Developing Planned Cities

Urbanisation is taking place all over the world. What with population growth and what with migration, the pace of urbanisation is picking up rapidly. However, such rapidly burgeoning urbanisation has also invited a multitude of municipal problems. That is why, there is an acute need for developing planned cities. Those who live in planned cities have the upper hand over those who live in unplanned or haphazardly developed cities.

Planned cities have been carefully planned from the beginning. They are usually developed on previously undeveloped land. Choosing undeveloped land makes it possible to build a well-planned city for the future. A planned city should have facilities for housing, transport, utilities, drainage and sanitation, education, health care, energy, recreation and the like. Such facilities can be properly planned on undeveloped land. 

Advantages

Planned cities have several advantages for their residents. They promote a healthy environment with no pollution. Proper urban planning also plays a role in mitigating the effects of natural calamities such as earthquakes, floods and landslides. Even the effects of climate change can be minimised. Those who live in planned cities have to bear a lower cost of living as there will be a minimum of waste of resources. With easy access to educational, healthcare, recreational and other facilities, planned cities offer ample amenities to their residents. Planned cities instil into its residents a sense of civic engagement. The residents of such cities also come together to find solutions to any problems that arise in their communities. With every facility or amenity available in planned cities, the economic status of the residents is likely to improve.   

Thera are many planned cities, including planned capital cities, around the world. The planned capital cities include Abu Dhabi (the UAE), Abuja (Nigeria), Ankara (Turkey), Astana (Kazakhstan), Canberra (Australia), Brasilia (Brazil), Belmopan (Belize), Islamabad (Pakistan), Nusaltara (Indonesia), Naypyidaw (Myanmar), New Delhi (India) and Washington DC (the USA). In Egypt, a new capital city east of Cairo is under construction. Some of the recently built cities in the Persian Gulf are also planned cities. 

Kathmandu is not included in the list of planned cities. Rather, the capital city is undergoing haphazard urbanisation. In consequence, the residents of the capital city have to face multiple problems and challenges such as drinking water, drainage, sanitation and pollution. Planned cities are those that offer livable conditions for their residents. But the living conditions in Kathmandu are not satisfactory. The slum areas along the Bagmati River and other places as well as shanty-like dwelling places used by scrap collectors and others have uglified the capital city. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has tried to remove slum-dwellers and scrap collectors but to no avail. 

It is not that the government has done nothing to develop planned cities in Nepal. In 2053 BS, the government announced the National Residence Policy to manage urban facilities and services by focusing on poor people. The policy was revised in 2068 BS with the concept of Residence for All. The policy had a ten-year programme designed to provide secure, adequate and need-based dwelling places for poor people and those living in unmanaged and risky settlements. The policy was aimed at developing appropriate, safe and eco-friendly residences, upgrading existing settlements, mobilising internal resources for the development and improvement of residences, making institutional reforms in collaboration with non-governmental institutions, the private sector and local communities and so on. 

In 2016, the Prime Minister’s Office came up with a new concept of developing megacities. A megacity is a specially designed city with its own special production facilities, energy plants, urban transport systems, telecommunication systems and social, economic and cultural aspects. Such a city has ample employment and income-generating opportunities. The government planned to develop a megacity in each of the seven provinces. 

The government has also a plan for developing 13 smart cities across the country: Amargadhi, Bharatpur, Chandrapur, Dhankuta, Dullu, Kavre Valley, Lumbini, Mirchaiya, Nijgadh, Palungtar, Tikapur, Tulsipur and Waling. However, the process has been confined to paper only.

Since Balendra Shah, popularly called Balen, assumed the mantle of Mayor of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, it has been said that Kathmandu has been much more beautiful than it was in the past. However, the reality is otherwise. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City announced an ambitious programme of making Kathmandu a dust-free city within the last fiscal year. But the programme did not materialise. In fact, it is easier said than done when it comes to making Kathmandu a dust-free city. 

Planned manner

In the past when areas outside the Ring Road of Kathmandu were just developing into residential areas, the Panchayat government did not develop the areas in a planned manner. The areas should have been developed in a planned manner as well as an administrative centre and the government offices within the Ring Road should have been relocated there. If this had happened, the areas within the Ring Road would have developed as a business and cultural hub. And Kathmandu would not have been a chaotic city as it is now. 

The government formulates plans for urban development and management but such plans hardly come into implementation. One of the reasons for poor or no implementation could be political instability. Since the advent of the multiparty democracy, no government has completed its full tenure. With a frequent change of the guard, an incumbent government does not deem it necessary to continue the policies or programmes launched by its predecessor. Rather, it comes up with its own policies or programmes. Further, governments pay just lip service to implanting their own policies or programmes. It is high time the present government paid assiduous attention to implementing the programmes already formulated or announced for the planned development of the country.  

(Maharjan has been regularly writing on contemporary issues for this daily since 2000.)