings with symmetrical distribution of stiffness) one and the same. This factor has helped reduce torsion during earthquakes. (Tiwari, 1998) Triple wall structure of residences: The residential building structure has a central spine wall parallel to the two exterior long walls and the side walls are non-load bearing. The layout of floor joists and continuous wall tie/plate and the way they are connected to the wall effectively distribute the stresses over the whole building. In later constructions, the central wall is a double timber post and lintel system, with light timber partition cross walls, thus adding to the shear capacity of this wall. During earthquakes, due to the layout of joists and their system of ties, it is always the long walls that take the shear. (Tiwari, 1998) Double framing of openings: The Nepalese builder's observation of earthquake action and damage and his response through appropriate details can be seen in the critical jamb section of windows. Use of double wood frames going all round the opening on POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

23

both sides of the thick wall and use of cross ties show his achievements here. This type of detailing is seen in doors also. (Tiwari, 1998) Roof tied to Wall: The traditional buildings use timber ring plates and wedges to hold the sloping roof tightly to wall to avoid sliding off during quakes. (Tiwari, 1998) Reducing load consecutively in upper floors: Apart from the reduction of wall thickness in upper floors due to lesser load carrying requirement and these of light partition walls, second and third floor central walls in residential buildings are often total timber frames. This method has not only reduced dead load of upper floor but has also given more shear strength to the spine. (Tiwari, 1998) This was the traditional technology. Still there is a practice but the transformation of construction technology after the introduction of concrete changed a lot. The buildings were constructed with the use of brick and cement mortar and the slabs are cast-on-site RCC structure, without appropriate code. Unfortunately, Nepal still do not have own code and still follow sometimes Indian and sometime British code of construction. After the reintroduction of Democracy in Nepal (1990), there were various achievements but there were no any prominent development in the construction and design industry. In response for the earthquake, Microseimic monitoring in Nepal started in November, 1978 by Department of Mines and Geology (DMG), Ministry of Industry, government of federal democratic republic of Nepal in collaboration with Laboratoire de Geophysiqueppliquee, Paris University, France with the installation of first short period verticalseismic station Phulchoki(PKI) hilltop in the south of Kathmandu. (NSC, 2015)

3.5 EARTHQUAKE FOOTAGE On the April 25, 2015, the Saturday morning almost everyone in the Kathmandu valley was enjoying the holiday. But suddenly there was a huge shaking of Earth exactly at 11:56 am. No one could understand what is happening. It was the one of the most devastating earthquakes in the history of Nepal, popularly known as Gorkha Earthquake. The magnitude recorded is 7.8 (as per USGS. 12 May 2015) and 8.1 (as per China Earthquake Networks Center, 28 April 2015).

Nepal Earthquake Impacts

More than 8,000 people lost their lives, leaving more than 17,000 injured and 1,300,000 Homeless. (2015).


irinnews.com

24

14 districts are almost completely devastated. In Kathmandu Valley alone, there are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Only one out of these seven is not damaged by the earthquake. There were three palace squares and were very famous for the public interaction and social space. The square palaces were also good examples of the mixed use public spaces. As the scope of this is study is limited within Kathmandu Valley the detail earthquake footage is described below.

3.5.1 KATHMANDU VALLEY The Kathmandu valley is composed of seven different cultural heritage sites. The religious tolerance and brotherhood are examples of the culturally rich Kathmandu valley. Although, Kathmandu is only one Metropolitan city of the country, there are still a big proportion of people dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Valley itself is responsible for the 23.4% of economic share of the whole country as per the study by Nepal Central Bank on 2010/11.Trade accounts for 21% of its finances. Manufacturing comes next in importance with 19%. Kathmandu is a major manufacturer and exporter of garments and woolen carpets. Other sectors are agriculture (9%), education (6%), transport (6%) and hotels and restaurants (5%). Tourism is also a key component of the city's economy. (Pant, et al., 2009)

Shelters in Kathmandu after earthquake

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/25/world/asia/nepal -earthquake-maps.html


25

Kathmandu Durbar Square Before and After Earthquake

Most of the traditional treasures were damaged due to the earthquake. The traditional buildings were also the content of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The palaces are dated back to third century and even before. These monuments are severely damaged and most of the historians of Nepal are pessimistic regarding the reconstruction. The residential buildings were not much damaged as projected by various studies although; there are a lot of residential buildings with cracks in the valley. The residential buildings are basically of three types:   

RCC Frame structure Typical Load Bearing structure Typical Load bearing with mud mortar

Typical Load Bearing

Typical RCC Structure, Kathmandu


26

Typical Load bearing with mud mortar

RCC Frame Structure with brick walls: The majority of newer buildings in the Kathmandu valley are constructed of RC frames with cast-in-place reinforced concrete slabs on shallow concrete spread footings with brick masonry infill walls. The Lateral Force Resisting Systems (LFRS) of the RC frame buildings were designed as concrete moment frames. However, the stiffness of the brick masonry walls was often not taken into account while designing the concrete moment frames. The infill walls are mostly designed as non-load-bearing partition walls only. (Sabina S. Surana, June 2015) But these buildings were not constructed with appropriate construction technologies. Mostly, because of high land value and real estate price, the most important thing is size of rooms and people tend to construct as high building as possible without respecting building bye laws. The buildings are needed to be construct as fast as possible due to bank loan and also to maintain quick rate of return. The stiffness of infill walls was typically not taken into account while designing the RC moment frames as the LFRS. Due to the stiffness of the brick masonry material, the lateral loads were transferred to the infill walls, causing damage. However, the most significant damage to buildings appeared to be mostly due to poor construction and the soft-storey phenomenon where a lower level floor is significantly weaker and more flexible than the upper floors of the building. (Sabina S. Surana, June 2015) Most of the RC frame buildings in the Kathmandu valley appeared to have an open floor architectural layout with fewer infill walls for stores or other commercial purposes at the ground floor level. This significantly reduced the stiffness of the lower floor level compared to upper levels with more infill walls, creating a soft storey. Soft storey buildings were particularly susceptible to earthquake damage as has been observed in many other earthquakes around the world. (Sabina S. Surana, June 2015) Soft storey failure


27

Soft storey effect globalquakemodel.org

Typical Load bearing structure: Masonry buildings are brittle structures and one of the most vulnerable of the entire building stock under strong earthquake shaking. Ground vibrations during earthquakes cause inertia forces at locations of mass in the building. These forces travel through the roof and walls to the foundation. The main emphasis is on ensuring that these forces reach the ground without causing major damage or collapse. Of the three components of a masonry building (roof, wall and foundation), the walls are most vulnerable to damage caused by horizontal forces due to earthquake. (C.V.R.Murty) The bulk of historic and older construction is comprised of either brick with mud mortar or adobe construction. The floor systems of brick houses are constructed of unreinforced mud or cement plaster (if the building had been renovated) over wooden planks and floor joists. The floor systems of adobe houses are made of locally available mud plaster on a bamboo floor system. The roof systems consist of either fired clay tiles overlain on wooden planks over wood roof joists with mud mortar or corrugated metal deck over wood joists. The common Load Bearing Wall failure damage observed in these buildings was diagonal shear failure on mortar, including horizontal bed and vertical head joints and out-of-plane wall collapses. Most of the unreinforced load bearing wall buildings lacked positive wall-to-diaphragm structural connections, causing out-ofplane wall failure.


28

Brick Masonry Building Behavior during Earthquake (IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 12)

Typical Load bearing with mud mortar: Majority of traditional buildings of Kathmandu valley as well as residential buildings are made up of sundried bricks and stones with mud mortar. The reinforcement is wood. The buildings are basically rectangular in shape. The buildings are basically 3 storied and only minorities are 4 storied. The mixed use is prevailing from pre-historic time. Ground floor is used as shops and upper floors are for residential purposes Floor-to-floor heights are quite low, often measuring only 2.20m. The masonry wall Typical load bearing building thicknesses range from 12” to 18”. A mud mortar is found in the older buildings, and the brick walls are most often exposed, and not plastered over because of aesthetic value. Only a few temples are made up of completely stone without the use of mortar and negligible are from the wood only. Furthermore, the less elastic and ductile capacities of these traditional buildings are favorable for the poor earthquake performances. The common damage observed in these Diagonal shear failure load bearing buildings was diagonal shear failure on mortar, building including horizontal bed and vertical head joints and out-of-plane wall collapses. Most of the unreinforced load bearing wall buildings lacked


29

positive wall-to-diaphragm structural connections, causing out of-plane wall failure. The inappropriate construction methodology also turns out expensive for the building collapse. Unskilled craftsmanship and the lower quality of material are common and because of this the vulnerability increased continuously. In spite of the obligatory building bye laws, improper supervision and governmental and administrative negligence caused the more lousy constructions and building quality.

3.5.2 CAUSES BEHIND THE DESTRUCTION It is not easy to deal with any natural disaster being a human being and even when the frequency of the disaster is very slim. The same case is with the earthquake of April 25 in Kathmandu and whole Nepal. The last earthquake recorded as a huge was before 80 years (1934, magnitude 8.2). There is no such continuous flow of message to public regarding the earthquake and the possibilities to become a disaster. History is there to alert the next alarm of earthquake in every 70-80 years but this is a huge span of time and almost the generation who suffered most is no longer alive. People just remember the numbers not the real threat. Some of the causes that can be blamed as major to prevent the earthquake from becoming the disaster are as follows:  



 



Earthquake itself was of colossal magnitude 7.8 with a source that was only 11kmbelow ground. Very primitive knowledge of people regarding the earthquake and its consequences (for e.g., there were a lots of TV and radio programs which were focusing for the prevention of possible loss by hiding one under the chair or standing near the columns of buildings, but the severe result was that many people were found dead as in the position of under table or bed, even the people who were playing on the ground went inside to hide themselves due to the idea from the media). This proves the lack of complete knowledge. Next important factor is the preparedness. There was not much preparation for any disaster, although being most vulnerable group of people either from earthquake or fire or flood or even landslide in the Kathmandu valley. The most damaged buildings were non-engineered buildings without proper supervision and building material. There is no sufficient knowledge on local people regarding the earthquake friendly construction. The people were afraid to bear the extra cost to enhance the seismic construction due to lack of knowledge. In Kathmandu valley buildings with free plan and open first floor (as described by architect Le Corbusier, five points for a new architecture) were damaged due to soft story effect. (The soft story irregularity, refers to the existence of a building floor that presents a significantly lower stiffness than the others, hence


30













it is also called: flexible story. It is commonly generate unconscientiously due to the elimination or reduction in number of rigid non-structural walls in one of the floors of a building, or for not considering on the structural design and analysis, the restriction to free deformation that enforces on the rest of the floors, the attachment of rigid elements to structural components that were not originally taken into consideration. (Guevara-Perez)). The ground floors are usually used for the shopping purposes and parking purposes and mostly are without walls. Use of inappropriate cantilever. Due to high commercial values, the buildings are projected with cantilevers and these cantilevers are used as rooms to rent. These cantilevers often seemed to damage because of the development of bending moments. Architectural failure is also the prominent during the earthquake. Some of the Upper floors with cantilevered rooms architectural designs are without the consideration of basic structural values. A building I visited was constructed without considering the positions of columns and beams. All of the walls were constructed in order to hide the columns and beams. This acts as a load bearing building and the structural failure due to high load on slab. The glass facade and aluminum walls are acting as soft story. Due to the high aesthetic value and low construction period, buildings with more percentage of openings rather than walls are very popular in Kathmandu and these buildings are severely destructed as they also acted as soft storey. Another important aspect is the administration. There are not enough policies from the government towards the earthquake resistant design. Neither there is any efficient supervision from the government for the structural and architectural construction. The building design drawings including architectural, structural, electrical and sanitation are to be passed from the municipal authority as per the rules. But there is not efficient supervision during the construction. The major problem of poor countries like Nepal is another factor. This is the corruption. If there is any problem regarding the design or structure the easiest solution is to pay some amount to the government officials. This will allow to the construction without obstructions. This resulted majority of buildings in the valley without minimum building standard. Finally the consequence is the earthquake vulnerable buildings. The encroachment of the open spaces caused more chaos during the hazard. People were not able to find emergency escape place and even the place to stay after the continuous aftershocks. The public and open spaces in the valley are getting smaller.


31





The old buildings are without retrofitting to reduce earthquake vulnerability. Mostly, temples and palaces which were built before and around 17th century are damaged and also because they were not preserved perfectly. All of these structures were taken as examples that were still standing after the great earthquake of 1934. That was our mistake to understand such important heritages as resilient without knowing real resilience value. The lack of proper urban code is leading the urbanization of Kathmandu towards unorganized urban place and this leads to more vulnerable city during hazards.

3.6 PRESENT CONDITION After the cruel devastating earthquake of April 25 the whole Nepal started crying. The Kathmandu Valley being the capital of Nepal is much more terrorized with the every shocks of Earthquake and a series of Aftershocks. According to an inventory report prepared by Department of Housing and Physical Planning in collaboration with UNESCO experts estimates that almost 80 % of all historical monuments in Nepal are found in the Kathmandu valley. (Pradhan, 1996 p. 50)

Bhaktapur Durbar Square before earthquake

William Kirkpatrick, the first Englishman to reach Kathmandu, once said" The valley consists of as many temples as there are houses and as many idols as there are men". Unfortunately after the 7.8 Bhaktapur Durbar Square after earthquake magnitude Earthquake, Kathmandu Valley is completely changed. There were several NOG's and INGO's working and some are still working for the humanitarian intervention. The humanitarian priorities to the people were as follows: Shelter: Tents, Blankets, etc. Food Water and Sanitation Medicines Removal of rubbles Construction of temporary and transitional shelters


32

Land use zoning map Ministry of physical planning and works, Nepal

There is a proper land use zoning map of Kathmandu valley developed by Ministry of physical planning and works which clearly segregated the different zones as per the functions. For example, there is a separated area for the industrial district with subsidies in rental but due to low rental cost in this area people shift here as a residential use. This creates unusual health hazard for the people. The institutional zone is also separated but there are more mixed use residences in addition to the targeted institutional provisions. The zoning itself needs proper modifications as there are three industrial districts surrounded by completely dense residential area which increases health vulnerability of people increasing risk to various diseases. There are the heritage sites as identified by UNESCO as world heritage sites but these heritage sites are enclosed by high rise buildings increasing the vulnerability during the disasters like earthquake in terms of


33

escape routes. The history of Kathmandu valley reveals the development of the city is only for the pedestrians as the city was completely agriculture and craft based. The settlement history shows the development of the urban area mostly in the current world heritage sites areas rest of the area were used as agricultural and crafting regions. The streets were very narrow and are still narrow as being designed and developed for the pedestrians and the buildings with the maximum height of three-storey. The major transportation tools of people was called Kharpan (made up of two baskets and a small bamboo stick is used as base to carry on neck). The pedestrian paths were only limited to the width of these Kharpans. There was a Man carrying Kharpan huge transformation of Kathmandu valley during the 1990s http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1159/5 and there is a complete change in urban system. Most of the open 42473225_0e9f389a9f_m.jpg spaces used for the agriculture were filled by the concrete structure which ultimately leads to the scarcity of ground water as there were no ground recharge, these small corridors were used for the cars which leads to the unusual vibrations to the building leaving them more vulnerable to earthquake, the industrial districts were installed in middle human settlement area which caused air pollution and noise pollution. There is an unusual urban transformation in irregular and random pattern leaving city more vulnerable. The city was originally developed for the New Construction pedestrians and horse riding only. Even during the disaster there were sufficient open spaces which provided temporary shelter. On the course of urban transformation the open spaces are decreasing and also the traditional buildings are being replaced by concrete buildings but more than four storeys because of high land price but the corridors and streets are as same as they were before in the width. All these factors are cumulatively increasing the disaster vulnerability of Kathmandu. In two and a half decade the whole city is transformed into a hybrid city and there is even more urban sprawl in the periphery. The city is called hybrid here as there are still some families who are dependent in the agriculture in the core city area, some other are still producing the mud potteries, metal idols and wood carvings. However there is still a big portion economic activity is also from service industry.


34

Kathmandu Valley present condition

The core area of Kathmandu valley is severely damaged. The ring road surrounds the internal city area of the valley creating the urban sprawl at some nodal points of city. In the fig. above the office and commercial nodal points with a buffer of 500 m is created. There is a very high public flow in these areas everyday but they are not well corresponded by the open spaces. Even the dense residential area in the city is itself very vulnerable not only from earthquake but from every possible hazard as the residential area lack the possible safe open space in case of emergency. There are three major rivers flowing in the city which assumed to serve the beauty of the city and can serve as emergency shelter of the area but due to the encroachment of river banks and pollution of the rivers it is very far to assume the shelter around these rivers.


35

Gongabu Chowk

Lazimpat

Maharajgunj Chowk

Kathmandu Palace square and surroundings kalankiChowk TripureshworChowk Baneswor

CBD’s of Kathmandu Valley after earthquake


36

Gongabu Area

Sitapaila Area

Kathmandu Palace Square Lalitpur Palace Square

Severely damaged areas Kathmandu

Immediately after the earthquake the world heritage sites are the more affected in comparison to other areas. In above fig. Lalitpur and Kathmandu Palace square are world heritage sites. The destruction might be because of the long construction periods and lack of proper renovation and retrofitting of these sites. Most of the constructions of the world heritage sites date back to 12th century and even before. Other most affected areas are those with poor ground condition for the construction and those with improperly engineered buildings. As shown in above fig. the Gongabu area and Sitapaila are damaged severely as the complete area is considered to be composed of black cotton soil. The geological experts said that there should be more considerations to be taken into account while constructing on such surfaces but this was not the case during construction of buildings in these sites. POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

37

3.6.1 IMPACT ON LIVELIHOOD

The capital city and the city of hope for almost every Nepalese is Kathmandu in Nepal. The migration from every part of the country is towards this city. There is almost population of 4 Mi. (Bank, 2012)in valley itself. The livelihoods are identified as the ensemble or opportunity set of capabilities, assets, and activities that are required to make a living (R Chambers and G Conway, 1992). The Kathmandu valley was always and is a major livelihood source for millions. Livelihood strategies depend upon some access to capitals. They are:     

Natural Capitals Physical Capitals Human Capitals Social Capitals Financial Capitals

SOCIAL CAPITAL The way in which people work together, both within the household and in the wider community, is of key importance for household livelihoods. Linkage with social obligation, reciprocal exchange, trust and mutual support, all of which can play a critical role, particularly in times of crisis.

People's health and ability to work, and the knowledge and skills they have acquired over generations of experience and observation, constitute their human capital. Education can help to improve people's capacity to use existing assets better and create new assets and opportunities

HUMAN CAPITAL

NATURAL CAPITAL Includes land, water, and forest resources livestock. The productivity from these resources. LIVELIHOOD ASSETS

These include tools and equipment, as well as infrastructure such as roads, ports and landing places, and market facilities. PHYSICAL CAPITAL

The production to convert into cash. They are either from formal or informal investment. FINANCIAL CAPITAL

ASSET PENTAGON Source:fao.org/docrep/006/y5084e/y5084e01.gif


38

After the massive earthquake, there is disturbance in livelihood. The assets of livelihood are also affected. Only the positive is Social Capital. After the Earthquake the strong social relations among the people is seen. The social organizations and groups of people from different communities were the major helping tool during the Earthquake and after. 3.6.2 IMPACT ON INFRASTRUCTURE

There is also destruction in the infrastructures. The directly affected infrastructures are roads, buildings, bridges, hydropower, etc. The rebuilding cost in estimated to be more than NPR 503.75 billion (USD 5 billion). Fourteen hydropower projects have been affected. Estimated of 150 MW electricity has been reduced from the national power grid. The cost of repairing power distribution network, substations equipment and office buildings of the state owned hydropower project has been estimated at NPR 10.68 billion (USD 106 Mi). (Republica, 2015) BhoteKoshi Hydropower All roads in the 12 districts affected by the http://i.imgur.com/eLlmnTP.jpg earthquake are safe except for the Araniko Highway; this highway connects Kathmandu with China boarder. The reconstruction cost is estimated at NPR 25 Mi. (USD 248,138). (Nepal Economic Forum, 2015 p. 17).

Drinking water pipelines have been damaged at several places within the Kathmandu valley. Controlling water leakages will be a major challenge for Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL). Preliminary survey conducted by KUKL show that drinking water pipelines at Lalitpur, Kalimati, Chapagaun and Balaju have been severely damaged. (Republica, 2015) 3.6.3 IMPACT ON HOUSING

The Ministry of Home Affairs estimate almost half a million houses have been destroyed and more than 250,000 damaged. The scale of damages during the recent earthquake has raised serious doubts about the quality of construction and development adherence to National Building Norms. The rapid assessment conducted by Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) revives that, the 81% of the apartment in Kathmandu Valley are unsuitable to habitat. The Real Estate sector is assumed to have loss at least of 7.5 billion NPR (74.44 Mi. USD). The government has restricted on the approval and construction of houses above two stories, including ground floor, till the end of the current fiscal year. (Bank) While directing local


39

authorities to stop construction of buildings whose design were approved prior to the earthquake, the Ministry of Local Development has made it clear that no building permission will be issue until it comes with a new building code. The decision comes after numerous multi-storied buildings collapsed during the earthquake and a series of aftershocks. 3.6.4 IMPACT ON ECONOMY

Agricultural productivity is generally low in developing country like Nepal that primarily depends on rain-fed agriculture. After the 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal, output of this sector is anticipated to drop significantly, leading to potential food security problems. Although agricultural land is not directly damaged by the earthquake but the irrigation systems, drainage, canals and roads have severely damaged. This leads to low productivity. The economy came to standstill after earthquake with an estimated economic losses of NPR 200 billion (USD 1.98 billion), one third of Nepal's GDP. With 59 of 75 districts affected and 11 severely impacted, the effects of the earthquake have been enormous. The country before earthquake was not only aiming for higher economic growth but was tracking the next generation of economic reforms and revising policies and acts. The earthquake has derailed the process, with focus now shifting towards rehabilitation. (Nepal Economic Forum, 2015 p. 30)

3.6.5 IMPACT ON SOCIETY

On Saturday, 25 April 2015 at 11:56 local time, Nepal recorded a huge natural shock of earthquake after 80 years. It was Saturday afternoon so there was even less damage in death toll of young people. If instead, it would have been other days or even night there would certainly more casualties. Due to the complications to commute in different parts of country and even to the Kathmandu valley during the earthquake period, the local communities were not reachable from NGO's and INGO's for several weeks. This established automatically a resilient and volunteering committee in every community level. Although the earthquake has different drawbacks and problems it seems to have at least some positives to social bounding and coordination. The local people were forming a small group and start helping to the whole vicinity as far as possible as an immediate rescue was needed. Socially people were more convinced as not only s/he is a victim but also the neighbor. This creates an imaginary sympathy among the members of society. This treasure from the social and cultural asset could be the departure towards the redevelopment of Kathmandu valley towards the conception of a sustainable and disaster resilient city.


40

3.7 POST DISASTER RECOVERY The catastrophic earthquake was followed by more than 400 aftershocks greater than magnitude 4.0 (as of 5 November 2015). Four aftershocks were greater than magnitude 6.0, including one measuring 6.8 which struck 17 days after the first big one with the epicenter near Mount Everest. To date, there are over 9,000 casualties and 22,300 injuries. It is estimated that the lives of eight million people, almost one-third of the population of Nepal, have been impacted by these earthquakes. (Commission, 2015). Some people believe that the country itself is a holy land so it is saved by god even during the earthquake. The time and day the first earthquake was experienced saved thousands of lives. Being a Saturday, the weekly holiday, schools across Nepal were closed on 25 April. The death toll of young people could have been much higher considering that nearly 7,000 schools were completely or significantly damaged. Similarly, if the earthquake had struck at night, and not in the middle of the day, there would certainly have been greater casualties. A summary of disaster effects as estimated by Post Disaster Needs Assessment, PDNA for whole country is as below:

Source: Estimations by PDNA Team


41

The post disaster recovery is a challenge. The existing socio-economic, infrastructural, livelihood, etc. all sectors are forcefully disrupted. The everyday living of people has been changed surprisingly. These all are to be again recovered in a normal way. The physical damages could be some day replaced but the damages of human lives cannot be replaced and there are a lot of mental illnesses due to continuous aftershocks in an irritating nature. In the recovery and reconstruction phase it is critical to prevent actions that end up creating disaster risks by increasing public awareness, and investing in the principle of Build Back Better (BBB). Noting the limited priority and resources given to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) prior to the earthquake, improvements are urgently needed in the DRR system in Nepal in the short (up to one year), medium (two to three years), and long (four to five years) term to enhance the resilience of the country.

Share of Disaster Effects across Sectors

Source: Estimations by PDNA Team

Short-term priorities include:  reconstruction of damaged DRR assets and improvements on BBB principle;  measures to improve preparedness, response, relief and logistics systems;  measures to strengthen information and communication capacities for relief, response and recovery; and  measures to enhance multi-hazard risk monitoring, vulnerability assessment, risk information dissemination and awareness Medium to long term priorities include:  improvements in legal and institutional arrangements;  measures to mainstream DRR into the developmental sector, particularly housing, private and public infrastructure, social sectors(health and education), and livelihood; and  measures to improve integration of climate change adaptation and DRR. (Commission, 2015) It is critical to ensure that recovery efforts do noted up recreating the vulnerability that led to the disaster in the first place. Therefore, recovery and reconstruction needs underline the importance of rebuilding houses and settlements according to disasterresistant standards such as BBB. It is important to see that urban reconstruction follows principles of urban resilience. The overall needs are defined as the combined cost of:  a disaster-resilient core house for those households whose homes are fully damaged;  repair and seismic retrofitting of partially damaged houses;  shelter during the transitional phase; POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

42

  

 

demolition and clearance; real estate recovery including house pooling; re-clustering for households facing high, site related risks; training, facilitation and quality assurance for owner-driven reconstruction(ODR); and risk-sensitive urban and rural settlement planning

The most pressing and immediate need is the protection of valuable rubble with archaeological value, the compilation of a complete inventory with more information on the condition of structure sand related social impacts. A clearly laid-out data base is required to collate baseline information on each site, ranging from its exact location details, including GPS data to photographic documentation, historic information, a brief description of damage suffered (if any); and a detailed needs assessment to support restoration planning. A master plan with a clear priority list can be created once the baseline facts are in, such as the historic value of a monument and the religious and cultural activity associated with it. The priority list includes not only World Heritage Monument zones but also structures in remote areas that are lesser known. The master plan will ensure that local communities benefit from such rebuilding efforts. Furthermore, the massive loss of life caused by the collapse of historic buildings makes it mandatory to rethink existing conservation laws. Restrictions on modern materialism conservation work need to be reviewed and defined anew in accordance with the principle of DRR and BBB. Cultural activities developed around religion play an important role in providing support mechanisms for men and women individually and at the community level. The loss of livelihood assets centered on such activities could have a serious impact on the preservation of traditional skills in textile products such as the traditional Dhaka cloth weaving, which is predominantly practiced by women, and metalwork done by men. Indigenous and ethnic communities, too, have a strong and unique cultural heritage, which is an important part of their identity. Recovery interventions, particularly to-do with housing and relocation should preserve rather than undermine these aspects of Nepal’s proud cultural heritage. (Commission, 2015)


43

4. CASE STUDIES The case study is major part of this research. Indeed, case studies are always the prominent parts of any research. These are the guidelines for the further development of the research." A case study is an empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident" (Yin, 2009). The objectives of the case studies are to identify the urban renewable and redevelopment process of different places. The different places with similar kinds of earthquake disasters are taken into account. The urban regeneration of the areas after earthquake is analyzed in this part. The significant part from the studies can be the departure for the urban renewable process of Kathmandu. The areas selected are:  

Christchurch, New Zealand and Haiti

4.1 CHRISTCHURCH 4.1.1 INTRODUCTION

The Christchurch was severely hit by 4 Earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and 7.1 followed by 10,000 aftershocks. The first one occurred was of mag. 7.1 Mw and is also known as Darfield earthquake at 4:35 am on 4 Sept. 2010, 40 km west of Christchurch at 10 km depth. The second major earthquake, known as Christchurch earthquake, of magnitude 6.3Mw, occurred at 12:51 pm on Tuesday 22 February 2011 centered 6 miles southeast of Christchurch at depth of 5 Km. This was much closer to the city. There were 185 fatalities and numerous injuries. (Platt, 2012) Due to the liquefaction the earthquake of 4 Sept caused more damages. Liquefaction gave rise to both differential spreading (vertical) effects and lateral spreading. (Platt, 2012). The housing area was affected severely due to unusual liquefaction. After the September quake engineers and planners tried to avoid any retreat and there Christchurch after Earthquake was an expectation that, despite severe Source: http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1298346911/772/4689772.jpg liquefaction, the land still be available for development. (Platt, 2012)Another cause of the damage in the hilly areas is high ground accelerations.


44

4.1.2 IMMEDIATE AFTER EARTHQUAKES

After the earthquake, immediately, there was a state emergency. During the period immediate rescue programs were introduced. When the state of emergency was lifted after the September quake, the Council relied on an overworked and under-resourced team, called the Building Evaluation Transition (BET) team, to evaluate dangerous buildings. This resulted in many owners not being told their buildings were dangerous, and lost files and poor communication within the council led to "embarrassing" mistakes. The Building Evaluation team assessed about half of the cordoned-off area of the Christchurch CBD. Commercial buildings were given a safety status of Green, Yellow or Red (Green meaning no restriction on occupancy; Yellow meaning restricted access and Red meaning no occupation). In all cases owners were advised to have the building checked by structural engineers. (Platt, 2012) The February earthquake came as a rude awakening. Buildings collapsed and people were killed. Many historical buildings and churches were destroyed. Civil Defence reacted swiftly by defining a large exclusion zone and cordoning off much of the centre, which remains closed till now. Lianne Dalziel said that people were traumatized by the February earthquake. For the first time, the City Council understood the seriousness of the situation and began to get a better understanding and control. Tonkin & Taylor were appointed to conduct damage assessments and they understood and could make sense of what happened underground and were able to reassure people. Six days after the February earthquake, engineers had done preliminary assessments of almost all the 3,000 buildings. 755 were red tagged for demolition, 909 were yellowtagged with restricted access and 1,276 were green-tagged declaring them safe. But there was still a lack of clarity about what stickers meant in terms of civil protection. (Platt, 2012)

The immediate action plans were Minutes as follows:   



Later that morning the mayors of Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council and Waimakariri District Council each declared a State of Local Emergency for their respective areas. Three Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces (USAR TF) were activated and the 2 located outside Canterbury were deployed to the region before last light. On Monday 6 September, Hon Gerry Brownlee was appointed the Minister responsible for the Canterbury earthquake. An ad-hoc Cabinet Committee for the earthquake was also established and a process to develop legislation to assist in the management of aspects response and recovery to the earthquake was initiated. The first collective Group-level meeting to discuss the Recovery phase of this emergency was held on Saturday 11 September. The meeting was chaired by Warwick Isaacs and attendees included the Chief Executive Officers of Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council and Waimakariri District Council, representatives of DPMC, MCDEM and Ministry of Economic


45



Development, the Group Controller, the Group Recovery Manager and the Regional EMO Manager. Parliament enacted the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 on Tuesday 14 September. This Act established the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission that comprises 7 Commissioners (the Mayors of Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council and Waimakariri District Council plus 4 appointed persons one of whom is an Environment Canterbury Commissioner). This Commission was disestablished when CERA was formed in April 2011.

An independent review of civil defense was conducted after the September earthquake. Known as the Westlake report it concluded that “the early response to this event was, by most accounts, well conducted”, but it also highlighted a number of issues. Emergencies were declared in three areas to enable statutory powers to be adopted; however, it is unclear whether there was a proper understanding of these powers among political leaders and some CD personnel, and what organizational hierarchy a declaration of emergency imposed.

The ongoing response to the emergency was good but showed shortcomings. Those personnel not usually involved in CD or emergency response were sometimes not well informed about the structures and processes. The use of alternatives to the laid down communications channels caused confusion and delay.

Building safety evaluations and the placarding of buildings to indicate if they were safe to enter was carried out largely by personnel brought in from outside the region, who also organized the process. There is evidence from both this event and the 22 February earthquake that the meaning of the placards is not well understood by the public and even some agencies, which was not helped by some authorities putting the placards to unexpected uses.

4.1.3 RECONSTRUCTION PHASE

The city council introduced reconstruction phase with a vision of top to bottom and bottom to top approach. The public engagement is also considered. After the earthquake, the City Council felt that the Avon River front in Christchurch Image from Gehl's Architects Blog


46

people were not well prepared during the earthquake as they could have been. The Share an Idea is the campaign launched by the Council. The removal of mud and silt from liquefaction was done voluntarily by an army of young volunteers. The City Council engaged Gehl Architects from Copenhagen to assist the planning. Gehl Architects named it Public Space Public Life, although there were a lot of questions on the project regarding design and planning, finally the city is planned.

4.1.4 PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC LIFE, PSPL

Jan Gehl is very famous in transforming the spaces into public spaces. He is the pioneer in the research of public spaces. PSPL studies have shown that public realm improvements truly have had a large impact on the quality of public life in the city. Even after the disaster the public right is to live a quality life. The people living in this era are choosy and also they have a lot of options. They only decide to be a part of public space when it is of better quality. There should be the priority for the people in the space in order to spend the time in it. The human nature is that when we have something we do not value a lot as the importance is noticed after being lost. The people are very busy in themselves. They do not have time for physical activities, social interactions, and cultural participations. But at the same time they always tend to be part of it. They like to do physical activities, they love to be social rather than individualistic Changes in Public Streets and even enjoy a cultural participation. For all these we need is a quality public space. The design and planning concept behind the redevelopment of the Christchurch is "The city for people". The priority is given to the people rather than the cars. The historic buildings are preserved as they are the heritage. The heritage buildings add character to streetscapes and encompass the history and culture of the city. Their relationship to the streets (number of openings and scale), improves the quality of the streetscape as public space. (Gehl.Architects, 2009) The development of city lanes is another achievement after the earthquake. The development of such lanes ultimately increased the number of pedestrians and subsequently the increase in Quality of Life creating a livable and vibrant city. Another important part of this project was the introduction of design code in the Christchurch. A beautiful street environment of high quality, durable materials will stimulate the use and care of urban spaces. Simple street layouts and increased pedestrian priority will be a very important feature in the transformation of Christchurch into an attractive city for all. (Gehl.Architects, 2009)


47

Thecityfix.com

When we go back to 1900, the street was ubiquitous part of daily life. All of the activities from shopping of daily foods to the furniture were on the street. During that time, the street was necessary. But nowadays the street is only a vehicle carrier. So finally street becomes an optional and due to this the vibrancy of the street and city diminishes. The design of cities is often undertaken by addressing the distinct systems at work: buildings by the building department, traffic by the traffic department, vegetation and landscape by the parks department, bicycles by the bicycle department. There is never person or a life department! Gehl architects have developed working methods for dealing with planning and urban design in which “people activities” in the city are considered first. Quality of spaces is analyzed based on criteria developed from the perspective of people. Recommendations are made to increase high quality public realms, and improve urban quality People in the city centre and life. Source: Gehl Architects,2009 We offer an evaluation of the proposed scenarios based on our understanding and research of cities that work for people. This approach recognizes people as the generator of spaces. Good cities take time to develop. People need time to cultivate new habits. When this happens the city responds accordingly: new places develop, new habits develop and the city becomes an increasingly better place for people. Only when appropriate decisions are made and implemented carefully over time - always remaining true to the people perspective - will the city develop life. Christchurch already has a fine template for an active, healthy city center. The river bank provides opportunities for recreation, and spontaneous or unplanned events. The urban structure has room for private vehicles, public transportation, cyclists and pedestrians. (Gehl.Architects, 2009)

4.2 HAITI 4.2.1 INTRODUCTION The country of Haiti is located in the Caribbean on the western, onethird of the island Hispaniola. It is bordered by the Dominican Republic to the east, the Caribbean Sea, and the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Haiti's terrain consists mainly of rugged mountains interspersed with small coastal plains and river valleys. The capital of Haiti is Port-au-Prince.


Haiti in World Map http://s.wsj.net/media/HaitiMapP romo_G_20100113133603.jpg

48

The earthquake on 12 January 2010 struck Haiti at the heart of its capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as in the towns of Léogâne, Jacmel and Petit-Goâve. The earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January2010 was by all measurements a ‘mega disaster'. Some 223,000 people were killed, 300,000 injured, and more than 2 million forced from their homes. Seventeen percent of Haiti’s central government employees were killed when government buildings collapsed. The UN experienced its largest loss of life on a single day ever, when 102 staff members died. (Haver, 2011)

Haiti earthquake http://s.wsj.net/media/HaitiMapP romo_G_20100113133603.jpg

4.2.2 IMMEDIATE REASPONSE AFTER EARTHQUAKE As the country is an island and very challenging for logistics. Both the airports and harbors are non-operational. After the 22 hours of the earthquake first search and rescue team was reached. Red Cross was available after 36 hours. Even the language was a huge problem for the external supporters as there was not much English speaker in the Haiti. Another big problem was the communication. The lack of communication and logistics isolate this piece of island from rest of the world. During 2010, 66% of total population earns less than £1 per UN Headquarters in Haiti before and after day. Many in Port-au-Prince are uneducated and Larissa Leclair earthquake livelihood is from informal sectors. UK based aid agency Save the Children said many children in Haiti will be 'petrified and in danger". Spokesman Gareth Owen told Reuters;"Many will have been orphaned or be badly injured themselves and in urgent need of medical help. Thousands more will have lost contact with their families and friends and are now struggling to survive alone in the rubble". The colossal infrastructural damage including the power lines down, the road are blocked due to the walls on the road from the buildings, the breaking of fuel line and cable lines causes the fire. Many poorly constructed homes have been simple swept away by the magnitude of the quake. The crying from inside the rubble can still be heard (source: twitter). Most of the homeless people were forced on the following night of the earthquake to sleep on the streets, on pavements, or even on their cars either because their shelters are destroyed or they are scared it will struck again or aftershock anytime and their standing structures will not withstand it. The economic perspective reveals that before this disaster occurred, Haiti's economy has seen a positive growth since 2005. This catastrophe is a big setback in Haiti's stability, but economists say that this won't be a fatal blow in this country's economy. Haiti's GDP is $11.53 and is very low, adding this disaster will decrease the GDP to make it even worse when it is already the


49

poorest country in the western hemisphere. Some sources say this disaster will cost them about 15% of their GDP. (Haines, 2010) The sector wise impacts due to earthquake are:  Human Impact  Infrastructure Impact  Environmental Impact  Socio-Economic Impact 

Human Impact

The human impact is immense in a country marked by a high incidence of poverty (prior to the earthquake, around 67% were living on less than US$ 2 a day). Around 1.5 million people, representing 15% of the population, have been directly affected. Over 220,000 people lost their lives and over 300,000 were injured. Thousands of people are in need of psychological support or psychosocial supervision. Around 1.3 million people are living in temporary shelters in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and over 500,000 people have left the disaster areas to seek refuge in the rest of the country. The result is an exacerbation of the difficulties that already existed in gaining access to food and basic services. By striking at the very heart of the Haitian economy and administration, the earthquake had an acute effect on the human and institutional capacity of both the public and the private sectors, and of international technical and financial partners and certain nongovernmental organizations. (PDNA, 2010) 

Infrastructural Impact

There has been massive infrastructure destruction. Some 105,000 homes have been completely destroyed and more than 208,000 damaged. Over 1,300 educational establishments, and over 50 hospitals and health centers, have collapsed or are unusable. Part of the country’s main port is not operational. The President's Palace, Parliament, the Law Courts, and most of the Ministry and public administration buildings have been destroyed. (PDNA, 2010) 

Environmental Impact

At a time when environmental indicators were already in the ‘red’ zone, the earthquake added to considerably to the pollution, nuisances, and risks that were already afflicting the people in the disaster zones, and increased the pressure on the environment, natural resources, and the country’s protected areas, thereby placing the people of Haiti in conditions of extreme vulnerability. (PDNA, 2010)


50



Socio-Economic Impact

The impact of the earthquake on the economy is reflected in estimates for a decrease of over 8%in growth in 2010, which is expected to be between 2.5% and 3.5%, depending on the rebuilding scenarios. The worst-affected sectors are commerce, transport, telecommunications, and industry. Although inflation in 2009 was −4.7%, it is estimated to be 11% for 2010. This inflation is explained by, among other things, the reduction in goods available, the increase in the cost of transport, and the influx of external aid.

Haiti's GDP Trend

(PDNA, 2010)

Employment is affected in markedly different ways, depending on the reconstruction scenarios. It is estimated that the earthquake will entail a loss of 8.5% of existing jobs in the immediate future, with the greatest losses in commerce, tourism, transport, and communications. The more ambitious the reconstruction and recovery program is, the more it will be possible to lessen the impact: for example, it is estimated that the expenditure of one-third of the resources for recovery and reconstruction in 2010would limit total job losses to 0.6%. In 2001, 76% of the population of Haiti was living below the poverty line, with less than 2 dollars per day, and 56% were below the extreme poverty line, with less than 1 dollar per day. It is estimated that over the past 10 years, the percentage of poor and extremely poor people has fallen by more than 8%across the country as a whole, except in the Metropolitan Area which has seen its poverty increase by nearly 13% over the same period. Following the earthquake, it is estimated that poverty has returned to the 2001 level (71% in moderate poverty and 50% in extreme poverty) — not taking into account the promising prospects of the reconstruction activities. (PDNA, 2010)

4.2.3RECOVERY POLICIES AND PLANS Several NGO's and INGO's worked and still working to cruise the country from this pain by the natural disaster. But unfortunately in spite of global intensive effort the reconstruction is not satisfactory. In the two years since the devastating earthquake, Haiti’s government has still not implemented comprehensive plans to address the key issues of shelter; sustainable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene; and secure livelihoods. Donors have failed to meet UN humanitarian appeals and have delivered less than half of promised reconstruction funds. The international community must renew efforts to bolster the government’s capacity to effectively co-ordinate reconstruction, while consulting and engaging with Haitian citizens in the process. (Oxam, 2012)


51

The New York Times, 23 Dec. 2012, wrote, "Where Did the Money Go?" Public donors pledged $9.5 billion in relief and recovery aid to Haiti for 2010 to 2012. About $5.9 billion had been disbursed by the end of September, though disbursed does not always mean spent. Figures do not include money – at least $1.5 billion – spent by private groups.

Distribution of Fund in Haiti New York Times

The people started distrust own government. The high corruption percentage was the concern for the people in and outside Haiti. The government of Haiti despite of troubles proposed a 10 year recovery plan, Action Plan for the Reconstruction and National Development of Haiti, with four areas of concentration 



 

Territorial building, including creating centers of economic growth to support settlement of displaced populations around the country and to make Port-auPrince less congested, developing infrastructure to promote growth, and managing land tenure; Economic rebuilding, including modernizing the agricultural sector for both export and food security, promoting manufacturing and tourism, and providing access to electricity; Social rebuilding, prioritizing building education and health systems; and Institutional rebuilding, focusing on making government institutions operational again and able to manage reconstruction, and strengthening governmental authority while also decentralizing basic services, and creating a social safety net for the poorest population.


52

Some analysts emphasize that the Haitian government and civil society must be partners in designing any development strategy if they are to succeed and be sustainable. They also warn that job creation and other development efforts must occur not only in the cities, but also in rural areas, to reduce urban migration, dependence on imported food, and environmental degradation. As mentioned above, economic growth alone is unlikely to reduce poverty in Haiti. (Taft-Morales, 2013) As per Jonathan M. Katz, an American journalist and author, after the earthquake, 93 % of aid went to NGO, UN agencies, donor government entities tasked with responding to the crisis, and Red Cross organizations. One percent went to the Haitian government, and 6 percent can't be traced. He added, if another earthquake were to happen today on the exact same fault, the result would be more or less the same. There's no robust response waiting in the wings. The NGO's are not that much responsible towards the citizen as compare to their government. At first the faith towards government should be necessary in order to become an independent nation for Haiti from "federal republic of NGO". (Fatton, 2011) This has unfortunately become prominent towards the deceleration of reconstruction of Haiti. The inefficient urbanization without proper building codes caused the damage to the whole country.

4.3 COMPARATIVE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH AND HAITI The New Zealand is one of the Most Developed Countries (MDC) and Haiti is one of the Less Developed Countries (LDC). Here is the comparative study of these two countries being smashed by earthquake during almost similar nature and almost same span of time in the history. Just the differences are the recovery process and goal. The social structure as well as economic status of the society and the country is pivotal for redevelopment. Strong governance in Christchurch is pledged for the reconstruction and rejuvenation. In contrary, Haiti is still fighting to get a government at first rather than to fight for the destruction.

Facts

Christchurch

Haiti

High Low High

High High Low

Structural Bodies Bureaucracy External Interventions Expertise Characteristic paradigm Technological Intervention


53

Efficient urban plan Codes

High High

Low Low

Schools of thoughts Preparation Socio-Economic Paradigm Social Vulnerability Internal Migration Poverty Development Gentrification Political and Economic system Disaster resilience Preparedness Reduction measures Capacity to adapt Institutional Investment Social Capital Cultural Capital Redevelopment Process Urban regeneration Policies formation Overall Other Government NGO's and INGO's Corruption Leadership Final Outcome

High High

Low Low

High High High High High High

Low Low Low Low Low Low

High High High High Low/Medium Low/Medium

Low Low Low Low High High

Fast Sustainable Efficient Excellent

Slow Not efficient Struggling Below average

High High High High Livable city

Low Low Low Low Still struggling to stabilize

Cultural setting

4.4 DISCUSSION

Both Haiti and New Zealand are island states and are susceptible to similar kinds of natural disasters like hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes. In 2010, both countries were struck by powerful earthquakes releasing energy equivalent to a moment of 7.0. The epicenter was located near major towns Port-au-Prince, Haiti's Capital and Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city. In spite of similarities, the economic


54

discrepancy and governmental strategies are two major contrasts between these countries. But the big differences were regarding the redevelopment. Christchurch was able to cope to resist the natural hazard and almost prevent it to become a disaster in terms of human lives. Unfortunately, the Haiti was not able and result was a catastrophic disaster. The urban planning and development of these two similar islands are dissimilar. Christchurch is designed after the earthquake in a better way than it was before. The hazard was taken as a positive afterwards and they started building a city better than before. There were a lot of questions for the redevelopment and some questioned whether central Christchurch could ever be the same again. The answer form their city council was "It won’t be." "It will be even better." The city started survey among the people and almost 100,000 people participated to draw their city themselves. The major suggestions for the redevelopment were:  Green city  Stronger built identity  Compact CBD  Live, work, play, learn and visit  Accessible city The above postulates show the knowledge of people and their awareness towards the sustainable city. Haiti was struggling to win breads before the earthquake. The earthquake was very cruel than their resisting capacity. Even the country was almost seemed to be governed by the NGO's rather than their government. The credibility and responsibility of these NGO's were not as much as expected. Even there were not much local NGO's involved. The redevelopment was not efficient as the people's participation was almost omitted.


55

5. SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE 5.1 INTRODUCTION As per Brundtland Report of 1987 the sustainability is defined as ".....that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". This is one of the complete definitions of sustainability. This defines the way we have to live today taking considerations for tomorrow. The important question to discuss in this research is urban sustainability. Urban sustainability is the practical application of community planning to ensure long-term, viable, and selfsustaining community vitality in urban settings. Sustainability refers to practices developing an environment in which degradation does not exceed the capacity of regeneration within the system. An example would be a public park. If the number of visitors exceeds the carrying capacity of the park, degradation occurs and public officials may have to limit hours or visitors to ensure the sustainability of the park’s attributes. Resilience is defined as the capacity or ability to return back to its original position after being deformed. Urbanization puts increasing pressure on nature, and weakens its resilience to a changing climate and events such as natural disasters, with devastating consequences for cities and their inhabitants. (Project, 2014) The resilient and sustainable cities are less vulnerable to natural disasters. They create their own ecosystem with people, infrastructure and nature. They possesses high tendency to minimize risk during the hazard and prevent them to be a disaster. Sustainability is the process and is vital for the urban system. The sustainability concept is system thinking and hence the city is perceived as a system which functions collectively with all of its sub-systems to function perfectly. City is also called complex system as it is composed of several systems and the systems are also composed of several sub-systems like transportation system, housing system, etc. There is an interruption in a system due to natural hazard like earthquake which caused several of its sub-systems damaged. The concept of resilience and sustainable city enhance to prevent such damage to the sub-systems as a consequence urban system will functions well.


56

5.2 SUSTAINABLE URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Although the disastrous earthquake was a tragic, there are still some positives from it. This is a great opportunity to redevelop the city in a resilient and sustainable way. The experience of the people from this earthquake is the basis for the further city development. This point of history must be the transitional for the further development in a sustainable way. The city must be the city for the people rather than for the cars. The quality of life of the people living in the city is the final goal to attain after maintaining the sustainability of the city. Before starting the sustainable redevelopment approaches at first the factors that are responsible as obstacles for the sustainability are to be considered. This case of Kathmandu valley is a peculiar case. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the valley itself. There are big rivers running through Kathmandu Bagmati, Bishnumati, Tukucha, Nakhkhu, Dhobi Khola, etc. Out of these the Bagmati, Bishnumati and Tukucha are very important as they passed through almost urban areas. The cultural social bonding between people is also an example that has blossomed during the earthquake. This fresh pain of earthquake in one positive way is alarming for the unorganized and unusual growth of Kathmandu. In spite of bigger earthquake there was not loss as expected from scholars. As per NSET (National Society for Earthquake Technology)Nepal a projection of death of 100,000 people with the same number of injuries and double the number as moderate injury was made taking consideration the same intensity of earthquake. But fortunately this prediction did not occur. The question is always the same; Are we safe? The obvious answer is of course not if we continue to live the same way we do today. The change is needed and should be a sustainable solution where there should be the place for natural hazard as well. In culture of traditional society, there was a place for earthquake as well. They used to worship the earthquake and they had different techniques for the resilience and preparedness. These cultural values and traditional norms were no longer followed as following the city development and finally we cannot tolerate the hazard and let it to be a disaster. The original inhabitants of Kathmandu valley were Newars and they had the proverb like "earthquake does not come with sound", this reflects the awareness of the contemporary society towards earthquake. They were ready to accept earthquake at any time. Not only earthquake they were concerned over the sustainability as well. They were the nature worshippers and very popularly they compared everything to god. For example, if a person cut tree he committed a sin and he will be punished from god. But if a person plants a tree before cutting it FOOD FARM is forgivable. The nature itself is worshiped in the form of goddess and the respect she deserved is equal to mother. The waste was not allowed to throw anywhere. The reason behind this could be the agriculture based society. The famous quote is "Khetko Petma; Petko Khetma"(meaning: what comes from stomach goes to farm and vice-versa) what comes from MANURE WASTE agriculture is used by human being and later the waste from our household could be used back for the agriculture, this was the Waste chain idea for low waste production. Prof.S.R. Tiwari


57

The SWOT analysis of Kathmandu valley after earthquake for the redevelopment is described below:

Strength

Weakness

Fresh pain of earthquake Cultural Capital Social Capital Public Participation Open Spaces Rivers of Kathmandu Temples and Palace Squares

Poverty Poor Governance Centralization Encroachment of public /open spaces poor economic condition Low education status Lack of Proper urban guidelines Haphazard urban growths

SWOT Analysis

Opportunity Best time to start urban redevelopment in a sustainable way Fear and terror among people should be converted to energy for active public participation UNESCO World Heritages of valley International Assistances Best time for urban Code

Threats Demotivation among people due to slow redevelopment High Internationalization( eg, Haiti) Corruption

 STRENGTH

This earthquake in much perspective is only an early symbol for the preparedness and attention towards possible natural disasters. This is not the end of Kathmandu but might be a departure point for the further sustainable development. The cultural capital is the knowledge and experience of local people which could be sometimes not scientific. POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

58

The modern science overcasts often by considering them to be rudimentary or superstitious. This study found out that all the knowledge and technology at the local level are not superstitious neither they all are contextual too. This proves that the local knowledge embedded in culture in tacit form is to be revealed and researches are needed to identify them and to explore the scientific aspects of local knowledge for their contextual use. (Marahatta, 2007) Social capital is the asset of society. The social capital takes account of the social resources (social networks, membership of groups, relationships of trust and reciprocity, access to wider institutions of society) on which people draw in pursuit of livelihoods. The social capital composed of society and the members of society. The people helps each other when needed is a major task of the society. The social bond is important factor for the social capital. This is the one of the important to create sustainable society and there was a very strong bon seen during the earthquake in Nepal. People regardless of reason were ready for the humanitarian work and the solidarity they tried was the social capital. There is a strong social relationship among the people and this is a strong to create social capital. Public participation is another aspect for the sustainability and is also the strength for urban redevelopment of Kathmandu. The city is the place which is for people. The Kathmandu being the biggest in city of Nepal is about population of 1 million has the potential of public participation. As the people are very much social in nature they are always active to take part in public forum. “Open spaces will be our portals into delivering aid in a chaotic, anarchic environment” as said by Andrew Martin, Flagship 2 Coordinator. This is very true during the time of natural hazard this is the place for shelter and habitat. In terms of hazard and chaotic environment open spaces refers to the areas in Kathmandu Valley of identified free space that can be used for humanitarian response (camps for displaced persons, logistics centers, distribution centers, security and incoming military coordination sites, etc.). (http://www.flagship2.nrrc.org.np/, 2015). Despite the importance of open spaces during the hazard they are even more important for the quality of life in city and to provide the sustainability to the urban area. These are the places which cater environmental, social, and economic benefits to communities. Rivers of Kathmandu valley are not only of physical importance but also from religious and cultural perspective. Unfortunately these rivers are polluted and Rivers of Kathmandu Valley kathmandu-valley-temples.com


59

Bagmati River

Possible river front development Bagmati River

nobody wants to touch the water from these rivers. Still there is a possibility of cleaning the rivers and to beautify the city in a new dimension marching towards sustainable city. If there is a chance of creating the both river banks as urban gardens or parks, there is a potential of developing a vibrant public meeting points within all of the rivers. Temples and palace squares are the only elements of the whole possible strength for the urban sustainability which are still active. The palace squares were serving as a vibrant city space for various public activities ranging from meeting to livelihood. Although most of the palaces were affected by earthquake, the squares are still the places to visit and meet the people in the heart of city centers. These open spaces are providing the shared space. The squares are providing the shelters to the people

Bhaktapur Durbar Square before Earthquake intrepidtravel.com

as well and the daily livelihood strategies like street vendors. There is a positive correlation between open spaces and quality of life.

 WEAKNESS There was an article which I read when I was a child "The punishment for the crime that you did not commit is to born as a poor". Well said. Unfortunately this is true for the poor countries like Nepal. There is another proverb in Nepal "Jaha Kangaal Tyaha Chandal" (This means Pattern of Internal Migration Nepal POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

Chhabi Ram Baral ,IDP

60

where the poor are there is always the problem). The main weakness of our country is poverty. Many people are still fighting for the basic needs like foods, clothes, pure drinking water, etc. The earthquake worsens the condition of people. The unstable and poor governance is another weakness to gain sustainability. The government is not much responsible towards the development as the country itself is fighting for the political stability from last 25 years. There are no elections in local level from last 2o years. Literally, there is no presence of government from last two decades. The centralization is the hindrance for the sustainable development. Because of the centralization, Kathmandu has become an urban agglomeration of Nepal. The biggest city with all of the possible urban life is available there. From every corner of the country the ultimate migration target is Kathmandu. The security was prominent cause for the migration before a decade but because of political problems and low opportunities outside capital city the Kathmandu is final destination. This is complicated to manage a city being only target from over the country. The lack of proper periodical survey results the encroachment of public/open spaces. There were a lot of public spaces in Kathmandu valley as being courtyard planning systems. These courtyards were slowly started being private. During this earthquake the necessary shelters were provided mostly by the most famous open space of Kathmandu, known as Tundikhel.

Kathmandu Valley Tundikhel

Tundikhel-shelter during Earthquake

channel4.com

There is no sufficient open space in the city itself which creates the fear among the people during the hazard period. This weakness can be overcome if there is a good movement from bureaucratic movement to regain the public open spaces that are used by general. The people living in the city who entertains power and money are untouchable and hence they are the one who enjoys these public spaces for their private


61

use. The literacy rate of Nepal is 67.9% as per census of 2011. This directs the low education status of people. This is also gap towards the public awareness as most of the illiterate people do not understand the exact themes of various awareness programs. For e.g., there are enough TV and radio programs regarding the earthquake safety but they were not able to understand this information properly and caused adverse effect. There was an information saying that during the earthquake one should try to protect himself against the wall or column etc. but this information was perceived incomplete and people who were safe on outdoor also ran and tried to find such places which ultimately caused them to be victim. This is another complication towards sustainability. Most of the people do not understand the necessity of sustainable and resilient urbanization. The haphazard urban growth is another weakness to attain sustainability. There is no proper guideline for the urban development. Agricultural fields are converted immediately into housing plots. The unusual price hiking during the early 2000 was the benchmark for such unusual growth Kathmandu. People from all over the country were agglomerated here and there were no earthquake resilient constructions this increased vulnerability of city furthermore. Important part of the weakness of Kathmandu valley towards sustainable and resilience urban development is the lack of proper guideline. Unfortunately there is no urban code till date. There is a building bye law that is for the housing development and some minimum standards of construction allocated but are not enough towards the sustainable and resilient urban development. The immediate essential document for the further advancement is a possible best urban code. 

OPPORTUNITY

Despite the chaos there is always a beacon which shows the path for the betterment. After the earthquake everybody realized the necessity of various resilient techniques and emergency survival needs. This is the time in the history to change the urbanism into sustainable and resilient urbanism. This earthquake is a true opportunity. The people are living under fear and terror as well as irritation from almost three months of continuous aftershocks. This anxiety of people can be converted to opportunity. As this generation experienced the most terrific natural disaster, this generation is also concerned most regarding the resilience and mitigation as well as future preparedness which ultimately lead towards sustainability. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley alone. Three of them are Palace squares viz. Kathmandu Palace Square, Bhaktapur Palace Square and Lalitpur Palace Square. These are severely damaged and the restoration is indispensable. The opportunity here is the vested interest from UNESCO. These sites


62

will be primarily funded by UNESCO for the further development and this is also an opportunity for the restoration and redevelopment. There are several international organizations that are willing to help in the redevelopment of the country. Some of the international institutions are UN, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), USAid, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), DFID (Department for International Development), etc. These organizations are helping Nepal continuously and this could be positive towards the further development. These organizations are also working for the sustainable development throughout the world. This could be additional asset. This is the perfect time for urban code. There is no any urban code in Nepal so there should be one for the guideline for the further city development. Every dimensions of the city should be defined in it. The future urban planners and people from the Kathmandu do not need to plan on its own way but within a framework of document after the introduction of urban code in Kathmandu. 

THREATS

There are a lot of challenges to accomplish any work. The big challenge regarding the sustainable urban redevelopment of Kathmandu is the discouragement among the people due to slow redevelopment. This is the truth that the development is not as fast as expected. There are several factors behind the scene for the sluggish development. Economic, political and administrative are the major factors. Another possible threat is regarding the international interventions. The international mediation should be limited and through governmental framework, if not, there is the risk of being the country another example of Haiti. Shameful but another truth is corruption. The poor countries are also corrupt as compared to developed. This is another threat for further development. This should be checked and controlled otherwise growth is not possible.

5.3 URBAN REDEVELOPMENT The ultimate aim of this study is to find the solutions for the sustainable urban redevelopment for the Kathmandu. Although the whole scope of this study is whole Kathmandu valley, the urban design prototype is from the densest community of Kathmandu and decorated with the Kathmandu Palace square. The urban redevelopment ranges from transportation redevelopment to administrative redevelopment.


63

5.3.1 CITY What is the city for? The answer is for the people. But are we building our cities for ourselves or more than that. But are these cities livable? Are they sustainable? And are the resilient enough for the possible hazards? After answering these questions, the cities become a true city where the people are inhabitants rather than cars. People living in

Diagram showing necessary and optional activities in course of 100 years

Gehl Architects

these cities are expected to be safer, happier and living high quality of life. The traditionally Kathmandu valley was agriculture based and craftsmanship based. The people from different communities tend to come to city squares to sell the products. But there are more possibilities for the shopping and other activities as all of the different activities are available at different places and people do not necessarily need to go to these places for any other reasons rather than recreation. The above diagram is also the reality of Kathmandu valley. There are a lot of departments who take care for the city planning. There are Department of Road, Department of Transportation, Department of Telecommunication, etc. but there is no any Department responsible for people or Department of Life. So this should be the priority to create any sustainable cities. The car and all the traffic ruling the city construct only a crowded urban agglomeration and with low space for people. This creates a city where the use of car is necessary for the morning walk or evening Space for Bus and cars for 80 people POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

64

jogging. The Kathmandu redevelopment plan is the opportunity to create a beautiful and livable city after the earthquake. The city as perceived by the people of Kathmandu as well should be towards the proper rather than only vehicles. The inefficient traffic management and very low priority public transportation are the problems of this city apart from housing and other infrastructural problems. The space required for 80 cars are almost equivalent to 19 buses with almost capacity of 80 people each bus (total of 1500 people). The possibility of reducing the traffic is simply the use of public vehicles. Unfortunately in Kathmandu the most popular public vehicle is Microbus which is capable of transporting a maximum of 30 people at a time. This was one of the vicious steps for the urban development. More than 1.7 inhabitants live in the valley and almost everyone commute. After such a huge traffic it is almost normal for the people to get traffic jam of an hour daily. In spite of different water sources around the valley, the scarcity of water is not any more issue in the city as this is the normal. The valley is surrounded by green forests and one of them was watershed and wildlife reserve and just recently converted in to National park. The New York Watershed was one of the successful examples of the possibility of ecological planning for the daily life. Unfortunately, there are not any such effective programs in the Kathmandu valley. The rivers that flow through the city are very much dirty and are almost similar to sewerage. This scarcity of water went even worse during the earthquake. Not only during the disaster periods the low chances of getting the pure drinking water is also another factor behind the disorganized urbanization. Although all of the buildings need to get approval from the concerned authorities before construction, the construction takes place first and the next process is for approval. The bye laws and building codes are not effectively followed and finally the city is more vulnerable due to the lack of technical assistance. During this earthquake more than 80% damaged houses of Kathmandu valley were constructed without proper engineering specifications. Either the houses were built without proper structural design or without proper material specifications. The houses of the Kathmandu valley were the one of the major reasons increasing Kathmandu Housing Condition wikimedia.org the vulnerability. Traditional buildings were themselves vulnerable due to the age of building but new constructions due to lack of skill manpower, lack of quality of material and lack of supervision.


65

5.3.2PUBLIC LIFE This is one of the strangest things to know about Kathmandu that the people living in this city are living within poverty line and still seems to be happy. The public life is always in trouble. There is no sufficient transportation system. People have to wait more than an hour to get a bus. No drinking water supply. No sufficient fuels available for the vehicles and even Kathmandu Palace Square sometimes for the industry, every year more and more price increment in basic goods are some of the problems faced by the general people of the city. From almost last 20 years there is no presence of government in the country. The public are very much surprisingly living a happy life in spite of so many difficulties. This sometimes is really interesting for the study of city. Living in a marginalized life and still very happy. Even after this huge earthquake the humanity and respect towards guest is still the same. I asked an old lady of Kathmandu how she is, she smile and said she lost everything and now sheltering under some other people but still offered me tea. The people are living without anything. They are already adapted to this


66

practice of living without anything. 5.3.3CULTURE Culture is the form of norms, values and beliefs set by any community within a long period of time. In the case of Kathmandu it is highly influenced by the religions as well. Both Hinduism and Buddhism have the influence. The people worship almost all living and even non-living things. As the belief prevails, everything becomes god. This is the way of perceiving the nature in Nepal. Sometimes the non-living things also become so secular for example, the stone from specific parts of the country is considered as god, book is considered as the form of goddess, etc. But unfortunately, these beliefs are regarded as superstitious and ignorant by new generations. The local knowledge of the people is also culture. These artifacts can be used for the disaster risk reduction. Local knowledge and practices have rarely been explored in disaster and hazard literature. An example comes from the impact of the 2004 tsunami in South Asia. Following the disaster, the media especially reported how some communities managed to save their lives and property using local knowledge through the ability to identify early warning signals of the tsunami from local songs and observed changes in animal behaviorpatterns. Building upon local knowledge and practices that is capitalizing on local strengths whenever relevant can decrease dependencies on external aid. (Dekens, 2007)

5.4 COMPONENTS 5.4.1SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION The sustainable transportation consists of system, policies and technologies. The transportation simply means the commute from one place to another. But what makes it sustainable is the big question arising in this era of modern facilities and car dominated society. The indicators of sustainable transportation are economy, environment, safety and the accessibility. The balance between environment and economy with safe commute and easily access to all is the holistic definition of sustainable transportation. The walking city is also the base for sustainable and healthy city. When there is an option of all of the necessary activities within

Vicious Circle of Car-Oriented Transport Development

arrange of walking or cycling distance the safety itself is no more issue and this creates an extra accessibility. A sustainable transportation is a base for sustainable urbanization. POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

Source: Bouis, 2009 b

67

Due to the car oriented urbanization and dependencies on the car is increasing day by the environment and the urban ecology is beyond the footprint this is driving our urban areas towards unsuitable living place. The pollution from the car is one of the key components for the environmental degradation; on the other hand the daily traffic congestion and the noise pollution caused adverse effect on daily life of urban inhabitants. When there are more cars there is more congestion and there is need to add road and again the process repeated if we do not find any external solutions.

Typical proposed road for Kathmandu

The roads of Kathmandu were previously designed for man and horses but as the city are only metropolitan city of the country and needs much more immediate actions towards the road development as well to consider a sustainable transportation system. The provision of noise reduction methods including green belts, the more cycle friendly and pedestrian friendly road construction is necessary. Historically the roads of Kathmandu were very popular with urban mixed use in the form of shared space. The roads were the market place for the farmers and craftsman to sell their products directly to consumers. A table showing the descriptive summary of sustainable transportation is given below.

Sustainable Transportation Pillars Accessibility

Criteria for achieved Sustainable Transportation  

Basic access to everyone Range of

Indicator

 

Travel time lost per person or per kilometer per day. access to public


Possible strategies



creation of condition for accessibility to public transport

68

 

transport options Low commute distance Minimum time lost by traffic congestion

 

  

Safety

Environment

Economic







Low accidents and injuries rate related to traffic.

High air quality, days exceeding health limits,

Efficient and comfortable economically

 



  

facilities (Percentage of Public Bus users) Access to urban services. public transport index (travel time, The quality level of public Bus services ) Road density (traffic per km2) Walking and cycling facilities distant/time to public transport. Traffic volume (km traveled by road) Road traffic fatalities (no. per 1000people) Underlying predictive indicators map out the kinds of accidents and their causes, the victims (drivers, passengers, pedestrians/cyclists or bystanders ) Days exceeding limits, concentrations Predictive indicators include emissions factors for each vehicle/fuel Combination, total emissions, fuel quality, and consumption. Expenditure on road infrastructure Transport fuel consumption Transport household budget share





  

 



 

Provide rational urban transport infrastructural system in local and urban scale High density with mix land used, promote walk able street or use bicycle.

Basic road safety law Strict licensing qualification. strict traffic enforcement

Basic air quality laws standards for fuel quality. Emissions standards on view or existing vehicles Procedures for stopping polluting cars or curtailing Transport industry profitability. Reduce Transport cost

(Tuyet, 2012)


69

The Sustainable transportation is very important in the context of Kathmandu as the city is an inhabitant for more than 2.5 Million populations and there is a huge traffic jams and scarcity of public transportation. Since 2000 the government of Nepal introduced microbus as a part of public transportation the capacity ranges from 10 seats to 14 seats. This was the day when the transportation situation of the city started to deteriorate. The city is very unsafe for the bicycle users. The taxi drivers and micro bus drivers are the dominant on the road and hardly give any chances to bikers. At present the total percentage of Motorbikes in the city is 77.9%. When all of this percentage changes to car, then there will be no parking place available. All the roads will be full of car.


70

www.dor.gov.np

Composition of vehicles in Nepal

Motorbikes in Kathmandu image.shutterstock.com

When Bike owners changes to car owners in some years

In recent years there is a change of trend of motorbikes into car. There is an easy availability of car in the installment services and creates more easy access to car friendly city. If this trend continues there will be more cars in the city than the capacity of the road.

Possible cars in Kathmandu

5.4.2SUSTAINABLE HOUSING A basic need of all human being is a house. Without a shelter it is impossible to imagine human being. However, to create sustainable housing is the demand of this time. As almost more than half of the urban population living in the cities, the ecological footprints and carrying capacity are two worries. The way of living should be sustainable and ultimately lead the way to future generations as well. Where homes are located, how well designed and built, and how well they are weaved into the environmental, social, cultural and economic fabric of communities are factors that, in a very real way, influence the daily lives of people, their health, security and wellbeing, and which, given the long life of dwellings as physical structures, affect both the present and future generations. Housing is therefore central to sustainable development. (Future, 2012) Housing is also part of the relationships between society and the environment. On the one hand, housing construction and operation consume large amounts of natural resources (land, energy, water, and building materials), while producing waste, air and POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

71

water pollution. On the other hand, housing itself is exposed to a variety of environmental impacts and hazards, including those associated with natural disasters and climate change. These aspects are also significant considerations for sustainable development. (Future, 2012) The sustainable housing is not merely self-sufficient "green buildings" but as sociallyenhancing and environmentally friendly residential practices integrated in to the wider urban/settlement systems. These policies consider a spectrum of underlying conditions to achieve sustainability in housing development (along the four dimensions of sustainability – environmental, social, cultural and economic), such as: impacts on the environment and climate change; durability and resilience of homes; economic activities in housing and their links with the wider economy; cultural and social fabric of communities and impacts of housing on poverty alleviation, social development, and the quality of life. As being earthquake prone Kathmandu valley is in necessity of sustainable and resilient housing. The sustainable housing is only possible if the housing meets the three pillars of sustainability. Environmental Sustainability Socio-Cultural Sustainability Economic Sustainability Environmental Sustainability To create a resilient and sustainable housing in consideration with ecological footprint, the followings are necessary to respect: 

The whole lifecycle of houses: Even before the construction of the buildings it is necessary to think about the whole lifecycle of building. The planning stage may address the choice of the planned site and its impact on the local environment, links to the city; quality of the local built environment; density; public transport and infrastructure; environmental hazards. Design takes into consideration embodied energy and resource utilization and enables energy and water efficiency; district heating/cooling and micro-generation; waste management; robustness and resilience, future proofing; possibility of upgrade. Construction should integrate safety and environmental standards; the use of local sustainable materials. Refurbishment should consider the choice of refurbishment material; energy efficient design; disturbance of the environment; management of construction waste. Even after the age of building is ended a decision is taken whether demolish or reuse and recycle building components. (Future, 2012)



Residential densities and urban mobility in neighborhoods: This is very important to decide a selection of new housing project. It is wise to choose area on the basis of sustainable housing possibility like the neighborhood and settlement rather than just individual houses. More scattered residential environs require Moreland, resources, and infrastructure (water, gas, electricity, roads) and lead to a disintegration of the city space, including between socially segregated areas. Relatively compact and mixed-use mixed-income areas, which


72

integrate housing, work, facilities and entertainment in close proximity, are believed to constitute an important strategy for reducing these negative footprints. Development should ideally be located near to a regional or metropolitan public transportation system, so that high levels of public transport accessibility can be provided (Future, 2012) 

Mitigating environmental hazards and improving green spaces: Every planner and designer must be aware of the possible hazards and the resilience during the designing of the building. At the stage of planning and design of residential projects, it is important to give an in-depth attention to contextual environmental hazards (existing or potential), including those related to the natural environment, such as floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc. These considerations and related actions are a key ingredient of the housing resilient strategy. One simple strategy to mitigate biodiversity and improving the health and quality of life of the residents is to ensure a good network of green spaces in the neighborhoods. A green network may include open spaces, waterways, gardens, woodlands, green corridors, wildlife habitats, and street trees. A green network not only supports the natural ecological processes, but is also an essential part of local climate management strategies – important for both climate adaptation and mitigation. (Future, 2012)



Energy and resource efficiencies: Key concerns for the sustainable design of residential buildings lie with their environmental performance (energy efficiency and CO2emissions; water efficiency; material efficiency; pollution; waste management; relationships with the immediate area), health impact (air quality, water quality, hygiene),human comfort (hydrothermal quality, acoustic quality, visual attractiveness, smells control), as well as with the provision of appropriate housing management. (Future, 2012)



Sustainable affordable building material and practices: The construction of buildings and the selection of suitable material are the process which creates environmental pollution, noise pollution, and air and dust formation, harmful contamination through toxic waste. The waste from construction and demolition activities is frequently dumped illegally in dams, river courses and any available hollows. The extraction of raw materials often happens in rural areas, causing the degradation of land and ecosystems. Sustainable house-building industry should prevent the use of harmful building materials and finishes of residential buildings, which constitute a large share of the global toxic load. Locally available traditional materials have much smaller environmental impact in contrast to materials such as bricks, concrete and iron –mainly because of the lower embodied energy. (Future, 2012)



Integrating housing into low-carbon community infrastructure: Houses are also responsible for the carbon emission hence houses have to be linked to adequate and low-carbon urban infrastructure. District heating and cooling systems are increasingly seen today as the most energy efficient option to provide space and


73

water heating in densely populated urban areas. The use of renewable energy in the community and the conception of car-free community are prominent to reduce carbon. Combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration, involves producing thermal heat and electricity in one integrated process, so that energy losses are minimized. Socio-cultural Sustainability Social sustainability in housing is about creating affordable, good-quality, inclusive and diverse (mixed-tenure and mixed-income), secure and healthy dwellings, residential areas and communities, which are well-integrated into the wider socio-spatial systems of which housing is part – urban and national. Cultural sustainability takes into consideration cultural worldviews and values, norms and traditions, as well as lifestyles and behaviors of occupants, communities and society, thus supporting the dignity of communal life. (Future, 2012) The cultural root is very string in the community of Kathmandu valley and this is also the foundation for the social and even spatial development. Kathmandu valley is composed of different ethnic groups, languages and culture representing groups. The country itself is a multi-color garden of various culture and ethnic group. Each of ethnic group has their individual beliefs and ideology as well as living styles. They also form special community to maintain as possible homogeneity as possible.     

Affordability, dignity and resilience of housing; Social and spatial justice in sustainable housing provision Empowerment, participation and inclusion Social infrastructure and facilities Housing as coping strategies for the poor  Adaptable Housing for the present and future needs. (Future, 2012) These are the important aspects regarding the socio-cultural sustainable housing. Economic Sustainability Economic sustainability in housing represents all of the economic functions and implications associated in a housing system. Affordable housing is a productive asset that has important contributions to national welfare and economic development. Moreover, decent affordable housing and related infrastructure are among the key factors that also make local places more attractive, inclusive and competitive and hence are the key to sustainable economic development at the local level too. (Future, 2012) The important aspects for economic sustainability are:  Affordability of housing supply;  Ensuring balanced housing markets through affordable tenure choices;  Recognizing affordable housing building as a source of employment;  Assisting home-based enterprises;  Mobilizing savings and domestic finance. (Future, 2012) POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

74

5.4.3NATURAL CAPITAL A Natural Capital is the natural environment from which emanates the goods and services that sustains life. All of the ecosystem services are natural capital.

Types of natural and human-made stocks, goods and services flows, and their interdependence

Above figure shows the concepts and their interconnections. Manufactured capital (MC), human capital (HC), and renewable natural capital (RNC) decay at significant rates by the second law of thermodynamics and must constantly be maintained. Nonrenewable natural capital (NNC) also decays, but the rate is so slow relative to MC and RNC this can be ignored. NNC can be viewed as long-term inventory that will sit quietly until extracted and used, but once it is used it is gone. RNC produces both ecosystem goods and ecosystem services, and renews it-self using its own capital stock and solar energy. Excessive harvest of ecosystem goods can reduce RNC's ability to produce services and to maintain itself. MC, RNC, ecosystem services, and NNC interact with HC and economic demand to determine the level of "economic goods and service production. (Costanza, et al., 1992).The Kathmandu valley is surrounded by the hills with forests and full of watersheds. These natural capitals can be used as the solution of drinking water in Kathmandu valley.


75

6. PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT PLANS AND POLICIES 6.1 INTRODUCTION The city once destroyed by disaster cannot be rebuilt as same as it was before the disaster. However, to some extent it is possible in terms of physical restoration but the value of the city, the terror after the disaster, the community before the disaster, the cultural loss and other non-physical factors cannot be returned. But the redevelopment is inevitable. This should be a new opportunity for the sustainable development and progress of the urban area to overcome the previous prevailing deficiencies of the area. After the disaster there are a lot of things to be learned. This is also a prospect to develop resilient city. New plans, policies and strategies should be formulated to achieve the future sustainable and resilient city. In case of Kathmandu, the city is always vulnerable from earthquake point of view. Is it possible to build or develop city in such a model which is without the fear of the earthquake terror? This is how the development plans and policies are to be formulated. Even during the earthquake if it is possible for all of the urban dwellers to be safe and easily bounce back to their normal life after sometime than this is the complete resilient city. When there is no threat and people are regardless of their earthquake-risk accompanying daily activities creating a sustainable and vibrant city this is the completion of a design of resilient and sustainable urban area.

6.2PLANNING AND POLICIES

For the redevelopment of Kathmandu from new dimension is only possible after the formulation of proper plans and policies. These are the strategies towards the urban renewable and revitalization from the recent earthquake from economic, social and environmental perspectives. Some of the major plans that are necessary to develop are as follows: Short-term plans: Those plans and policies which are very urgent to carry out recently are under these categories. These are the tasks that need to be carries out within few months or maximum six months’ time. These include the emergency till the transition shelter construction phase. Some important plans are as follows:


76



     

Survey of all hospitals and schools after the earthquake and to categorize them as per the situation like usable or not. If small damages are there might be easily renovated or takes long time, etc. details. These could be done with using the sticker system like green for usable, yellow for the partial damaged and red for the unusable in terms of the date of surveyed. Residential buildings and bridges including shopping complexes etc. are too analyzed simultaneously with the public buildings. Proper inventory of the bridges and other infrastructures affected by the earthquake. Trainings to the Architects, Engineers and other technical teams for the analysis and inventory of the damage analysis. Immediate consultation with the experts like professors and professionals regarding the temporary shelters and immediate rescue plans. Emergency mobile medical support and drinking water teams are to be immediately deployed. Communication to the affected areas using loud speakers regarding the best possible nearest rescue camp.

Long-term plans: Those plans and policies which are to be carried out immediately after the earthquake collapse slowly or after the six months of the earthquake are Long-term plans. These plans can be implemented within 5 years of time or even sometimes up to 20 years depending upon the nature of project. Some important long-terms are: 

     

Public awareness regarding the earthquake and safety measures through the means of mass communications. The community participation is very important to create the awareness. The local clubs, institutions are to be motivated for such campaigns. Consideration of community as a part of vulnerability reduction campaign. To enhance the indigenous knowledge of community. The inherited knowledge from the community could be major to formulate a social and cultural capital with the technological reinforcements which could be very important for the sustainable resilience building. Enforcement of the seismic resilient building constructions after forming a strong building code and regulations. Necessity of urban code for the guideline of the urban development as in resistance to earthquake and a sustainable city. Training programs for the earthquake resistant constructions. Use of computer simulation programs to find out the exact situation after the city is again hit by an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or more.


77

            

 

The valley need to be self-standing to overcome the possible scarcity after the earthquake and this is possible after the path towards sustainability. Universities of Kathmandu valley should work as a part of community and as a stack holder. The university should be involved by the government as a part of planning body. The universities are to be accessed with the possible disaster and disaster preparedness should be part of educational and vocational programs. Provision of open spaces during the earthquake as a primary and emergency shelter. The retrofitting of the vulnerable buildings. The proper layout of emergency exits and their provisions. Retrofitting of World Heritage Sites and the awareness programs towards the importance of these ancient assets. Widening of the narrow streets. Creation of earthquake resilient construction related employment opportunities. Preparedness towards the possible future disasters. Discourage the new construction in more vulnerable zone. Innovative transportation system which is risk sensitive. Improve capabilities for emergency response by improving access to emergency vehicles, reducing density (mainly in the city area), creating and identification of open space, identifying and posting escape roads, improving firefighting and search and rescue capabilities, and emergency response planning. Application of better construction technologies and management towards earthquake resilience. Betterment of the present condition of rivers in the Kathmandu valley which ultimately leads to the sustainable living and promotes quality of life.

6.3 IMPLEMENTATION To achieve something big we have to start from a small one. The best thing to do is just to start rather than to watch and see. When there is the implementation from the community level there will be the overall development of the whole urban area. The implementation phase is very important and should be efficient for the achievement of the planning and policies. The implementation should be in an order and in the process. The followings are the major tasks regarding the implementation:  The preparation of the whole work schedule and implementation plan to implement the plans and policies efficiently. This includes creating the working plan, technical reinforcements, community awareness etc.  This is the analysis phase for the exact finding of the requirement for the city. This could be assessment, analysis and evaluation.  The short term plans are to be always in ready to go state and the long term visions and plans are to be start immediately as these plans required time.


78



Once implementation of plans is carried out next important thing is to do monitoring.

Essentials for making city resilient 1. Institutional and Administrative Framework 2. Financing and Resources 3. Multi-hazard Risk Assessment- Know your Risk 4. Infrastructure Protection, Upgrading and Resilience 5. Protect Vital Facilities: Education and Health 6. Building Regulations and Land Use Planning 7. Training, Education and Public Awareness 8. Environmental Protection and Strengthening of Ecosystems 9. Effective Preparedness, Early Warning and Response 10. Recovery and Rebuilding Communities

(UNISDR:GFDRR, March 2012)

Implement the Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Organizing and Preparing to Incorporate the Ten Essentials Diagnosis and Assessment of the City’s Risk Developing a Safe and Resilient City Action Plan Implementing the Plan Monitoring and Follow Up

(UNISDR:GFDRR, March 2012)

These above essentials are from the handbook published by United Nations. Most of the essentials resemble with the plans already postulated above and these are very close ideas to develop resilient city. The above essentials are more relevant to developing countries like Nepal and hence hold basic and important as well as developed and crucial essentials to implement in city like Kathmandu.


79

7. CONCLUSION 7.1 INTRODUCTION Kathmandu valley has a very strong relationship with the earthquake. Almost more than 800 years relationship is recorded. As per the historical analysis there is an escape of one generation from the massive earthquake as the frequency of earthquake is usually a span of 75 years in an average. This seems to be the main reason for the lack of preparedness against earthquake. Another perspective might be the lack of proper techniques to record the earthquake and the damages. The valley itself is an evidence of urban transformation in Nepal. The population change and the migration destination for maximum internal displaced population are also the addition towards the urbanization. In spite of the glorious past and the prevalence of seven world heritage sites, the valley seems to be incapable of the urban transformation as the transformation is beyond the planning and is haphazard. This adds the vulnerability towards the disaster. Many studies regarding the vulnerability assessment of Kathmandu suggest the existence of threat regarding high loss of human being and infrastructural damages. The community of Kathmandu valley is homogenous and this is very beneficial as they have the similar cultural and social beliefs. The cultural capital and social capital is very prominent towards the resilience building. Information from the interview regarding the cultural and social capitals are as follows:  The community is already with sufficient earthquake resilient knowledge but it is based on indigenous idea and mostly accepted as superstitious.  There are small community bodies in the communities of the Kathmandu valley which is very useful for the distribution of local knowledge and other works to be accomplished at community level.  There are the different communities' organizations working for different purposes like for the preservation of temples, running of the schools etc. these could be the assets regarding the resilience building.  The culture is in strong relationship with religion as there is strong root between Hinduism and Buddhism and these two religions are much interconnected. They preach some important factors for the environmental sustainability like respecting nature as god, worshipping them and even for the money to be valued and economy is also served as goddess and this all finally leads towards the importance of environment and economy. This is strong base for the sustainable development.  A community organization with adequate knowledge and financial resource with the harmony to the existing management system is inevitable for resilience governance. This is to be taken into consideration that the disaster is always against the development. If we face some disasters than this is indispensable it costs us time and money to rebuild although the exact resurrection is impossible. This is very important to


80

support the marginal and poor communities as they are the most prone to disaster like earthquake and other. Usually they are lacking the appropriate housing and employment which ultimately lead them to more vulnerable. This is a positive that the capacity can nullify the vulnerability and this is possible using the cultural and social capital through the community based organizations involvement in cooperation with national and international organizations. The formulations of policies and plans which is very strict in implementation increasing the city resilience and promoting sustainability of Kathmandu valley is the necessity of the Kathmandu valley. Starting from the urban code which is very important and also essential as the valley itself occupied seven of the world heritage monumental zones and is a traditional city with the historical importance. The plans involving the local community are very important to implement sooner rather than later which could be beneficial immediately. The short term plans are to be immediately into action as the last earthquake of April is almost more than 9 months now. The people living in the country are still out of the basic help from the government. However the people are already adapted to this disaster effect and the accepted this as a natural fate. The people are without any hope from the government as the government lacks to gain the faith of the people.

7.2 FUTURE RESEARCH

The limitation of this research opens the opportunities for the future research in the urban redevelopment after disaster. There is the necessity of urban codes in every city. Basically the code is very much needed in the urban area which is more important in terms of history and culture and also possesses the urbanization. The formation of urban code for Kathmandu is one of the future research option founded after this research. The research regarding the indigenous knowledge in terms of sustainability and resilience is also interesting for further research along with the modern scientist technological intervention. The economic development and regeneration for the postdisaster urban area is also another interesting research for further research which is beyond the limit of this research. The spatial analysis of the zoning and the proper land use zoning including the risk sensitive land use planning is another important research for future. Another important foresight for the future research is to define an appropriate model of the cities like Kathmandu which are in the verge of disaster. This model could be the one proposing exact plans, policies and strategies taking consideration socio-cultural economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. There are many cities around the world which are vulnerable in terms of several natural hazards in the form of POST DISASTER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Sustainable Redevelopment of Kathmandu Valley after Earthquake

81

earthquake, tsunamis, fire, etc. This model consist the possible preparedness before the disaster and the safety during the disaster and recovery after the disaster. Once such model is formulated it can be used as a prototype in the developing and vulnerable cities of similar geographical and socio-economic conditions.

Bibliography (MoUD) Ministry of Urban Development National Urban Development Strategy (NUDS), 2013 [Report]. - Kathmandu : Government of Nepal, Ministry of Urban Development, 2013. (MoUD) Ministry of Urban Development National Urban Development Strategy (NUDS), 2015 [Report]. - Kathmamndu : Government of Nepal, Ministry of Urban Development, 2015. Abu-Swaireh Luna and Hamdan Fadi Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience and Sustainable Development in the Arab Region [Report]. - [s.l.] : UNISDR - United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2015. Adhikari Dr. Bipin New Spot Light [Online] // Spotlightnepal.com. - May 22, 2015. 10 10, 2015. - http://www.spotlightnepal.com/News/Article/Bipin-Adhikari-greatearthquake-Nepal. ALARSLAN EBRU DISASTER RESILIENT URBAN SETTLEMENTS // A DOCTORAL DISSERTATION. - December 2009. Alexander David An Interpretation Of Disaster In Terms Of Changes In Culture, Society And International Relations [Book Section] // What is a disaster / book auth. Perry Ronald W. and Eds) E.L. Quarantelli (. - Philadelphia (USA) : Xlibris Corporation, 2005.


82

Anhorn J. and B.Khazai Open space suitability analysis for emergency shelter after an Earthquake [Report]. - Heidelberg, Germany : Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2015. Aryal Komal Raj The History of Disaster Incidents and Impacts in Nepal [Journal] // Disaster Risk Sci.. - 2012. - pp. 147-154. Bank Nepal Rastra Nepal Rastra Bank. Bank Nepal Rastra The share of kathmandu Valley in the national Economy [Article]. - july 2012. - p. 19. C.V.R.Murty IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tip 12 [Report]. - New Delhi : Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur;Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council,. CEDIM Forensic Disaster Analysis Group, CATDAT and Earthquake-Report.com [Report]. - Karlsruhe, Potsdam : Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology KIT and GFZ, 2015. Coburn A.W., Spence R.J.S. and Pomonis A. Disaster Mitigation [Report]. [s.l.] : UNDP, 1994. Commission National Planning Post Disaster Needs Assessment PDNA [Report]. Kathmandu : Nepal Government, 2015. Costanza Robert and Daly Herman E. Natural Capital and Sustainable Development [Article] // Conservation Biology. - March 1992. - pp. 37-46. CRED The Human Cost of Natural Disasters [Report]. - Brussels, Belgium : Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, 2015. Dekens Julie Local Knowledge on Disaster Preparedness:A Framework for Data Collection and Analysis [Article] // Sustainable Mountain Development Vol. 52, . Sustainable Mountain Development Vol. 52, Spring 2007 : ICIMOD, Spring 2007. Fatton R Haiti in the Aftermath of the Earthquake:The Politics of Catastrophe [Journal] // Journal of Black Studies. - 2011. Florida Volunteer Disaster Mitigation,A Guide for Community-based Organizations [Report]. - Florida : Volunteer Florida, 2004. Future UN Habitat: For a Better Urban SUSTAINABLE HOUSING FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES:A POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES [Report]. - Nairobi : United Nations Human Settlements Programme , 2012.


83

Gehl.Architects CHRISTCHURCH PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC LIFE [Report]. Copenhagen Christchurch : Gehl Architects, 2009. Guevara-Perez L. Teresa “Soft Story” and “Weak Story” in Earthquake Resistant Design: A Multidisciplinary Approach [Report]. Haines Faisal Al Naema Mr. Haiti Earthquake 2010 [Report]. - 2010. Haver Katherine Haiti Earthquake Response Mapping and analysis of gaps and duplications in evaluations [Report]. - 2011. http://www.flagship2.nrrc.org.np/ Flagship2 [Online] // http://www.flagship2.nrrc.org.np/. - 2015. - November 11, 2015. http://www.flagship2.nrrc.org.np/. Institute Building Research buildingresearch.com.np [Online] // buildingresearch.com.np. - 2015. - 10 10, 2015. http://buildingresearch.com.np/news_events/1934_nepal_bihar_eq/news_events_1.p hp#general. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Public health guide for emergencies [Journal] // Public health guide for emergencies. - 2008. Jeggle T. Senior Disaster Risk Advisor [Journal] // International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, UN Terminology. - 2003. Jigyasu Rohit What is diasaster? New answers to Old Questions [(Ronald W. Perry,E.L. Quarantelli) Eds] [Book]. - Philadelphia, USA : Xlibris Corporation, 2005. Marahatta Punya Sagar Cultural Capital for Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction:The case of Kathmandu Valley [Report]. - Rotterdam, Netherlands : Master's Thesis, 2007. McEntire D.A. Triggering agents, vulnerabilities and disaster reduction: Towards a holistic paradigm”. [Book Section] // Disaster Prevention and Management,. - 2001. Nepal Economic Forum NEF Docking Nepal's Economic Analysis [Journal] // nefport. - 2015. - pp. 6-51. Nepal Government of National Population and Housing Census 2011 [Article] // National Report. - November 2012. - p. 278. NSC National Seismological Centre Introduction [Online] // Seismonepal.com.np. - 2015. - October 21, 2015. http://www.seismonepal.gov.np/index.php?linkId=128.


84

OECD GUIDELINES ON DISASTER MITIGATION [Report]. - 1994. Oxam Haiti: The slow road to reconstruction Two years after the earthquake [Report]. [s.l.] : Oxam, 2012. Pant Pradip Raj and Dongol Devendra Kathmandu Valley Profile [Report]. Kathmandu : Governance and Infrastructure Development Challenges in the Kathmandu Valley, 2009. PDNA Haiti Haiti Earthquake PDNA: Assessment of damage, losses, general and sectoral needs [Report]. - 2010. Platt Stephen Reconstruction in New Zealand post 2010-11 Christchurch Earthquakes [Report]. - Cambridge : Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd., 2012. Pradhan Riddhi [Journal] // Ancient Nepal, Journal of the Department of Archeology / ed. Riddhi Pradhan Khadgaman Shrestha. - Kathmandu : Sajha Prakashan, June 1996. - 139 : Vol. 139. - p. 67. Project the URBES URban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services,URBES [Conference]. - Stochholm : [s.n.], 2014. Quarantelli E.L. What is a Disaster? New answers to old Question. [Book]. - New York, USA : [s.n.], 1998. R Chambers and G Conway Sustainable rural livelihoods [Book Section] // practical concepts for the 21st century.. - Brighton : Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK, 1992. Rajbansi S.S. sarva Prachin Abhilekh Raja Jayavarmanko Abhilekh ( The Earliest Inscription of King Jayaverman [Book]. - 1994. Republica NEA seeks Rs. 10.86b for repair of power plants, distribution systems // Republica. - Kathmandu : Republica, May 19, 2015. Republica Water Shortages worsens in the valley after quake // Republica. Kathmandu : Republica, May 7, 2015. Sabina S. Surana P.E. M7.8 Gorkha Earthquake Post-Earthquake Building Safety Evaluations in the Kathmandu Valley Observations and Recommendations [Report]. Kathmandu,Nepal : International Masonry Institute;Reid Middleton,, June 2015. Shakya Naresh Man Temples and Buildings Standing Over Kathmandu Valley Which isVulnerable to Earthquake. - Kathmandu : [s.n.].


85

Sharma P. Urbanization and Development [Report]. - Kathmandu : Central Bureau of Statistics, 2003. Taft-Morales Maureen Haiti Under President Martelly: Current Conditions and Congressional Concerns [Report]. - [s.l.] : Congressional Research Service , 2013. Tiwari Prof. Sudarshan Raj Traditional Architecture of Kathmandu valley:Responsiveness to earthquakes through empiricismi [Conference] // CEC Workshop IOE. - Kathmandu : [s.n.], 1998. Tiwari Sudarshan Raj Ecocity ii. - Kathmandu : [s.n.]. Tuyet Le thi anh SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT:Evaluation opportunities for Asia cities: The case of Hanoi [Report]. - [s.l.] : Le thi anh Tuyet, 2012. Un/ISDR “Terminology of disaster risk reduction” [Online]. - 2004. http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/lib-terminology-eng%20home.htm. UNISDR:GFDRR How to Make Cities More Resilient:A Handbook for Local Government Leaders [Report]. - Geneva : UNISDR:GFDRR, March 2012. Vale L.J. and Campanella T.J. Resilient City: How Modern Cities Recover from Disaster [Book]. - [s.l.] : Oxford University Press, 2005. Yin R. K. Case study research: design and methods. [Report]. - [s.l.] : Sage Publications., 2009.


86