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Academics urge proper planning in heritage city
Scholars, who discussed Kandy city development projects at a recent workshop, have called on politicians and planners to give due consideration to the city’s heritage and the environment in its development.
Vice Chancellor Upul B Dissanayake addresses the participants
University of Peradeniya Vice Chancellor, Professor Upul B. Dissanayake said Kandy has had a continuous cultural pattern and this should be considered in any development plans.
He made the remarks at a ‘Training Workshop on Urban Landscape Ecological Planning: a case study on Kandy’ this month. The workshop was coordinated by Dr D.M. Lalitha Dissanayake of the faculty of geography.
Professor Maros Finka, an expert who worked with UN Habitat III, and Head of SPECTRA – Center of Excellence of the European Union, and Director of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, was the guest speaker.
Deputy Director of Urban Planning in Kandy, H.W. Somaratne said that the University of Peradeniya and the Urban Development Authority has come together to study the planning activities in Kandy for the first time.
He said that the most important aspect is a greener city. There are also plans to ease traffic congestion and that a new concept has been drawn with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to preserve Kandy’s heritage.
Guest speaker, Professor Maros Finka, drew the attention of planners to the environment and also the heritage. He said that current trends in the management and planning processes show the growing importance of landscape planning, especially after 2000.
Dr Nalini Hennanayake addressed the urban planning process and procedure related to the Kandy city plan.
Professor Ranjith Dissanayake spoke about the ‘City I love’ and showed visuals of cities in comparison to those in Sri Lanka. He also shared visuals of towns he does not like and suggested how they could be transformed.
Participants who attended the workshop
| WORLD BANK PROJECT TO IMPROVE KANDY | |
| The World Heritage City of Kandy, a city of 150,000 people and a transit population of 600,000, is being improved under the World Bank’s Sri Lanka Strategic Cities Development Project with US$147 million funding. This project also involves Galle and Jaffna. According to the World Bank, the overall project is expected to cost US$257.08 million with the remainder being funded by the Sri Lankan Government. Under the project, urban services and public urban spaces are to be improved in the city. This includes traffic improvements, such as the rehabilitation of selected by-pass roads, and establishment and improvements of selected public transport facilities and traffic management measures. The project involves the augmentation and rehabilitation of the municipal water supply system; rehabilitation of major drains; urban upgrading, including the improvement of selected streetscapes and public spaces. It also aims to restore and repurpose historic and landmark buildings. |