Effect of unplanned urban growth on human health and sustainable development: A spatial analysis of the urban growth patterns in Nepal

This paper first provides a spatial analysis of Nepal’s urban growth patterns from historical perspectives. Second, it geovisualizes urban morphologies of the Kathmandu metropolitan area using ESRI made CityEngine to display how unplanned concrete jungle would not only exert stresses on urban lives through increased heat waves and greenhouse gases, but also from increased urban vulnerabilities. Third, the paper analyzes urban sprawls and their unintended but irreversible environmental consequences on human health and sustainability. Fourth, it develops land use/cover metrics using remote sensing techniques to determine the ratio of built-in structures and open spaces. The ultimate goal of this paper is to provide a framework for the development of twenty-first century cities in South Asia