Introduction
The project supported to the preparation of the Municipal Planning Guideline for the rapidly urbanising municipalities in Kathmandu Valley, which have valuable cultural heritage and immense potential for promoting sustainable tourism. The municipality-wide Guideline was based on the already existing normative knowledge products prepared by UN-Habitat HQ (Our City Plan and Urban Planning for City Leaders), which are customised/localised to guide the planning of the heritage settlements in Kathmandu Valley.
So, Lalitpur Metropolitan City (project focus) was engaged in the preparation of the guideline while other municipalities in Kathmandu Valley will be the target beneficiaries. The Planning Guideline is aimed to help these municipalities to develop strategies (strategic development vision) and undertake urban planning processes (step-by-step guidance) in support of municipality-wide pro-heritage and pro-tourism spatial development. It will provide an action plan with role/engagement of wider stakeholders for its implementation including communities, municipalities, CBOs/NGOs, the private sector, the national government, etc.
Context and background
UN-Habitat with EU Switch Asia support had been implementing the project “Sustainable Tourism and Green Growth for Heritage Settlements of Kathmandu Valley” since 2018 to support people-centered, jobs-focused eco-tourism and assists selected heritage settlement communities with urban planning, public space development, limited reconstruction, mobility innovation, and several capacity building initiatives.
The urban planning guideline was prepared in support of sustainable heritage settlements in urban municipalities, including green and landscape conservation planning. This guideline was developed jointly with the local government, UN-Habitat and Arcadis (Shelter Mission). It provides hands-on guidance to city leaders and planners for sustainable tourism and green growth of heritage settlements in the Kathmandu Valley. It is the result of extensive collaboration between local stakeholders, and municipal planning staff, and includes tools to assist in the preparation, development, and realisation of public projects.
Though carefully considered and intentionally included, the proposed steps, tasks, and interventions are meant to be a catalog of tools that each municipality should review and adapt.
Plan and process
The Planning Guideline aims to help the municipalities in the redevelopment of heritage settlements in the Kathmandu Valley. While rebuilding efforts have been ongoing, this guide focuses on promoting sustainable tourism and the resilient growth of these culturally significant sites. The document is organised as a step-by-step process, with descriptions, resources, and case studies provided for each task. Each step should be completed to ensure an efficient planning and implementation process, though the process should be tailored to a municipality’s specific needs and resources. The steps are grouped into sections; the Municipal Readiness Assessment, the Program Cycle Development, and the Incremental Rollout.
Use of Our City Plans
The document draws from the expertise of industry leaders, local planning resources, and several UN-Habitat documents such as Our City Plans, International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning, and Urban Planning for City Leaders. It is prepared in both English and Nepali language.
Results
The document presents a series of recommendations to assist in the planning, designing, and implementing strategies to improve the resilience of Kathmandu’s heritage settlements. It provides useful tools, linked to each step for the municipalities to undertake the municipal planning process. They are only recommendations, and flexible enough for the individual municipalities to tailor this framework to best serve their communities.
