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Urban Growth, Planning, and Infrastructure
Box 3.1 Urban Vulnerabilities of the Kathmandu Valley (continued) Map B3.1.2 3-D Simulation of Accessibility in the Kathmandu Valley
Source: Bhattarai and Conway 2010. Note: Visualization of housing typology without proper access by emergency vehicles (New Baneshwor area of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, digitized and converted into 3-D).
providing emergency services will be difficult because of accumulated debris on narrow roads. Many private schools, colleges, other educational institutions, and private nursing homes, which should serve as evacuation shelters and treatment centers in the event of an earthquake, are currently operating in ordinary, substandard residential buildings. An earthquake striking the Kathmandu Valley would have devastating effects. Many large structures (such as temples and monasteries) constructed of heavy rock, bricks, mud mortar, masonry, and timber, as well as individual houses having low tensile strengths, would be destroyed even in a moderate earthquake (JICA and Ministry of Home Affairs 2002; Bhattarai and Conway 2010). Map 3.2 identifies areas in the valley at low, medium, and high seismic risk, according to the spatial arrangements of the houses. The high-risk areas coincide with the most densely populated areas. The deteriorating urban environment resulting from ineffective coordination at the metropolitan level provided the impetus for the establishment of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA). The KVDA was legally established on April 13, 2012 based on the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority Act of 1988, replacing the Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee (Government of Nepal 1988a).3 The establishment
Urban Growth and Spatial Transition in Nepal • http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9659-9