By Jeff Murphy,
May 24, 2018
WARRENSBURG, MO – Exemplifying the University of Central Missouri’s commitment to
bring a worldwide perspective into the classroom, Keshav Bhattarai will have more
international experience to share with students this fall after serving as a Fulbright
Specialist in Nepal June 20 to July 24. He will work in an urban planning capacity
at Tribbuvan University (TU) in Kathmandu, as part of the prestigious Fulbright program
through the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs.
The impetus for Bhattarai to be considered as a Fulbright Specialist came after TU
submitted a proposal to the Department of State through the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu
seeking assistance in the fields of agriculture, computer science, math education,
economics, and urban planning.
“Since my field is close to urban planning, I applied as an Urban Planning Specialist,”
said Bhattarai.
The UCM professor of geography has experience teaching courses in areas such as geospatial
analysis (GIS), including use of GIS software to help compile and study data related
to the environmental and life sciences.
“The Central Department of Geography (CDG) and Institute of Engineering (IoE) of Tribbuvan
University are aspiring to be the lead institutions in urban planning in Nepal by
linking research with teaching and policy recommendations,” Bhattarai said. “In many
aspects, these institutions have been very successful. However, in view of the current
rapid rate of urbanization in Nepal from 15 percent until 2015 to abrupt rise to 65
percent in 2017 while implementing the new constitution with federal structure, Nepal
is facing daunting tasks in improving urban life quality.”
Bhattarai noted that under Nepal’s new constitution, the country has experienced a
significant reduction in the number of local political units, which has dropped from
more than 3,700 in 2014 to 753 in 2017. Urban political units – which include municipalities,
sub-metropolitan cities, and metropolitan cities -- increased from 105 to 205 units
during the same time frame, along with additional responsibilities.
“The newly formed urban areas have appended many rural areas to meet the population
thresholds to form municipality, sub-metropolitan and metropolitan units. However,
many of these urban areas so classified are characterized by ‘ruralopolises’ where
people living in rural settings within the legally defined urban areas are competing
with the limited facilities of the urban cores,” Bhattarai said. “Despite such competition
for limited resources/facilities, many of the ruralopolises are aspiring to becoming
‘smart cities’.”
The problem faced by political leaders and urban planners in Nepal is the lack of
real-time geospatial data to promote these ruralopolises into “smart cities” and their
conurbation, according to Bhattarai. Although TU wants to become a lead institution
in urban planning, its faculty members who offer courses on urban planning, need
new tools and methods for urban planning with the introduction of geospatial technology.
TU also lacks advanced level geospatial courses using state-of-the-art urban planning
technology.
“As a Fulbright Specialist, I will facilitate TU and its affiliated institutions to
develop and offer short-term geospatial courses, and will try to bridge between the
University of Central Missouri and TU to share geospatial software,” Bhaattarai said.
He also will develop short-term courses for graduate students; interact with elected
representatives and urban planners and educators within the Kathmandu Valley. He will
visit urban areas to understand the ground realities and engage in discussions with
elected representatives, urban planners, and educators of various levels, environmentalists,
demographers, and social scientists; organize workshops; and assist in advancing geospatial
courses that integrate both theoretical and practical aspects of urban planning.
“Utilizing this Fulbright opportunity, I will help in the collection of real time
data by disseminating geospatial knowledge,” Bhattarai said. “Once this system is
institutionalized, TU will play a very effective role in urban planning in Nepal.”
Among the many benefits of being a Fulbright Specialist in Nepal, Bhattarai will help
develop a long-term collaborative framework for strengthening teaching and research
between TU, Nepal, and UCM. This includes opportunities to share knowledge gained
through scholarly research and classroom applications, and in helping to develop the
university’s Urban Planning course, which also can be integrated with business education.
