Research On Urban Regeneration Of Kathmandu City Core

The Kathmandu Durbar Square which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site was partly destroyed during the April 2015 earthquake.The reconstruction and restoration program is happening slowly till this date.As important as restoration of the heritage site is,the surroundings of the Heritage site is falling apart due to many causes be it natural or man-made.The historic city core of Kathmandu consists of unique arts and architecture in between vibrant culture,tradition and ritual practices.Its traditional compact planning is interrupted by spaces endowed with special character that they are testimony to existence and development of spirit.But today,this spirit is being weakened due to deteriorating spatial quality.There are many interlinked threats to ambient feeling of the place which lead to abandonment,loss of cultural heritage and sustainable practices.At present,the focus is on restoration of the heritage sites but what traditional urban space needs is proper management of its uses relative to its values and time.For this,competent management and clear legal framework are required to regulate emerging challenges.The aim of this project is to be able to come up with a sustainable solution for the regeneration of urban spaces around the Kathmandu Durbar Square by the use theoretical and empirical findings through literature reviews,interaction with local people and authorities and case studies.The Kathmandu city retained its medieval character until pre-modern period but the onset of haphazard urbanization brought tremendous changes.City core analysis was made to assess changes in term of legibility,permeability and visual analysis of the traditional urban fabric with case study focused on cities with heritage urban cores.