Speaker : Dr. Annick Hollé, Paris 8 University - Department of Geography, LADYSS laboratory CNRS - UMR 7533, France
Abstract : The city of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal for two and a half centuries, is rooted in a temporal depth of nearly 2000 years. Myths relate its foundation. Archaeological remains enlight us about the early settlements. Urban elements of the Licchavi period (V - VIIth century) are still part of the modern decor, such as fountains, although some of them dry up during the last decade of the 20th century. I will not talk to much about all these old features but can answer some questions about them later on. I will take more time to describe the historical pattern and people that structured the city in the 20th century and especially in the second half of it, printing their mark on the current urban space.
On this basis, I will then discuss in more detail the current urban growth, I mean 20 years, but mostly the last 10 years, which have to deal with constraints as varied as the classification of buildings on the list of World Heritage, the high regional seismicity, or a huge immigration movement to the valley due to insecurity, altogether on a backdrop of civil war and a state of emergency declared by the last king. As the same time, the municipality begins to develop the urban network before the construction rise ; real urban planning.
Organiser : Department of Social Sciences, French Institute of Pondicherry.
Venue : Jawaharlal Nehru Conference Hall, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry - 605 001.