Other Events

Newar Towns: A Place, Place Making and Making It Vibrant
by
Padma Sunder Joshi
21 March 2024
Jyapu Pragya Bhawan (Jyapu Academy) Patan

organised by
Heritage as Placemaking International Spring School 2024: Living Heritage, Performance, and Placemaking

To listen or download lecture in audio format

Newar towns are magnificent examples of people and the planet prospering through partnership—the sustainability agenda the present world is embarking on. History is not to live but to learn, learn from their success and from their mistakes for our common future. My presentation will try to dig into some Newar practices of life, how they live, live together among themselves and their resource base- the planet, and how they partner with themselves and their ecosystem. The tangible settlements with intangible practices—the three dimensions—spatial dimension, liveable city; process dimension—the responsible city; and governance dimension—the participating city. Creating places: making them livable and turning into a vibrant life orchestra where each of the members is compelled to participate but on their own will.

Padma Sunder Joshi has recently joined Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology (MBUST) as Vice President of the University responsible for Administration and Finance. He is also appointed as advisor to Lalitpur Metropolitan City. He led the UN-Habitat Nepal Office from 2010-2021. Before joining UN, he was an Associate Professor at the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University. His area of work is Urban Planning and Environment. Mr. Joshi also served as an advisor to the mayor of Kathmandu (1997-2002) and was Member Secretary of City Planning Commission of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. He was leading important initiatives of the City office including Municipal Infrastructure Improvement Project/KUDP (1997-1999) and Kathmandu Valley Mapping Programme (1999-2002).

Mr. Joshi has completed his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Tribhuvan University, MSc. in Resources Engineering from Univeristy of Karlshruhe, Germany and Post Graduate Diploma from IHE, the Netherlands. He has published books and a series of articles in urban development related fields. His most recent book explores the water management system of Kathmandu Valley. Apart from the university, he is also supporting Lalitpur Metropolitan City in reviving the traditional water system.

Link to the Heritage as Placemaking project’s website: https://heritageasplacemaking.com/