1.1 PREAMBLE

Demographic studies indicate that the population of Thimphu will grow from the present 43,479 to 1, 62,327 people by the year 2027. The city is already facing housing shortages, traffic congestion, air pollution and chaotic building patterns. The forests, which preside over the city, are being encroached upon. Orchards in the ecologically fragile areas are being irrationally sub-divided, without reference to the carrying capacity of the land. Private and public agencies, as well as individuals, are going about “city building” in a disjointed and ad hoc manner. This results in “spotty growth,” wherein fragmented pockets of development require services and infrastructure. These dispersed pockets are not large enough to support any given city service system, and are too far apart to allow efficient linkage with the city level services systems.

Alarming examples of Indian hill towns in the Himalayas stand before Thimphu. Capital cities like Darjeeling, Gangtok and Srinagar have transformed from serene hill station resorts, into chaotic bazaar towns. Their environments have been severely damaged through construction on the slopes. Infrastructure has been laid out in an ad hoc manner, following development, rather than as a tool to guide it!

The quantity of land available for development is in limited supply, yet incrementally it is being consumed on a first come, first serve basis, without reference to any long-term plan or system of priorities. The process is a retrogressive one as a kind of “patchy” sprawl is emerging which is characterized by unplanned pockets of development. In many of the pockets the densities are far too low to support even a modicum of services. Basic utilities cannot be financed from the number of dwellings served, due to poor layouts and low densities. At a later date these same low density areas will fill in with unplanned structures, for which there are no utilities and services.

Any kind of public transport service will require a fairly high population threshold at each stop and destination. Such transport nodes are not emerging. Unless there is surety and frequency of services, people will not opt for public transport. Thus, density is the key to effective transport planning, as well as services and utilities in general. Allowing areas to grow with no density considerations at all is creating a dysfunctional city. There are too few users on a per hectare basis for there to be economically viable maintenance. Who will subsidize these unviable levels of service? Is it sustainable to subsidize the upper incomes, while low-income settlements have little, or no, services at all? Will this process, and the resulting pattern, not lead to public poverty in a sea of personal wealth?

Unserviceable, fragmented, low-density development characterizes the city’s present growth.
The Royal Government is cognizant of what is happening, and in its wisdom it is taking action to plan a better future, not just for the citizens of the capital, but also for the Kingdom as a whole.

The city of Thimphu is more than just a place where people live and work, where people are born, grow up, create households, retire and then pass away. It is more than just another habitat or dwelling place. It is the symbol and the image of a unique culture, embodied in a nation. It gives meaning and substance to the very idea of Bhutan.

A Fragile Ecology and Environment

Thimphu is a humble city nestled into the world’s most magnificent range of mountains. The Thimphu Valley has its own requirements. The valley needs the green cover on the hillsides that protects the Wang Chhu from silting up and flooding. It needs space for the avifauna and fauna that maintain the fragile balance amongst a wide variety of flora and soils. The city cannot overload the fragile soils, which hold back the land from sliding down into the river basin. Such erosion will silt up the river, making it widen and flood over its banks! This will cause secondary erosion and further damage to the eco-systems. The downstream effects will be disastrous and the costs incalculable.

Where others have failed to respect their fragile eco-systems, in a manner balancing man and nature, Bhutan is committed to follow a more dignified path. Bhutan is committed to create one of the first environment friendly habitats in the world, where humankind and nature find a modicum of eternal harmony. Thus, this new Structure Plan for Thimphu takes on a character of epic proportions as a model for other small towns, spread across the Himalayas, which will expand over the coming century.

Heritage

Rich in history and heritage, the valley needs space for an array of Chortens, Prayer Wheels, Mani Walls, Lhakhangs and Monasteries. The valley needs space for the Tashichho Dzong and Simtokha Dzong. The city is a virtual living museum of culture. As the transient guardians of this heritage and as the trustees of this great museum, the proposed plan of the city is our only means to protect the wealth that we have inherited. The Thimphu Valley is a product of millennia and belongs to eternity. In a sense, all the inhabitants of Thimphu are mere visitors to the valley during their short lifetimes…passers-by so to speak. It is one of their life’s burdens to see that this great heritage is passed on to future generations.

Precincts

Besides all of these profound requirements, the city also needs space for the mundane things that its people do. There must be spaces to work; spaces to play; places to romance, and places to settle down into householders. There must be spaces to make and sell things; places to buy and to trade things; and, places to socialize. People need to celebrate and to make merry! People need to govern themselves and to be administered. All of these needs and requirements demand space. To assure that this space is available and that it is not exploited mindlessly, a system of codes and principles is required that distinguish the citizens of Thimphu as a civilized people.

Not only do the people have their unique dharmas, their own natures and their own life missions, even the city reflects these different roles and ‘cycles of life’ that is the very essence of being a Bhutanese! To celebrate this, and to enshrine the values that distinguish the city as a place of the Bhutanese, there has to be unique spaces, or precincts for various activities, moods and behaviors. Some of these activities are not compatible with each other, while others are mutually reinforcing. Thus, it is necessary to define precincts that sanctify these activity clusters into coherent functional areas. These precincts need to be sanctified, as the abodes of different dharmas.

The Previous Plan

The first plan for Thimphu was prepared in the mid-1980’s, when the population was less than 15,000 people. Until then the valley was under-populated and the Royal Government used incentives to attract investors into land development and into building construction. Though land was practically given away, there were few takers for plots on which taxes would be levied! The scenario has changed dramatically over the last decade. There has been an influx of population into the capital with the growth of commerce and the expansion of government. During this period, several plan documents have been prepared. These were paper studies, which were not implementable, carried out hastily, with little data or analysis. Donor-sponsored missions prepared some rapid appraisals and plans during brief “missions”. During this period of neglect the population rapidly grew, and along with it construction mushroomed.

But growth waits for no one, nor for any culture! It has its own mean way of moving on, leaving those who are thoughtless, ignorant and hesitant behind its great wheel of change. This is not a time for the meek, nor a place for the careless, nor for those who lack the courage to make hard choices and sensitive decisions. There is but one more chance to make this last plan. By the time this planning cycle is over in 2027, the valley will be filled with people and there will be no room left for decisions. There will be no space left for choices, for debates, or for planning. This is it! All or nothing!