A thesis summitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Recourses and Development

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001

Although earthquakes are annually not the most damaging disasters in, an impact, as it occurs in average every 81 years, would cause ten thousands of casualties. The question is not if, but when comes the next incident. Because of the high vulnerability of the built environment in Kathmandu, this study aims at analyzing the potential of urban planning regarding reducing the risk. Thus, the risk was assessed in two study areas, one in the old city core and one in the fast developing sprawl. The analysis has proven that all three factors of the risk are in extreme critical conditions, but the hazard is impossible to influence, the study focussed on the features determining the capacities and the vulnerability. As major improvements of both factors could be achieved through measures of urban planning, the root causes for such shortcomings were examined regarding regulatory, economic, organizational and managerial aspects. This revealed that the present influence of urban planning on the real urban development is ve1y limited. Thus, recommendations for restructuring the organization and revising the regulatory framework were directed towards the central government, while suggestions regarding the safety of the urban environment were given to the local planning agencies.