Human Settlement Planning

Syllabus

1. Introduction (5 hours)
   1. Concept and evolution of human settlements
   2. Growth and decline of settlements, planning objectives
   3. Rural, urban, peri-urban and informal settlements
   4. Global, South Asian and Nepali contexts
   5. Settlement structure (urban and rural)
   6. Socio-spatial systems (spatial form, social structure and economic process)
2. Classical Settlement-Oriented Thoughts and Approaches (10 hours)
   1. Settlement morphology: form, pattern, structure, transformation
   2. Utopian planning: Howard, Geddes, Perry, Doxiadis, Mumford
   3. Modernist planning: Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright
   4. Conceptual perspectives on settlements: production and use of space, informality, land, economy and institutions
3. Settlement Planning Scales, Tools and Techniques (8 hours)
   1. Overview of planning approaches (post 1950s)
   2. Settlement planning scales: national to local
   3. Settlement planning components: land use planning, development control, planning regulations and building by-laws
   4. Concept of spatial analysis: spatial data and thematic mapping, density and land-use distribution, role of mapping
4. Rural Settlement Planning (6 hours)
   1. Rural settlement concepts
   2. Physical planning in rural areas
   3. Infrastructure and service systems
   4. Public and community spaces
   5. Rural-urban linkages
   6. Traditional rural settlements
   7. Rural transformation (migration, livelihood systems, rural urban continuum)
5. Settlement Analysis and Profiling (8 hours)
   1. Base mapping and field reconnaissance
   2. Stakeholder identification and mapping
   3. Data collection methods: quantitative, qualitative, field observation
   4. Sectoral data analysis, descriptive statistics and SWOT analysis
6. Emerging Directions in Settlement Planning (8 hours)
   1. Global agenda (SDG 11, Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement, New Urban Agenda)
   2. Climate and disaster risk
   3. Ecological planning and nature-based solutions
   4. Inclusive and gender responsive settlements
   5. Low carbon and resource-efficient settlements
   6. Concept of resilient settlements

Practicals

Assignments on case studies of rural and urban settlements in Nepal, planning problems and solutions through classical and contemporary lenses, and settlement profiling covering mapping, land-use structure, socio-economic characteristics and infrastructure services.