Exploring the Effects of the Chariot Festival of Rato Machindranath on the Urban Morphology

Summary Many urban spaces in Kathmandu have specific traditional, cultural and religious relevance. They are hosts to events and festivals. Yet to a large extent, understanding of a place is limited to its function. The network and dynamics of many other issues that have an effect on the place are not the most obvious considerations. Places change with time and changes in economic potentials. In the past changes across the globe have resulted in the advocacy of expert led planning principles, however the organic development of places in history have shown the relevance of networks created by people, through time. One of the neglected factors affecting a place is also the temporal dimension. Events, festivals etc. revitalize places and people, yet their contribution to the development of the community, activities and the space, and hence the ‘place ’ is not a primary consideration. The main objective of this research is to understand the role of temporary phenomenon in the development of urban morphology. The phenomenon chosen here is the annual chariot festival of Rato Machindranath, observed in the city of Patan. And the development of urban morphology is studied through the concepts of place-making and self organization